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APR, fees and true cost
Worked examples at $100 and $500, plus the fee most borrowers miss.
6 min read
Cash Advance Calculator
Free tool · Last updated November 2026 · Cash Advance Lenders Loans Editorial Team
Nearly every US cash advance app advertises 0% APR and charges elsewhere. This calculator converts those fees back into the number that lets you compare: the effective annualised rate.
What will your cash advance actually cost?
Enter your situation to see the real annualised rate behind the 0% APR claim. Presets are starting estimates — type your own fee to override them.
$5.98
Cost per advance
$11.96
Cost per month
104%
Effective APR
How the calculation works
Three inputs drive the result. The fee is whatever that provider charges for the delivery speed you picked, taken from its published schedule. The subscription, where one applies, is divided across the number of advances you take in a month, because you pay it whether you borrow once or four times. The term is how long you hold the money before repayment.
From there the maths is the same as any credit product: cost divided by amount gives the rate for the period, and multiplying by 365 divided by the term annualises it. A $5.98 all-in cost on a $150 advance held 14 days is 3.99% for the fortnight, or about 104% a year.
What this tool is and is not. It is an estimate built from published fee schedules, intended for comparison between providers. It is not a quote, and it does not account for tips, promotional pricing, or fees your own bank may charge if a repayment debit fails. Actual terms are set by the lender.
Three things the numbers usually reveal
Small advances cost the most. A flat fee is a larger share of $50 than of $500. Borrowing the smallest amount that solves the problem is not always the cheapest decision when fees are flat.
Subscriptions only pay off at volume. A $14.99 plan spread over one advance a month is expensive; across four it starts to compete with pay-per-use providers. If you borrow rarely, a free-tier app will almost always win.
Standard delivery is the biggest single saving. On every provider in this tool, moving from instant to the free tier removes the per-advance fee entirely. If the expense can wait one to three days, that is the cheapest change available to you.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate the effective APR on a cash advance?
Divide the total you pay by the amount advanced to get the cost as a percentage, then annualise it over the number of days you hold the money. A $5 fee on a $100 advance repaid in 14 days is 5% for a fortnight, which annualises to roughly 130%.
Why does a 0% APR advance still have an effective APR?
Providers charge a flat fee or a monthly subscription instead of interest. The money still costs something over a period of time, so the arithmetic that produces an APR still applies. The label changes; the cost does not.
Does a monthly subscription count toward the cost of one advance?
Yes. The calculator spreads the subscription across the number of advances you take that month, because the fee is incurred whether you borrow once or four times. Lower your advance frequency and the per-advance cost of a subscription app rises sharply.