The most common mistake in comparing bridging loan quotes is focusing on the monthly rate alone. A lower rate does not always mean a lower total cost once arrangement fees, exit fees, and the interest structure are factored in. A quote at 0.70% per month with a 2% arrangement fee and a 1% exit fee can cost more overall than a quote at 0.85% per month with a 1% arrangement fee and no exit fee, depending on the term. The only reliable comparison is one that models the full cost of each facility, including the net advance and the redemption amount, and puts them next to each other.
This tool does exactly that. Enter two bridging loan quotes and it calculates the total cost of finance, the net advance, the cost per pound borrowed, and the daily cost for each. The early exit slider shows which quote is cheaper at any given exit month, including the break-even point where one overtakes the other. All figures are illustrative and the tool does not constitute financial advice.
At a Glance
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Total cost alone can be misleading when two quotes have different net advances.
A quote with retained interest costs less in total but delivers less cash on day one. A quote with rolled-up interest delivers more cash but the redemption amount is higher. Comparing total cost without also comparing net advance can lead to choosing the quote that looks cheaper but does not actually put enough money in the borrower’s hands to complete the transaction. The tool shows both figures side by side.
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The cost-per-pound metric is the fairest single comparison number.
Cost per pound borrowed divides the total cost of finance by the net advance received. It answers: for every pound that actually reaches you at completion, how much does the facility cost? This metric accounts for the net advance difference that total cost alone misses. A quote that costs more in total but delivers substantially more cash can produce a lower cost per pound, making it the more efficient facility.
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The cheaper quote at full term may not be the cheaper quote if you exit early.
Interest structures accumulate cost differently. Retained interest is typically rebated for unused months on early exit. Rolled-up interest stops compounding. Serviced payments cease immediately. This means the ranking of two quotes can reverse depending on when the bridge is actually repaid. The early exit slider shows the total cost of each quote at every possible exit month, including the crossover point where one overtakes the other.
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A bridging loan illustration should answer five specific questions before you can compare fairly.
The interest structure (serviced, retained, or rolled-up), the net advance, the redemption amount, any minimum interest periods, and the terms for early exit or extension. Without answers to all five, two quotes cannot be placed on a level playing field. This tool models the first four; minimum interest periods and extensions are covered in the early exit modeller.
Interactive tool
Bridging loan quote comparator
Enter two bridging loan quotes side by side to see which delivers more cash on day one, costs less overall, and produces the better cost per pound borrowed.
All figures are illustrative. Nothing you enter is stored or transmitted.
Shared deal inputs
Quote A
Quote B
What if you exit early?
Slide to see how the total cost of each quote changes at different exit months.
Retained interest is calculated as simple monthly interest on the gross loan for the full term, deducted at drawdown. Rolled-up interest compounds monthly on the outstanding balance. Serviced interest is paid monthly and does not reduce the net advance or increase the redemption amount. Exit fees are calculated on the gross loan. Early exit figures assume retained interest is rebated for unused months and that no minimum interest period applies. This tool does not constitute financial advice. All figures are illustrative only.
About this tool
What it compares
Two full bridging loan quotes on the same deal
Enter the shared gross loan and term, then set each quote’s rate, arrangement fee, exit fee, interest structure, and legal/valuation costs independently. The tool calculates the total cost of finance, net advance, redemption amount, cost per pound borrowed, and daily cost for each. A stacked cost bar shows where the money goes in each quote, and a verdict block identifies the stronger option with a plain-language explanation of why.
Key features
Cost-per-pound metric and early exit crossover
The cost-per-pound figure (total cost divided by net advance) is the fairest single comparison metric because it accounts for net advance differences that total cost alone misses. The early exit slider recalculates both quotes at any exit month from 1 to the full term, showing which is cheaper at each point and identifying the break-even month where one overtakes the other.
How to use the quote comparator
The tool works best when the borrower has received at least two indicative quotes or illustrations from lenders or a broker and wants to see which one is actually cheaper once all the costs are accounted for. The default values show a common scenario where a lower-rate quote with higher fees competes against a higher-rate quote with lower fees, which is the exact comparison that the headline rate alone cannot resolve.
Set the shared deal inputs
Use the gross loan slider to set the facility size and the term slider to set the planned duration in months. Both quotes are modelled on the same loan and term because they are competing for the same deal. If one lender has offered a different gross loan, adjust the shared figure to reflect the amount you would actually draw from each.
