# What does it cost to use TradieFinance? > What you pay is the lender's rate and fees on the loan. Any broker fee or lender commission is disclosed in writing before you commit, so there are no surprises. Source: https://tradiefinance.co.nz/help/what-does-tradiefinance-cost Published: 2026-05-13T08:00:00.000Z Category: business-finance Tags: faq, business-finance Image: https://tradiefinance.co.nz/images/resources/generated/tradie/faq/what-does-tradiefinance-cost-primary.jpg Image alt: A tradie reviewing finance options for What does it cost to use TradieFinance? --- Fair question, and you should always ask it before you sign anything. The honest answer is simple: the cost you pay is the cost of the loan itself — the lender's interest rate plus whatever fees that lender charges. We are a broker, not a lender, so we are not the ones charging you the interest. Our job is to find you the right deal across our panel and lay the real numbers out before you commit. ## What you are actually paying for When you finance a ute, van, or a set of tools, there are really only a few moving parts: - **The interest rate.** Set by the lender we place you with, not by us. It depends on the lender, your business profile, the asset, the term, and any deposit. - **Lender fees.** Things like an establishment fee and a PPSR registration fee (the small charge to register the lender's [security interest on the PPSR](/glossary/security-interest-ppsr)). These vary by lender. - **Any broker fee or lender commission.** If a broker fee applies to your deal, or the lender pays us a commission for placing it, that gets disclosed to you in writing before you commit. No surprises buried in the fine print. We will not quote you a made-up rate or fee here, because we do not set them and they shift deal to deal. What we will do is put the real numbers from a real lender in front of you before you sign. ## How to compare the true cost, not just the rate The headline interest rate is the bit everyone looks at, but it is not the whole story. Two loans with the same rate can cost very different amounts once fees and the term are in. Two numbers worth getting your head around: - The [comparison rate](/glossary/comparison-rate) rolls the interest rate and most fees into one figure, so you can line loans up fairly instead of being dazzled by a low headline rate. - The [total cost of credit](/glossary/total-cost-of-credit) is the plain-English total of everything you will repay over the life of the loan — principal, interest, and fees added up. Here is an illustrative example to show why the term matters as much as the rate. Say you finance a $45,000 van. A loan with a slightly lower rate but a longer term can end up costing you more in total interest than a shorter loan at a touch higher rate — you are simply paying interest for more years. That is exactly the kind of trade-off we lay out side by side so you choose with your eyes open. There is more on this in [the real cost of a cheap finance rate](/blog/the-real-cost-of-a-cheap-finance-rate). Reputable lenders disclose the rate, fees, and total cost in writing before you sign — and genuine business-purpose finance sits largely outside the consumer CCCFA rules. Read that disclosure either way, and ask us to walk you through any line you do not understand. ## What we do for the legwork Here is where a broker earns their keep. Instead of you ringing five lenders, filling in five forms, and copping five credit checks, we take one set of your details and shop them across our [lender panel](/help/is-tradiefinance-a-lender-or-broker). We know which lenders like newer businesses, which are comfortable with [low-doc](/glossary/low-doc-loan) setups, and which are sharpest on a [chattel mortgage](/glossary/chattel-mortgage) for a work vehicle. That means you stay on the tools while we line up the options, then present the genuine costs so you can pick. If you want to clear it faster later, that is worth checking up front too — see [can I pay off tradie finance early](/help/can-i-pay-off-tradie-finance-early), because early-repayment terms differ by lender. For the full picture on getting set up, [how to apply for tradie finance](/guides/how-to-apply-for-tradie-finance) walks through the whole process. And as always, confirm the tax side — GST and depreciation — with your accountant or IRD, because that affects the real cost to your business too. No pressure, no jargon. [Book a call](/book-a-call) and we will run the actual numbers from our panel so you know exactly what it costs before you decide anything.