Two options, one set of numbers.
Every comparison here runs the same principal through both options and reports the difference in dollars. Percentages are easy to nod along to; $396.21 on $500 is harder to ignore.
Installment vs payday loans
The same $500, three months, and a difference of $396.21.
Why one structure reduces what you owe and the other does not, how to tell which you are being offered from the disclosure alone, and the honest caveat about high-cost installment products that sit between the two. At the end of three months the installment borrower has cleared roughly half the principal; the payday borrower still owes all of it.
$396.21
apart, in fees and interest
Read itTwo more comparisons are being worked on — installment against a credit-union PAL, and against the cash-advance apps whose voluntary tips and expedited-transfer charges annualize higher than most people expect. We would rather publish one comparison we have checked than three we have not, so there is nothing else on this page yet.
Same principal, explicit horizons.
A comparison is only worth reading if both sides are held to the same conditions. Ours are stated on every page.
Identical principal
Both options use the same principal, but each horizon is stated explicitly. Comparing a $500 loan against a $300 one proves nothing.
Fees included
Origination fees are folded into the estimated APR, because a rate that excludes them understates the cost of credit.
Dollars first
Total cost of credit in dollars leads; the percentage follows. Only one of those changes behavior.
Cheaper options named
Where something outside the comparison beats both sides, it gets said — including when it earns us nothing.
Your state may have settled it already
Payday loan availability and fee limits vary by state. The applicable rules also depend on the type of loan and lender. Our state guides distinguish verified information from entries still awaiting review.
About these comparisons
How should I compare two loan offers?
On estimated APR and on total cost of credit in dollars — never on the monthly payment alone. The monthly figure is the one lenders lead with, because a longer term always makes it smaller while making the total larger. Estimated APR folds in origination fees, so it puts two different fee structures on the same footing. Our offer comparison calculator does both and names the cheaper one.
Why do you compare in dollars rather than percentages?
Because percentages are hard to feel and dollars are not. Told that one option is 36% APR and another 391%, most people register that the second is worse. Told that the first costs $54 and the second $450 on the same $500, the decision makes itself. Same information, different force.
Do you make money from these comparisons?
We earn referral fees when someone submits an inquiry through this site and a lender funds a loan. We earn nothing when a comparison concludes that a credit-union Payday Alternative Loan, a biller payment plan, or an employer advance is cheaper — which several of them do. Compensation does not determine which option a comparison recommends, and where the cheapest answer pays us nothing we say so plainly.
Is an installment loan always better than a payday loan?
Structurally it is usually better, because it amortizes: each payment reduces the balance and the debt ends on a known date rather than renewing for a new fee. That is a genuine improvement. It is not the same as being cheap — an installment loan at 200% APR will not trap you the way a rollover does, and it will still take a large share of your income for a year. Prefer the structure, then argue about the price.
Calculators and guides on this site are educational estimates, not offers of credit and not financial, legal, tax, or credit advice. Actual terms depend on the lender, your state, verification, underwriting, and applicable law. StraightSum is not a lender, loan broker, or credit services organization. We do not make credit decisions, issue funds, set rates or fees, guarantee approval, or service loan accounts. The comparison uses illustrative rates and a fourteen-day renewal cycle; actual products vary by lender and state, and renewal is prohibited or limited in many states.