Enter each quote’s pricing and structure
For each quote, set the monthly rate, arrangement fee percentage, exit fee percentage, interest structure (retained, rolled-up, or serviced), and the combined legal and valuation fee estimate. The interest structure pills are critical: a retained quote deducts interest from the net advance at drawdown while a rolled-up quote compounds interest onto the balance at redemption. These differences are where the comparison matters most. The guide to rolled-up vs retained vs serviced interest explains how each structure works mechanically.
Read the comparison across all four metrics
The four comparison tiles show the difference in total cost, net advance, cost per pound, and daily cost. If the same quote wins on all four, the decision is clear. If one quote is cheaper but the other delivers more cash, the cost-per-pound metric resolves the tie by measuring efficiency rather than absolute cost. The cost bars show where each quote’s money goes, making it visible whether the cost difference comes from interest, fees, or both.
Use the early exit slider to test the comparison at different exit points
If there is any realistic possibility of repaying the bridge before the full term (a sale that completes early, a refinance that progresses faster than planned), slide the exit month back and check whether the ranking changes. A quote with higher fees but lower interest may be more expensive on a short bridge but cheaper on a long one, or the reverse. The break-even month, if one exists, tells you exactly where the switch happens.
Why total cost alone is misleading
Total cost of finance is the sum of all interest, arrangement fees, exit fees, and other costs. It is the single most commonly used comparison metric, and for straightforward comparisons where two quotes have the same interest structure and similar fees, it works well enough. The problem arises when two quotes have different interest structures, because the structure affects the net advance, the amount that actually arrives at completion.
A retained interest quote deducts the full interest upfront, reducing the net advance. A rolled-up quote does not reduce the net advance but adds the interest to the redemption amount. If Quote A costs £25,000 in total and delivers £270,000 at drawdown, while Quote B costs £28,000 in total but delivers £290,000, the total cost comparison says Quote A is cheaper. But the borrower who needs £285,000 to complete the transaction cannot use Quote A at all, regardless of its lower cost. The net advance is not a secondary detail: it determines whether the deal can physically complete. The guide to gross vs net borrowing explains this dynamic in full.
The cost-per-pound metric explained
Cost per pound borrowed divides the total cost of finance by the net advance. If a facility costs £25,000 and delivers £270,000, the cost per pound is 9.3p. If another facility costs £28,000 and delivers £290,000, the cost per pound is 9.7p. The first is more efficient per pound of usable funds, even though both the total cost and net advance are lower.
This metric is most useful when two quotes have different interest structures. It resolves the ambiguity that total cost and net advance individually cannot, because it expresses cost relative to what the borrower actually receives. A broker comparing quotes on behalf of a client would naturally think in these terms: the cost of the facility relative to what it delivers. Making the metric visible gives borrowers the same analytical lens. The bridging loan fees guide breaks down every cost component that contributes to the numerator of this calculation.
How early exit changes the comparison
Bridging loan costs accumulate differently depending on the interest structure. With serviced interest, monthly payments stop the moment the loan is redeemed. With retained interest, unused months are typically rebated, so early exit reduces the effective interest cost. With rolled-up interest, the compounding stops and the redemption is based on the balance at the actual exit month, not the full term.
This creates situations where the cheaper quote at 12 months is the more expensive quote at 6 months. A facility with a high arrangement fee but a low rate starts expensive (the fee is a fixed cost regardless of term) but becomes relatively cheaper per month as the term extends. A facility with a low fee but a high rate starts cheap but the interest accumulates faster. The early exit slider quantifies this by recalculating both quotes at every exit month, and the break-even point, if one exists, identifies exactly where the ranking changes. The early exit modeller covers minimum interest periods and retained interest rebate mechanics in more detail for borrowers who expect to exit before the full term.
How to read a bridging loan illustration
A bridging loan illustration or indicative terms document should answer five specific questions before the borrower can compare it fairly against another. First, is the interest serviced, retained, or rolled-up, and if retained, for what period? Second, what is the net advance after all deductions? Third, what is the redemption amount at the planned exit? Fourth, is there a minimum interest period, and if so how many months must be paid regardless of when the bridge is repaid? Fifth, what happens if the loan runs beyond the planned term or is repaid early?
This tool models the first four of those questions. The fifth, covering extensions and early exit penalties, is addressed by the delay calculator and the early exit modeller respectively. The existing article on comparing commercial bridging quotes covers the full checklist for evaluating an illustration, including points specific to commercial property and development finance.
