Auto vs. Personal vs. Student Loans

Three loans, three different levers. Here is what term and rate actually do to the payment and the total cost.

Last updated: October 12, 2026. The 2026-27 federal student loan rates were read from the Federal Student Aid loan servicer rates page on that date. The auto and personal loan rates are illustrative assumptions, not quotes. All payments were computed with this site's loan code.

Why compare them at all

All three are installment loans: you borrow a fixed amount and repay it with equal monthly payments. The same formula prices all of them, as the amortization guide shows. What differs is how much control you have over the rate and the term, and that is where the money is won or lost.

Auto loans: the term is the trap

Dealers often steer buyers toward the monthly payment. Suppose you borrow $30,000 at an illustrative 7%:

Stretching from 60 to 84 months lowers the payment by $141.26, but costs $2,392 more in interest. There is a second cost the formula does not show: a long loan keeps you owing money for years after a car has lost much of its value. The CFPB's auto loan guidance stresses asking questions before you shop, comparing the ways you can get financing, and negotiating the terms, noting that negotiation "can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the life of your loan."

Federal student loans: fixed rates set by law

For federal Direct Loans first disbursed from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027, the published rates are 6.52% for undergraduate subsidized and unsubsidized loans, 8.07% for graduate and professional unsubsidized loans, and 9.07% for Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS loans. The same page states that federal student loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2006 have a fixed rate for the life of the loan. You cannot negotiate these rates, so the lever you control is the repayment term.

For $30,000 at 6.52%, using a 10-year term as an illustration:

Doubling the term cuts the payment by $116.92 but more than doubles the interest, an extra $12,852. Adding $100 a month to the 10-year payment pays the loan off in 86 months instead of 120 and lowers total interest to $7,555, a saving of $3,359.

Personal loans: the rate does the heavy lifting

Personal loans are usually shorter, and the rate you are offered varies widely with your credit. On $15,000 at an illustrative 12% over 36 months the payment is $498.21 and the interest is $2,936. Over 60 months the payment falls to $333.67 but interest rises to $5,020. If a better credit profile gets you 9% over 36 months, the payment is $477.00 and the interest is only $2,172, which is $764 less than at 12%. Ask lenders for the APR, not just the rate; the CFPB notes the APR includes points and other loan charges.

A quick way to choose

• Rank by total interest, not payment. Use the loan comparison to put two offers side by side.
• Pick the shortest term you can comfortably afford. You can pay extra on a loan with no prepayment penalty, but you cannot shorten a contract that is already long and expensive.
• Pay the highest-rate debt first. If you are carrying several loans, extra money saves the most on the one with the highest rate.

Run your own loan in the loan calculator. These guides are for education and are not financial, tax, legal or insurance advice. Nothing you type into the calculators is sent anywhere.