Loan offers are presented in whatever format makes them look best, which is why two offers for the same amount can be genuinely hard to compare. The fix is to force both onto the same three numbers: the annual rate including fees, the term in months, and the total you will have repaid at the end.
Begin with the all-in annual rate rather than the headline rate. Origination fees, insurance bundled into the loan and administrative charges all change the real cost, and a loan with a lower nominal rate and a large upfront fee is frequently more expensive. If a lender will not state the all-in figure plainly, that is itself information.
Next, multiply the monthly payment by the number of payments and subtract the amount borrowed. That single subtraction is the price of the money, in currency, and it is the number that makes a longer term stop looking like a discount. A lower payment over a longer period almost always buys comfort now at a significant cost later.
Finally, read the three clauses that change the math after signing: early repayment penalties, what happens to the rate if a payment is late, and whether the rate is fixed for the whole term. An offer that wins on cost and loses on flexibility can still be the right choice — but it should be a choice you made knowingly, in five minutes, with both pages side by side.
