Assess interest, fees, and long-term costs of Buy Now Pay Later usage.
Updated October 2026Built and checked by MaverickHow it's calculatedReport an error
Installment amount
$375
per fortnight
On-time total
$1,500
cost if all paid on time
One missed payment
$1,513
adds late fee + interest
Worst case
$1,589
all payments missed
Paid on time, most BNPL plans cost only any account fee. Each missed payment adds the provider's late fee.
Each instalment reduces the balance by the same amount. Keep enough in the linked account on each due date.
Buy now, pay later is easy to use, and that's the catch: late fees add up, and a few plans running at once can stretch a budget further than it looks. Put in your plans and see what they add up to.
As of 7 November 2026, the lowest credit card purchase rate is 7.49%, from Unity Bank's Low Rate Visa Credit Card, while the typical best across 51 institutions is 12.49%.
A $1,200 laptop on a pay-in-4 plan: four fortnightly instalments of $300, a $10 late fee and no interest.
Paid on time it costs $1,200. Missing one instalment adds a $10 late fee; missing all four adds $40, for $1,240. Since 10 June 2025 buy now pay later providers need an Australian credit licence and must check that a plan isn't unsuitable for you.