# Pricing & Independence Policy

> **100% Free Forever for All Indian Borrowers. Zero Commissions. Zero Ads. Zero Spam.**

The Credit Compass is a free, non-commercial financial education and retail loan comparison platform.

## Pricing Structure
- **Platform Fee**: ₹0 (All calculators, guides, and comparison tables are completely free).
- **Subscription Tier**: None. No paywalls, premium tiers, or gated tools.
- **Data Privacy**: No phone number collection, no selling data to lead aggregators, and zero telecaller spam.

## 4 Pillars of Independence
1. **Zero Bank Commissions**: We earn ₹0 in referral fees, affiliate payouts, or origination commissions from SBI, HDFC, ICICI, or any other lender.
2. **Zero Sponsored Listings**: Bank rankings and calculator results are purely mathematical, based on official rate cards and APR calculations.
3. **Primary Sourced Only**: Rates, spreads (over Repo/MCLR), and fees are directly sourced from RBI notifications, bank rate schedules, and IBA guidelines.
4. **Public Interest Research**: Self-funded and operated as an open educational utility to eliminate information asymmetry in Indian retail credit.

## Comparison: The Credit Compass vs Traditional Loan Aggregators (DSAs)
| Dimension | The Credit Compass | Traditional Loan Aggregators |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **User Cost** | ₹0 / 100% Free Forever | Free, but requires phone & OTP |
| **Lender Kickbacks** | Zero commissions | 0.5% – 2.5% commission per loan |
| **Recommendations** | Neutral, mathematical APR ranking | Biased toward highest commission payout |
| **Spam Calls** | Zero spam calls or lead selling | Number shared with 5–10 DSA call centers |
| **Fee Transparency** | Explicit 18% GST & hidden charges | Often obscured to show lower teaser rates |

## Safe Borrower Action Flow
1. **Benchmark & Calculate**: Use The Credit Compass to compute true borrowing costs and safe FOIR limits.
2. **Demand KFS**: Request a standardized RBI Key Fact Statement (KFS) from the bank before signing.
3. **Apply Directly**: Submit applications directly on the official bank portal (e.g., SBI YONO, HDFC NetBanking) or at the branch.
4. **Verify Prepayment Rights**: Ensure zero prepayment penalties under RBI circular RBI/2014-15/181 for individual floating-rate loans.