No cost EMI calculator

What this tool shows

This no cost EMI calculator shows what you actually pay when a phone, laptop, TV or appliance is offered on "0% EMI". Enter the price, the tenure, the lender's interest rate behind the offer, the processing fee, and any instant discount you would get by paying in full.

Here is how the offer works. The bank or card issuer still charges its normal interest. The seller gives you an upfront discount equal to that interest, so your EMIs add up to the sticker price. What the discount does not cover is the 18% GST on the interest, the processing fee and the GST on that fee. Those show up on your statement.

The biggest hidden cost is often not on the EMI at all. Many sellers give a few thousand rupees off for full payment by UPI or debit card and quietly drop it when you choose no cost EMI. If that is the case, put the amount in the last field and the calculator counts it as part of the cost.

How to use this tool

1. Enter the product price you will split into EMIs. Use the checkout price, not the MRP.
2. Pick the tenure in months. Most no cost EMI plans run for 3, 6, 9 or 12 months.
3. Enter the lender's interest rate behind the offer. Card issuers usually price these between 13% and 18% a year; the exact rate is on the EMI plan screen or in the card's terms.
4. Enter the processing fee before GST. Many cards charge ₹99 to ₹299 per EMI conversion. Use 0 if the offer says no fee.
5. If paying in full would get you an instant discount, enter it under cash discount you give up. Leave it at 0 if the price is the same either way.
6. Read the real cost and the effective annual cost. Compare that with paying in full, or with a card's interest-free period if you can clear the bill on time.

Where the cost hides in a no cost EMI

Interest is charged, then refunded upfront. On a ₹60,000 phone over 6 months at 16%, the lender's interest is about ₹2,703. The seller knocks that off the price, so you repay six EMIs of ₹10,000. The interest is real; you just do not see it.

GST applies to the interest even though the seller paid it. At 18%, that is about ₹487 on the same phone. Banks add it month by month, so it is easy to miss among card charges.

Processing fees add a fixed amount. A ₹199 fee becomes about ₹235 with GST. On a small purchase or a 3-month plan, that fee is a large share of the total cost.

Longer plans cost more. Stretch the same phone to 12 months and the GST on interest rises to about ₹881, because the lender charges interest for longer.

The discount you give up can dwarf everything else. If the seller offers ₹3,000 off for paying in full, choosing no cost EMI on that ₹60,000 phone costs about ₹3,721 in total, an effective rate above 22% a year.

How no cost EMI is calculated

The lender lends you less than the price, so that its normal EMIs add up to exactly the price. The gap is the seller's discount.

Take a ₹60,000 phone on a 6-month no cost EMI where the card issuer charges 16% a year. You will pay six EMIs of ₹10,000. The issuer asks one question: what loan, at 16%, is repaid by six EMIs of ₹10,000? The answer is ₹57,297.

So the seller discounts the phone by ₹2,703, the issuer books a loan of ₹57,297, and your EMIs of ₹10,000 repay that loan with ₹2,703 of interest. On paper you borrowed less and paid interest; in your pocket you paid the sticker price. Both are true, which is why the statement looks confusing.

The loan is worked out with the standard reducing-balance formula, the same one behind a home or personal loan EMI. The EMI formula page shows it step by step, and the flat vs reducing guide explains why the interest falls each month.

What your card statement shows each month

Each statement shows the EMI, the interest inside it, and 18% GST on that interest. The GST is the part you actually pay on top.

The interest is highest in the first month and shrinks as the loan is repaid, so the GST does too: ₹138 on the first statement, ₹24 on the last. Over the plan it comes to ₹487, about 0.8% of the price.

Issuers show the seller's discount in different ways. Some book the lower loan amount from the start; others book the full price and post the discount as a credit on the first or second statement. If the credit has not appeared by the second statement, call the issuer: a missing discount turns the plan into a regular interest-bearing EMI.

The full price is usually blocked on your card limit on day one and released as each EMI is paid. Keep that in mind if you plan other large card spends the same month.

No cost EMI for 3, 6, 9 and 12 months

A longer plan costs more rupees, because the issuer charges interest for longer and GST rises with it. The fee weighs most on short plans.

