Personal loan costs, side by side
The interest rate range and fees South African lenders publish for an unsecured personal loan, copied from each lender's own page and linked back to it, plus what the instalment comes to at the lowest and highest published rate for the amount and term you enter. Your actual rate is set from your credit profile. The table is in lender-name order — we don't rank or recommend.
- 8 lenders
- 4 of 8 with published figures
- Legal maximum rate 28.25% a year
- Fee caps R1 207.50 initiation, R69 a month
- Last checked
Total cost at the highest published rate
R50 000 over 60 months.
Lender-name order, not a ranking. Sort the table and the chart follows.
| Lender | Product | Rate from | Rate up to | Initiation fee | Monthly service fee | Loan amounts | Term | Instalment at lowest rate | Instalment at highest rate | Total cost at highest rate | Notes | Source | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absa | Personal loan | 13.75% | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | ? - R350 000 | 12 - 84 months | R1 157 | Data pending | Data pending | Rate is personalised, starting from 13.75% a year. The page names no fee amounts - its example (R50 000 over 36 months at 18%, R2 113 a month) includes all service and initiation fees. Terms from 2 months for existing Absa customers. | Absa personal loan page | |
| African Bank | Personal loan | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | African Bank's site blocked our check on 2 Nov 2026, so no figure is shown. | African Bank personal loans page | |
| Capitec | Personal loan | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Capitec's site blocked our check on 2 Nov 2026, so no figure is shown. | Capitec credit rates and fees page | |
| DirectAxis | Personal loan | Data pending | 28.25% | Data pending | R69 | R5 000 - R350 000 | 24 - 72 months | Data pending | R1 564 | Data pending | The loan calculator shows one rate, 28.25% a year, and a R69 monthly service fee. It shows the initiation fee as R0.00 at its default setting, which we do not take as the fee on every loan. | DirectAxis personal loans page | |
| FNB | Personal loan | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | FNB's site blocked our check on 2 Nov 2026 (browser check), so no figure is shown. | FNB personal loan page | |
| Nedbank | Personal loan | 10.75% | 28.25% | R1 207.50 | R69 | R2 000 - R400 000 | 6 - 84 months | R1 081 | R1 564 | R99 208 | Rate is personalised; the page's example rate range is 10.75% to 28.25%. Its representative example (R50 000 over 84 months) shows a R1 207.50 initiation fee, R69 a month, R1 923.47 a month and R115 408.20 in total, at a stated maximum of 29.25%. The R2 000 minimum and 6-month shortest term are from the page's calculator. | Nedbank personal loans page | |
| Standard Bank | Personal loan | Data pending | 28.25% | R1 207.50 | R69 | R1 000 - R300 000 | 12 - 72 months | Data pending | R1 564 | R99 208 | Rate is personalised, up to prime + 17.5% (28.25% at prime 10.75%). Initiation fee ranges from R419.75 to R1 207.50 including VAT - the table uses the top of the range. R69 a month for all loans. | Standard Bank personal loans page | |
| TymeBank | Personal loan | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | Data pending | TymeBank's loan page shows no figures without its app or scripts (checked 2 Nov 2026), so none are shown. | TymeBank personal loans page |
Rates and fees are as each lender publishes them, including VAT. "Instalment" is the standard monthly repayment of the loan amount over the term at that rate, before the service fee and any credit life insurance. "Total cost at highest rate" is every instalment plus every monthly service fee plus the initiation fee, paid up front. "Outside this lender's range" means the amount or term you entered is outside what the lender says it lends. Click a heading to sort; click again to reverse, a third time for lender order.
How to read the table
- The highest interest an unsecured loan may charge is the repo rate plus 21% - 28.25% a year at today's repo rate of 7.25%, the same as prime plus 17.5% (National Credit Regulations, reg. 42, checked 2 November 2026).
- The initiation fee is capped at R1 050 before VAT - R1 207.50 with VAT: R165 plus 10% of the loan above R1 000, up to that maximum (reg. 42).
- The monthly service fee is capped at R60 before VAT - R69 with VAT (National Credit Regulations, reg. 44, checked 2 November 2026).
- Short-term loans of up to R8 000 over 6 months or less have a different cap: 5% a month on a first loan, 3% on later loans in the same year (reg. 42) - they are not in this table.
- Credit life insurance is not in the totals - lenders can require cover, and you may use your own policy.
- A figure we could not read off the lender's own page shows "Data pending" - we leave it blank rather than guess.
Facts, not advice. This is published rate and fee information and a standard repayment sum, shown side by side. MaxWealth does not rank, recommend or sell any loan, and is not paid by any lender. Your rate depends on your credit profile - confirm the full cost in the lender's pre-agreement quote before you sign.