APR and EAR

  • APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is the stated annual rate.
  • EAR (Effective Annual Rate) is the true annual rate after compounding.

Formula:

If compounding happens more than once a year, EAR is higher than APR.

This is why two loans with the same APR can still have different true borrowing costs.

This only makes sense together with Compound Interest & Simple Interest.