Read the last two columns together. A 12-month plan costs about twice as much in rupees as a 3-month plan, but because you hold the money four times as long, its annual cost is lower. If the monthly amount is comfortable either way, the shorter plan is cheaper in rupees; if a 12-month plan keeps cash free for something that would cost more to borrow, it can be the better choice.

Why small purchases cost more, in percentage terms

The processing fee is a flat amount, so on a cheap item it is a large share of the price.

On a ₹15,000 purchase the fee alone is more than half the extra cost. If the offer has no processing fee, the share drops to under 1% at any price. For anything under about ₹20,000, check whether paying by card and clearing it within the interest-free period works for your budget instead.

When paying in full is cheaper

If the seller gives an instant discount for paying in full, that discount usually outweighs every EMI charge.

With no discount at stake, the plan costs ₹721, an annual cost of about 4.1%: cheap credit. A ₹3,000 instant discount on full payment changes that to ₹3,721 and about 22.2% a year, more than most personal loans charge.

Sale-season offers often work this way: a bank card gets 10% off on full payment or a smaller discount on EMI. Compare the final price on both before you pick the plan, and put the difference in the calculator's last field.

No cost EMI vs other ways to pay

For a ₹60,000 phone you can repay over six months, a no cost EMI with a small fee is one of the cheapest options. A regular card EMI costs several times more.

The credit card EMI calculator works out the regular card EMI row for your own card's rate. For a bigger purchase, or several at once, a personal loan at a lower rate can cost less than stacking card EMIs, though it has its own processing fee.

Why GST applies, and what RBI said about 0% EMI

Interest on most loans in India is exempt from GST, but interest in credit card services is not. That is why card EMIs carry 18% GST on the interest.

The GST exemption for interest on loans and advances excludes interest involved in credit card services, so card issuers charge GST on the interest inside every EMI, including the interest the seller paid for. Processing fees are a charge, not interest, so they attract GST on any kind of loan.

A cardless EMI or a consumer durable loan from a bank or finance company is a regular loan rather than a card service. Its interest generally falls under the exemption, so you may not see a GST line on the interest, but the processing fee and any late fee still carry GST. Check the loan's key fact statement for the exact charges.

In September 2013 the RBI told banks that the idea of a zero per cent interest EMI does not exist, and that interest was being passed on as a processing fee. It asked banks to keep rates and fees uniform for a product whatever channel sold it. Today's no cost EMI is built to show the interest openly and have the seller pay it, which is why the interest and GST appear on your statement.

Source: RBI circular RBI/2013-14/292, 17 Sep 2013; CBIC Circular 102 on interest under Notification 12/2017. Accessed October 2026.

Decision tips

No cost EMI is a fair deal when the price is the same either way and the fee is small. It is a poor deal when you give up a cash discount to get it.

• Ask the seller one question before checkout: is the price lower if I pay in full?
• Check the EMI plan screen for the processing fee and the interest rate before you confirm.
• Pick the shortest plan your monthly budget allows; GST on interest grows with tenure.
• Keep enough headroom on your card limit. The full price is usually blocked on day one even though you repay monthly.
• Do not foreclose early without reading the terms. Some issuers reverse the upfront discount or charge a foreclosure fee.
• If you can pay in full within your card's interest-free period, that is often cheaper than any EMI plan.
• Missing a single EMI turns a no cost plan into an expensive one: late fees and regular card interest can apply.

No cost EMI on cards, apps and debit cards

Credit card no cost EMI is the most common version. The issuer converts the purchase into EMIs and blocks the full amount on your limit. Each month's statement shows the EMI, the interest that was pre-discounted, and the GST.

Debit card and cardless EMI from banks and finance companies follow the same idea, but the lender runs a credit check and may charge a slightly higher fee. Read the loan agreement, because it is a separate loan, not a card feature.

Buy now pay later apps often split a purchase into three or four payments. Those can be free when paid on time, but late fees are steep. The calculator still helps: set the rate to 0 and enter the app's fee.

A no cost EMI is still a loan on your credit report. Several open EMI plans can raise your credit utilisation and make a later home loan or personal loan application look stretched.

If you want to compare no cost EMI with a regular card EMI that has interest, use the credit card EMI calculator. For a planned large purchase you may be better off with a small personal loan at a lower rate.

Last updated on Oct 7, 2026.