Direct lender · United States

Laurel Road vs Navy Federal Credit Union: the interest at the ceiling, not the advertised rate

At the top of each published range, a $30,000 loan over 10 years costs $17,077 in interest with Laurel Road and $21,234 with the other — a difference of $4,157 over the life of the loan.

The advertised floors are 4.74% and 4.20%, which is the opposite order: the lender with the lower advertised rate has the higher top of range.

Side by side

Both columns use the fixed-rate product where the lender publishes a full range for it, on the basis the lender advertises.

The product each lender publishes a full range for, United States rates, on a $30,000 balance. Sources: Laurel Road checked 2026-08-25 and Navy Federal Credit Union checked 2026-08-25.
	Laurel Road	Navy Federal Credit Union
Product compared	Fixed	Fixed
Published APR range	4.74% to 9.75% with autopay	4.20% to 11.80% with autopay
Terms listed	5, 7, 10, 15, 20 years	5, 10, 15 years
Minimum loan	$5,000	not stated
Origination fee	none	none
Interest at the ceiling, 5 years	$8,024	$9,858
Interest at the ceiling, 7 years	$11,510	n/a
Interest at the ceiling, 10 years	$17,077	$21,234
Interest at the ceiling, 15 years	$27,206	$34,116
Interest at the ceiling, 20 years	$38,293	n/a
Interest at the floor, 10 years	$7,728	$6,791
Gap between floor and ceiling	$9,350	$14,443
Monthly payment at the ceiling, 10 years	$392	$427
Loan made by	KeyBank	not confirmed

Lenders do not publish on the same basis. Most print the range with a 0.25 point autopay discount already taken off; some print it before the discount; some do not say. We print the figure as published and label the basis where the lender states it. We do not add or remove the discount, because a figure we adjusted could not be checked against the lender's page.

How that is worked out

monthly rate = APR / 1200 payments = years x 12 monthly payment = balance x monthly rate / (1 - (1 + monthly rate) ^ -payments) interest over life = monthly payment x payments - balance + origination fee at the ceiling = the same, with the top of the published range at the floor = the same, with the bottom of the published range the gap = interest at the ceiling - interest at the floor

Nothing else is added. The rate you are offered, any lender-specific discount you do or do not qualify for, and variable-rate movements are not in any figure on this site, because they depend on you and on the future. Where a lender states an origination fee it is added once. The published range is used exactly as printed: where the lender says the range already includes its autopay discount, we say so and do not add it back. The full method is at Method.

Where does the answer change?

The order above holds only under the conditions listed here.

The answer flips between the floor and the ceiling. If you are offered each lender's best rate, Navy Federal Credit Union costs less; at the top of the range the other one does. Which end you land at is decided by the lender's offer, not by this page.
Do not decide yet if $4,157 over the life of the loan is smaller than the $14,443 gap between one lender's own floor and ceiling, which it is here; the rate you are actually offered moves the answer more than the choice of lender.

Who this is not for

This compares published rate ranges and nothing else. It is not a judgment about service, hardship options or underwriting, and we have not borrowed from either lender. If the two ceilings are close, this page will not decide it for you and should not.

Sources

Laurel Road rates page. checked 2026-08-25
Navy Federal Credit Union rates page. checked 2026-08-25

Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from the sources' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.