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Debt & Housing

BNPL True Cost

Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm add interest, late fees, and missed payment penalties. See the real cost of buy now pay later versus the sticker price.
True Cost Of This Purchase
$0
Sticker price plus interest and fees
Extra You Pay
$0
Above the sticker price
Effective Markup
0%
On the original price
Where Your Money Goes
💡 The Real Price
Interest is estimated with standard installment amortization on the plan APR. Pay-in-4 plans are often 0% but charge late fees. Actual terms vary by provider.
🏛 Predictable Income

The BNPL True Cost Calculator

The BNPL True Cost calculator pulls back the curtain on buy now, pay later plans like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm. These services market themselves as free and frictionless, but many plans carry interest on longer terms, and a single missed installment can trigger late fees that stack up fast. This tool adds those interest charges and late fees to the sticker price, then expresses the total as an effective markup, so you can see exactly how much that interest-free convenience can actually cost.

To use it, enter the purchase price, the interest rate or fees the plan charges, the number of installments, and any late fees you expect to incur. The hero shows the true total cost once everything is added in. The stat cards break out the interest and fees against the original price, and the chart compares the sticker price with what you really pay. The effective markup translates it all into a single, honest percentage.

The danger of BNPL is that it makes spending feel smaller than it is by splitting a price into bite-sized chunks. That can encourage purchases you would skip if you saw the full number, and stacking several plans at once makes it easy to lose track. Seeing the true cost and the markup helps you treat BNPL as the borrowing it is, so you keep more of your money and only use it when the math actually works.