Add up the establishment and monthly fees on a personal loan and see how much of the borrowed money they effectively use up.
This tool shows how much the fees on a personal loan add up to, separate from interest. It is the main reason a comparison rate sits above the advertised interest rate. Enter the loan amount, any establishment fee charged as a percentage, the monthly account fee, the number of months, and any flat one-off fees.
Formula: percentage fee and monthly fees = loan amount × fee % + monthly fee × months. The second result subtracts those fees and the flat fees from the loan amount, which shows how much of the borrowed money is effectively left after fees.
Worked example (illustrative): a $20,000 loan over 60 months with a $400 establishment fee and a $10 monthly fee. Monthly fees total $10 × 60 = $600. All fees are $1,000, leaving $19,000 of net value. As a rough rule of thumb, fees worth 5% of the loan spread over five years add very roughly 2 percentage points a year to the cost of an amortising loan, because the balance (and so the money you are using) falls over time. The exact figure depends on the interest rate and is what the comparison rate calculation does properly.
Limits: this is an estimate of fee weight, not a comparison rate. It excludes contingent fees such as late payment or early repayment fees, which the comparison rate also excludes. Read the fees vs rate worked example and the comparison rate guide.
Costs, Comparison Rates and 2026 Rules
How the personal loan comparison rate is calculated under the National Credit Code, why it carries a warning, which fees it excludes and when it understates your cost.
Worked Examples and Checklists
A worked example showing how establishment and monthly fees change the true cost of a personal loan, why the result flips between small and large loans, and how to do the sum yourself.
Costs, Comparison Rates and 2026 Rules
How small amount credit contracts (20% plus 4% a month) and medium amount credit contracts (48% cap) work in Australia, the 2023 reforms, worked cost examples and cheaper alternatives.
Costs, Comparison Rates and 2026 Rules
Every fee a personal loan can carry in Australia, what the National Credit Code says about them, a worked example of a fee added to the loan and how to compare fees.
