Compare two microfinance offers
Weekly, fortnightly or monthly: see cash in hand, total repayable and the cost, side by side.
The APR here is an estimate from your inputs (periodic rate × payments per year). Always compare the APR printed in each lender's Key Facts Statement. "Monthly equivalent" = a year's payments ÷ 12, as RBI suggests for non-monthly loans.
Your rights
- No product (insurance, solar lamp, sewing machine) can be a condition for the loan. Only credit-linked insurance can be part of it.
- No penalty for repaying early. Late penalties apply only to the overdue amount.
- Lenders must publish their minimum, maximum and average interest rates.
Group loan? Test one bad month
If your group must cover a member who can't pay, what's your extra share?
Your extra share: — per payment.
How to read your microfinance comparison
A weekly loan and a monthly loan are hard to compare by the size of each payment. This tool puts two offers side by side. You see the cash you really get and what you pay back. Microfinance means loans without collateral (security such as gold or land) for households with an annual income of up to ₹3,00,000.
What the numbers mean
Cash in hand is the loan amount minus the processing fee, 18% GST on that fee and any insurance taken off the loan. This is the money that actually reaches you.
Total repayable is each payment multiplied by the number of payments. Cost of the loan is the difference between the two: total repayable minus cash in hand.
Monthly equivalent is a year’s payments divided by 12, the way RBI suggests for loans that aren’t repaid monthly. The biggest month shows the heaviest month for your budget. With weekly payments, some months have five collection days, so that month takes five payments. With fortnightly payments, it can take three.
Approx. APR is our estimate of the yearly cost. APR (annual percentage rate) is the full cost of a loan for one year, with interest and all charges. We find the rate per payment that links your cash in hand to your payments. Then we multiply it by the number of payments in a year.
In the first three rows, the better figure turns green. The box at the top names the offer with the lower APR, or says the two cost about the same.
The group box at the bottom answers a separate question. If your group must cover a member who can’t pay, it divides their payment by the number of members sharing it.
Worked example
Fictional example, using the numbers already filled in on the page.
Both offers lend ₹40,000. Offer A has 104 weekly payments of ₹470, a 1% fee and no insurance. Offer B has 24 monthly payments of ₹2,100, a 1.5% fee and ₹1,200 of insurance taken off the loan.
| Offer A (weekly) | Offer B (monthly) | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash in hand | ₹39,528 | ₹38,092 |
| Total repayable | ₹48,880 | ₹50,400 |
| Cost of the loan | ₹9,352 | ₹12,308 |
| Monthly equivalent | ₹2,037 | ₹2,100 |
| Biggest month | ₹2,350 | ₹2,100 |
| Approx. APR | 21.9% | 28.5% |
The tool says Offer A looks cheaper: ₹1,436 more in hand and ₹1,520 less to repay. Offer B’s payment looks simpler, but it costs more. In the group box, one member’s ₹1,000 shared by 4 people adds ₹250 to each person’s payment.
What this tool doesn’t do
It doesn’t know a lender’s real charges. Our APR is only an estimate from what you type, and it can differ from the official figure. The APR printed in each lender’s Key Facts Statement (KFS), the short sheet listing all loan costs, is the one to compare. It doesn’t rank lenders, and it can’t tell whether the payments fit your income. Your inputs stay on your phone unless you press “Save on this device”.
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Frequently asked questions
Is a weekly loan more expensive than a monthly one?
Not always. The size and timing of the payments don't decide the cost on their own. Compare cash in hand, total repayable and the APR in each KFS.
Do I have to buy the insurance or a product to get the loan?
No. Only credit-linked insurance, which covers the loan itself, can be part of the loan. No other product, such as a solar lamp or a sewing machine, can be a condition.
Can I repay a microfinance loan early?
Yes, and there is no penalty for paying early. Late-payment penalties can apply only to the overdue amount, not to the whole loan.
How much loan repayment is too much?
RBI caps a household's payments on all loans, microfinance and others, at 50% of monthly household income. The lender must check your income before lending. That cap is the upper limit, not a safe amount, so test your payments against a weak month.