Installment vs Cash

Compara cuotas contra efectivo considerando costo de oportunidad.

Cómo usar

  1. Ingrese el precio al contado y el plan de cuotas — número de cuotas y el monto financiado total o la cuota mensual.
  2. Opcionalmente ingrese la tasa de retorno anual de sus ahorros (ej.: tasa CDI) para comparar el costo de oportunidad del pago al contado.
  3. Vea la tasa de interés implícita oculta en el financiamiento y si invertir el monto al contado rendiría más que el ahorro por pagar de inmediato.

Sobre esta herramienta

Pagar en cuotas a menudo oculta un cargo de interés. Esta herramienta calcula la tasa mensual implícita y la compara con lo que su dinero ganaría si pagara al contado.

Al ingresar una tasa de retorno, la herramienta calcula el valor presente de las cuotas y muestra qué opción cuesta menos en términos reales.

El cálculo supone cuotas iguales y retorno constante. Comisiones, cashback y riesgo de impago no se modelan.

La fórmula

Total cuotas = PMT × n. Un descuento al contado de d% significa pagar Precio × (1 − d/100). La tasa real anual i resuelve: PMT × ((1 − (1+i)^−n) / i) = Precio × (1 − d/100).

Preguntas frecuentes

When is it better to pay in installments?

When you can invest the money you would spend upfront and earn a return higher than the interest charged on the installments. For example, if you can get 1% per month on an investment and the installment plan charges 0.5% per month, your money grows faster than the cost of financing.

What is the real cost of installment payments?

Even when advertised as "interest-free", installment plans often include a hidden markup. The real cost is the difference between the cash price (with any available discount) and the total of all installments. This tool calculates that difference for you.

How does the cash discount affect the comparison?

A cash discount (often 5–15% in Brazil) changes the math significantly. Without a discount, interest-free installments are usually better because you keep your money invested. With a cash discount, paying upfront may save more than you would earn from investments.

What interest rate should I use for the investment return?

Use the monthly return of a low-risk investment you actually have access to. In Brazil, the Selic rate divided by 12 is a good starting point — for example, if the Selic is 13.75% per year, that is roughly 1.08% per month. CDBs and Tesouro Selic typically track this rate.

Does this tool account for inflation?

No. The comparison uses nominal values. In practice, inflation slightly favors installment payments because future installments are paid with money that has lost some purchasing power. For short-term purchases (up to 12 months), this effect is usually small.

Herramientas relacionadas

¿Enlaces largos? Acórtalos gratis

Vai.la convierte cualquier URL en un enlace corto con estadísticas de clics, código QR y tu propio biolink.

Vai.la no se hace responsable del uso de las herramientas ni de las decisiones tomadas a partir de sus resultados.