Related tools
Interest structures
Rolled-up vs retained vs serviced interest
The three interest structures produce different net advances, redemption amounts, and sensitivities to delay. This guide explains the mechanics of each with worked examples and an interactive cost-of-delay calculator. Read the guide
Cost modelling
Bridging loan calculator
For modelling a single bridging scenario in detail, the core cost calculator takes gross loan, rate, term, and fees and shows the net advance, total cost, and cost breakdown. Use it alongside this comparator to model each quote individually before comparing. Use the tool
Not sure what to look at next?
All of our bridging loan guides and tools in one placeFrequently asked questions
Why might the quote with the lower rate be more expensive overall?
Because the rate is only one component of the total cost. The arrangement fee, exit fee, and other costs (legal, valuation) are all additive. A quote at 0.70% per month with a 2% arrangement fee and a 1% exit fee on a £300,000 loan adds £6,000 in arrangement fees and £3,000 in exit fees on top of the interest. A quote at 0.85% per month with a 1% arrangement fee and no exit fee adds only £3,000 in arrangement fees and no exit fee. The interest on the second quote is higher, but the fee saving may more than offset it depending on the term. The tool calculates the total cost of each to resolve this directly.
What does “cost per pound borrowed” actually measure?
It measures the total cost of the facility divided by the net advance received. If a bridging loan costs £30,000 in total (interest plus all fees) and the net advance is £275,000, the cost per pound is approximately 10.9p. This means for every pound that actually reaches the borrower at completion, the facility costs 10.9 pence. The metric is useful because it accounts for net advance differences. Two quotes with identical total costs but different net advances have different costs per pound, and the one that delivers more cash per unit of cost is the more efficient facility.
Can I compare quotes with different interest structures?
Yes, and this is one of the main reasons this tool exists. Each quote has its own interest structure selector (retained, rolled-up, or serviced). Comparing a retained quote against a rolled-up quote is one of the most common and most confusing comparisons in bridging finance, because the retained quote reduces the net advance while the rolled-up quote increases the redemption amount. The total cost figures may be similar, but the practical implications for day-one funds and end-of-term obligations are very different. The tool shows all of these figures side by side so the borrower can see the full picture rather than comparing headline numbers in isolation.
How does the early exit slider work?
The slider recalculates both quotes as if the bridge were repaid at the selected month rather than the full term. For retained interest, it assumes the lender rebates unused retained interest for the months not used. For rolled-up interest, it stops compounding at the selected month. For serviced interest, it stops the monthly payments. The total cost at each exit month is shown for both quotes, along with which is cheaper and the difference. If a break-even month exists (where the ranking changes), it is identified in the verdict text. This feature is particularly useful when the borrower expects to exit early and wants to know whether that changes which quote is the better option.
Should I always choose the quote with the lower cost per pound?
In most cases, the lower cost per pound is the more efficient facility and therefore the better choice. However, there are practical situations where net advance overrides efficiency. If the transaction requires a specific amount to complete and only one quote delivers enough net advance to reach that figure, the net advance constraint is binding regardless of the cost per pound. The tool shows both metrics precisely so the borrower can see whether the more efficient quote is also the one that delivers enough cash. If it is, the decision is clear. If it is not, the borrower needs to weigh the additional cost against the practical necessity of completing the transaction.
Squaring Up
Comparing bridging loan quotes on the headline rate alone is one of the most common and most consequential mistakes in property finance. The total cost of a bridging facility is shaped by the interaction of at least five variables (rate, arrangement fee, exit fee, interest structure, and term), and changing any one of them can reverse the ranking of two quotes that looked clear on the rate alone.
This tool makes the comparison unambiguous by calculating every cost component for each quote and presenting them side by side, with the cost-per-pound metric as the fairest single resolution when total cost and net advance point in different directions. The early exit slider adds a dimension that no other comparison tool provides: the ability to see how the ranking changes at different exit points, which matters because most bridges are repaid before the full term.
Continue your research
Guides, calculators, and comparators covering every aspect of bridging finance Explore guides and toolsThis tool is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Retained interest calculations assume simple monthly interest on the gross loan, rebated for unused months on early exit. Rolled-up interest assumes monthly compounding on the outstanding balance. Exit fees are calculated on the gross loan amount. The tool does not model minimum interest periods, extension fees, or lender-specific early redemption terms, which can affect the actual cost of early exit. Your property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on a bridging loan. Actual outcomes will depend on your individual circumstances and the specific terms offered by the lender.
