Is a 10% APR Good or Bad? (2024)

FAQs

Is a 10 APR good or bad? ›

It depends on the type of card you're looking at, as well as your own credit. A credit card APR below 10% is definitely good, but you may have to go to a local bank or credit union to find it. The Federal Reserve tracks credit card interest rates, and an APR below the average would also be considered good.

Generally, what's considered a bad interest rate is anything higher than 10%. Ideally, you want to get an interest rate that's below 5% — but with little or bad credit, that can be harder to achieve.

A 10% annual interest rate means you pay 10% of the outstanding balance per year until it's paid off. APR is the total cost of borrowing money, and it's always expressed as an annual percentage. While it includes the interest rate, it also includes any other fees the borrower must pay.

APR can vary enormously between lenders. As a general benchmark, 10.9% is considered a good APR for a borrower with an excellent credit score. With a good broker, applicants with excellent credit scores shouldn't need to settle for anything lower than 10.9%.

A 10% APR is good for credit cards and personal loans, as it's cheaper than average. On the other hand, a 10% APR is not good for mortgages, student loans, or auto loans, as it's far higher than what most borrowers should expect to pay. A 10% APR is good for a credit card.

Anything below the average credit card interest rate — 23.55% for new offers, as of February 2023, according to a LendingTree study — is generally considered a good APR, and anything above that rate is considered high.

Yes it is, and 10% interest on a car loan is quite high. You need to think about how a payment that high would fit into your monthly budget.

Yes, 9.99% is a good personal loan rate for people with good credit. Applicants with a credit score of 660+ could qualify for a personal loan with a 9.99% APR if they choose the right lender and have enough income to afford the loan.

An APR is considered to be a good rate when it is at or below the national average, which currently sits at 20.40%, according to the Fed. This means that a credit card offering a fixed rate lower than 20.40% or a variable rate with a maximum of 20.40% would be considered a good APR for the average borrower.

If you are going for more conventional finance such as a PCP deal, and your credit score is near perfect then you are likely to pay around 6% to 11% APR. If you are near-prime (basically meaning you have a good credit score, but it's not excellent) then expect to pay from 12% to 19%.

What is an example of a 10 APR? ›

APR Examples

Suppose you lend me $20 for a year at 10% interest. At the end of the year I will owe you 20 + (20 x 10%) = 20 + 2 = $22. Now, 2/20 = 0.10, so the APR is 10%. This is a one-year loan at an interest rate of 10% and an APR of 10%.

This means any interest rate below the current threshold of 22% can be considered “good,” although it's important to remember that credit cards charge higher interest rates than other financial products like personal loans.

The annual percentage rate (APR) is the cost of borrowing on a credit card. It refers to the yearly interest rate you'll pay if you carry a balance, plus any fees associated with the card. APR often varies by card. For example, you may have one card with an APR of 9.99% and another with an APR of 14.99%.

Key takeaways. Your credit card APR can go up if the prime rate changes, you paid your credit card bill late, your intro APR offer ended or your credit score dropped. If your APR increases, you can work on paying down your balance or transfer your balance to a card with a low or 0 percent intro APR offer.

A good rate is generally somewhere between about 3% to 13%, give or take, depending on credit score. Learn more about the average new and used car loans based on credit scores and the APR, or Annual Percentage Rate, for that average.

What is a good APR for a car loan with my credit score and desired vehicle? If you have excellent credit (750 or higher), the average auto loan rates are 5.07% for a new car and 5.32% for a used car. If you have good credit (700-749), the average auto loan rates are 6.02% for a new car and 6.27% for a used car.