What a bridging loan comparison shows
A bridging loan is short-term property finance, often used while a borrower buys, sells, renovates or refinances a property. This page compares two offers for the same gross facility and expected holding period. It can help compare residential, auction, refurbishment, investment and commercial quotes when the quoted terms fit the options below.
The UK term is usually bridging finance or a bridging loan. Compare offers for the same amount and time: a lower monthly rate can still cost more if the interest method or fees differ. The result ranks only the figures entered. It does not assess whether a lender will approve an application or whether a loan suits your circumstances.
Enter each quote's rate and interest method
Choose the rate period shown on each offer. A monthly rate is used as quoted. An annual nominal rate is divided by 12 to get a monthly rate; an annual effective rate is converted to its equivalent monthly rate. Those are mathematical conversions, not claims that every UK lender quotes rates in the same way.
For paid monthly interest, the monthly payment is the gross loan multiplied by the monthly rate, and the total is that payment multiplied by the planned whole months. Simple interest due at exit uses gross loan × monthly rate × months. Monthly compounding adds unpaid interest to the balance each month. Retained simple interest uses the simple calculation but subtracts that amount from funds at drawdown. Select the method that matches the lender's written quote.
How fees, net advance and exit payoff are counted
Arrangement and broker fees are entered as percentages of the gross loan. Choose whether these percentage fees are withheld or paid separately. Enter legal, valuation, broker or other fixed costs in the upfront-cost field and choose their timing separately; withheld amounts reduce loan proceeds, while separately paid charges do not reduce the facility advance. An exit fee is a percentage of gross loan paid at exit.
Total finance cost is interest plus the entered arrangement, broker, other upfront and exit fees. It excludes repayment of principal. Net loan proceeds subtract retained simple interest and any percentage or fixed costs marked as withheld. Separately paid upfront costs are shown separately and then subtracted to calculate usable cash after all upfront costs. The cost-per-usable-cash output divides total finance cost by that day-one usable cash for the selected hold. This is an arithmetic ratio, not annualized and not APR/APRC; it does not make different usable cash amounts like-for-like. Fee timing alone does not change usable cash when the same charges are paid either way. The exit amount adds principal, any simple or compounded interest due at exit, and the exit fee. Interest already paid monthly or retained upfront is not counted again in the exit amount.
The tool does not calculate an APR or APRC. UK disclosure treatment can depend on the contract and applicable rules; a simple cost over a chosen holding period is not a regulated APRC calculation. The Financial Conduct Authority's MCOB rules describe relevant APRC provisions.
Worked example: £300,000 over nine months
Suppose Quote A charges 0.75% a month with simple interest retained upfront, a 2% arrangement fee, a 0.5% broker fee, £3,500 of other costs and a 1% exit fee. Interest is £300,000 × 0.75% × 9 = £20,250. The fees total £14,000, so finance cost is £34,250. With retained interest, percentage fees and fixed costs withheld, net loan proceeds and usable cash after all upfront costs are £268,750; the amount due at exit is £303,000. Cost per usable cash is £34,250 ÷ £268,750 = 0.1274 per £1 of usable cash over nine months; this is not annualized or APR.
Quote B charges 0.85% a month compounded monthly, a 1% arrangement fee and £3,000 of other costs withheld, with no exit fee. Interest is £300,000 × ((1 + 0.0085)^9 − 1) = £23,745.97. Finance cost is £29,745.97, net loan proceeds and usable cash are £294,000, and the amount due at exit is £323,745.97. The entered cost difference is £4,504.03 and usable cash differs by £25,250, so the lower total cost does not identify the lower-cost offer for the same funding need. Compare offers sized to the same usable cash. Cost per usable cash is 0.1012 per £1 over this hold, not APR.
Check the lender's early repayment and fee terms
This comparison assumes the planned whole-month term and the terms you enter stay unchanged. It does not infer minimum interest, daily accrual, retained-interest refunds, early-repayment charges, extension costs, staged drawdowns, variable rates or lender eligibility. A lender may apply any of these under its own offer. Check the facility letter for the fee base, payment timing, minimum period and exact exit amount before relying on a comparison.
To estimate a single bridging facility, use the UK bridging loan calculator .
For a commercial property quote, use the commercial bridging loan calculator to estimate one facility.
To model a quote priced by the day, use the daily interest bridging loan calculator .
Use the country-specific comparison page
This page uses UK bridging finance wording, pounds sterling and the UK comparison page's own article and defaults. The country selector above the calculator opens the separate US bridge loan comparison page. The two pages share only calculation methods where the quote conventions match; changing country does not convert an offer or make the country rules interchangeable.
Inputs for the bridging loan comparison calculator
Gross loan amount in each quote
Enter the same gross opening facility for both offers, before retained interest and withheld percentage fees.
Planned time to repay
Use the same expected holding period for both quotes. The comparison supports whole months from 1 to 60.
Quote A / Quote B interest rate
Copy the rate exactly as quoted, then select whether it is per month, annual nominal or annual effective.
Rate quoted per
Annual nominal divides by 12; annual effective is converted to an equivalent monthly rate. No daily basis is assumed.
Interest method
Choose monthly serviced, simple due at exit, monthly compound due at exit, or simple interest retained upfront.
Arrangement fee
Enter the percentage from the offer. This estimate calculates it on the gross loan amount.
Broker fee
Enter a percentage of the gross loan, or zero. This percentage uses the same withheld-or-separate choice as the arrangement fee.
Percentage fees taken
Choose whether arrangement and broker percentages are withheld from the loan or paid separately.
Other upfront costs
Enter fixed legal, valuation or other costs from the quote; choose whether they are withheld or paid separately.
Other costs paid
Choose whether fixed upfront costs reduce loan proceeds or are paid separately at completion.
Exit or payoff fee
Enter the exit fee as a percentage of gross loan. The fee is added to the amount due at exit.
CALCULATOR QUESTIONS
UK bridging loan comparison calculator questions
How do I compare two bridging loan quotes?
Use the same gross loan amount and expected term for both, then enter each quote’s rate, payment method, fees and fee timing. Compare finance cost, net loan proceeds, separately paid upfront costs and usable cash after all upfront costs. If usable cash differs, the offers do not fund the same amount.
Does a lower bridging loan rate always mean a cheaper quote?
No. Arrangement and broker fees, retained interest, compounding, monthly payments and exit fees can change the total cost. Compare the complete quote over the same period.
What does retained interest mean?
The lender reserves or deducts a simple interest amount from the funds at the start. This estimate subtracts the entered period's simple interest from net proceeds and does not assume a refund if you repay early.
Does this calculator tell me which lender to choose?
No. It compares entered costs only. It does not check eligibility, lender service, legal terms, property risk, fees not entered or whether a product suits you.
Does this calculate APR or APRC?
No. It estimates cash finance cost over your planned whole-month holding period. It does not apply statutory APR or APRC rules.
What is cost per usable cash?
It divides total entered finance cost by usable day-one cash after retained interest, withheld charges and separately paid upfront costs for the selected holding period. It is not annualized, APR or APRC. Paying a fee separately or having it withheld can leave the same usable cash when the same charge is included.
Can I compare UK bridging finance with a US bridge loan here?
Use the separate US bridge loan comparison page for US offers. Its terminology, currency and local context are different; the country selector opens that page.