# The Credit Compass

> India's neutral, source-linked loan guide. We publish interest rates, eligibility rules, fees, and government scheme criteria for home, personal, education, and vehicle loans, sourced directly from official bank and RBI publications. No commissions. No referral links.

## Core Features & Sections

### 1. Today's Lowest Advertised Loan Rates
- **RBI Repo Rate**: 6.50% (Sets the benchmark for all external benchmark linked floating rate loans - EBLR/RLLR).
- **Home Loans**: From 8.40% p.a.
- **Personal Loans**: From 10.50% p.a.
- **Education Loans**: From 8.15% p.a.
- **Vehicle Loans**: From 8.70% p.a.

### 2. The True Cost of Borrowing
The advertised interest rate is not the total cost. The real repayment cost includes:
- **Processing Fees**: Typically 0.5% to 2% of the loan amount.
- **18% GST**: Applicable on all processing fees, documentation charges, and legal fees.
- **Bundled Insurance**: Optional credit life or home insurance policies often pushed by lenders.
- **Prepayment Math**: Floating-rate term loans to individuals for non-business purposes have **0% prepayment penalties** under the RBI (Pre-payment Charges on Loans) Directions, 2025, for loans sanctioned or renewed on or after 1 January 2026.

### 3. Key Decision Tools
- **Affordability Checker** (`/affordability-checker`): Stress-test household income against EMI commitments (safe FOIR < 40-50%).
- **Debt Payoff Planner** (`/tools/debt-planner`): Compare Avalanche (highest interest rate first) vs Snowball (lowest balance first).
- **Rate Comparison Matrix** (`/compare`): Side-by-side comparison across 9 top Indian lenders (SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Axis, Kotak, Bank of Baroda, PNB, Yes Bank).
- **Red Flags** (`/red-flags`): 10 predatory lending traps paired with specific RBI circular citations.

### Canonical Links
- [Loan Calculators & Tools](https://www.thecreditcompass.in/calculators)
- [Methodology](https://www.thecreditcompass.in/methodology)
- [Raw Data](https://www.thecreditcompass.in/data)
- [About Us](https://www.thecreditcompass.in/about)
- [LLMs Overview](https://www.thecreditcompass.in/llms.txt)