APR

APR, or annual percentage rate, expresses the yearly cost of borrowing by combining the interest rate with many of the fees a loan or credit product carries. Because those costs are folded in, it is generally the fairer figure for comparing similar offers.

It does not capture compounding the way APY does, and the exact rules on what an APR must include depend on where you live. People often compare headline rates and miss the fees that APR is designed to expose.