Honest about cost
Payday loan rates and fees, with nothing hidden
A payday loan is rarely priced as an interest rate. It's a flat fee per $100 borrowed — usually $10 to $30 — due in full on your next payday. That flat fee looks small until you convert it to an annual percentage rate (APR), which is how you compare it honestly to a credit card or an installment loan. This page shows the fee, the APR, and the math behind both, so the number you see is the number you'd actually pay.
Caps vary enormously by state. The same $500 loan can cost about $50 in fees in one state and $88 in another — and in a handful of states, payday lending is banned outright. We are not a lender and don't set these prices; we show your real offer from a state-licensed lender before you sign anything. Below is a state-by-state snapshot, three fully worked examples, and the APR formula explained.
The ledger
Rates and fees by state
A sample of ten states. For your state's full rules — cooling-off periods, rollover limits and licensing — see Payday Loans by State.
| State | Max amount | Max term | Fee per $100 | APR example* | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $500 | 10–31 days | $17.50 | ≈456% | ✅ Available |
| California | $300 | 31 days | $17.65 | 460% | ✅ Available |
| Colorado | $500 | 6 months | 36% cap | ≤36% | ✅ Available |
| Florida | $500 | 31 days | $10.00 | 304% | ✅ Available |
| Illinois | $1,000 | 120 days | 36% cap | ≤36% | ✅ Available |
| Ohio | $1,000 | 12 months | capped | ≈138% | ✅ Available |
| Texas | no cap | 180 days | varies | ≈664% | ✅ Available |
| Washington | $700 | 45 days | $15.00 | ≈391% | ✅ Available |
| New Jersey | — | — | — | — | 🚫 Prohibited |
| New York | — | — | — | — | 🚫 Prohibited |
Show your work
Three worked examples
Using a typical $15 fee per $100 borrowed. Your actual fee depends on your state and lender.
Borrow $300 · 14 days
Fee: $300 ÷ 100 × $15 = $45
You repay: $345 on your next payday.
APR = ($45 / $300) × (365 / 14) × 100 ≈ 391%
Borrow $500 · 14 days
Fee: $500 ÷ 100 × $15 = $75
You repay: $575 on your next payday.
APR = ($75 / $500) × (365 / 14) × 100 ≈ 391%
Borrow $1,000 · 30 days
Fee: $1,000 ÷ 100 × $15 = $150
You repay: $1,150 in 30 days.
APR = ($150 / $1,000) × (365 / 30) × 100 ≈ 183%
Notice how the APR drops in the third example even though the fee per $100 is identical — a longer term spreads the same flat fee across more days. That's exactly why APR, not the dollar fee alone, is the fair way to compare two loans. A $45 fee on a one-week loan is far more expensive per day than a $150 fee on a one-month loan.
The math, explained
How payday loan APR is calculated
APR annualizes the cost of borrowing so loans of different lengths can be compared on equal footing. For a single-payment payday loan, the formula is:
Working through it step by step for a $500 loan with a $75 fee over 14 days:
- Cost as a fraction of the loan: $75 ÷ $500 = 0.15 (you pay 15% of the amount in fees).
- Annualize it: a 14-day term repeats 365 ÷ 14 ≈ 26.07 times in a year.
- Multiply: 0.15 × 26.07 = 3.91, then × 100 = 391% APR.
The reason payday APRs look so dramatic compared to, say, a 24% credit card is the short term: a fee that's modest for two weeks becomes enormous when you imagine paying it every two weeks for a full year. Most borrowers don't keep the loan a year — but the APR is still the honest yardstick for what the credit costs while you have it.
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