Financing & mortgages
What's the difference between interest rate and APR?
The short answer
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the money; APR (annual percentage rate) adds the loan's fees — origination, points, and certain closing costs — into one comparable number. When comparing lenders, APR is the fairer apples-to-apples figure.
Go deeper
Still deciding?
Ava, our financing & structuring expert, can talk through your exact situation — free, no account, in plain English.
Ask Ava →