What Do Loans Cost in Germany? Rates by Lender (2026)
On EUR 10,000 over 48 months, the cheapest two-thirds representative rate is Commerzbank at 5.29%, followed by Bank of Scotland at 6.49% and Targobank at 6.95%; the regional Sparkassen average 12.99%. Ten-year mortgage fixes sat in a 3.6 to 4.2% effective corridor in August 2026. Germany publishes no statutory rate cap, so there is no legal ceiling in these tables to measure an offer against.
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How Was This Research Compiled?
Personal-loan ratesare the two-thirds representative rates from the FM-index survey, status 1 July 2026, on a reference profile of EUR 10,000 over 48 months, with ING's own August figures where the lender publishes them directly. Mortgage rates are the August 2026 market, taken from each provider's own published example or rate barometer. Everything was accessed on 20 August 2026 and every record keeps its source URL and access date.
The ranking figure is always the Zwei-Drittel-Zins, the effective rate that at least two thirds of accepted applicants receive, which lenders must publish in a representative example under the Preisangabenverordnung. A marketing "ab" rate is never mirrored into the ranking: it stays in the price note and the row shows no headline figure. Values that could not be verified are shown as not published rather than estimated.
What Do Personal Loans Cost in Germany?
The direct banks hold the top of the table and the branch networks the bottom: Commerzbank cut its representative rate from 5.99% in January 2026 to 5.29% in July, while the regional Sparkassen average 12.99%, roughly double, and each institution prices independently so the regional dispersion is wide. Deutsche Bank at 8.85% is the most expensive of the major direct banks. ING is the only row that publishes an amount and term range at all.
| Lender | Effective rateeffective rate fromThe lender's advertised floor for the effective yearly rate. Your personal rate is set after SCHUFA scoring and is usually higher. | Nominal ratenominal rate fromThe advertised floor for the bare interest rate, before fees. Compare loans on the effective rate, not this. | Amount (EUR) | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commerzbank | 5.29% | 5.17% | not published | not published |
| Bank of Scotland | 6.49% | n/a | not published | not published |
| Targobank | 6.95% | n/a | not published | not published |
| DKB | 7.09% | n/a | not published | not published |
| ING | 7.22% | n/a | 5,000-75,000 | 12-120 months |
| Santander | 7.27% | n/a | not published | not published |
| Deutsche Bank | 8.85% | n/a | not published | not published |
| Sparkasse | 12.99% | n/a | not published | not published |
| Check24 | n/a | n/a | not published | not published |
| Smava | n/a | n/a | not published | not published |
| Verivox | n/a | n/a | not published | not published |
| Auxmoney | n/a | n/a | not published | not published |
Two-thirds representative rates published under the Preisangabenverordnung, status 1 July 2026, on a reference profile of EUR 10,000 over 48 months. Your own rate is set after SCHUFA scoring. Germany publishes no statutory rate cap: under BGB section 138 a rate counts as unconscionable once it reaches 2 times the market effective rate, or sits 12 percentage points above it.
The gap between marketing and reality is the point of this table: Santander advertises from 3.99% against a 7.27% representative rate, Check24 markets best rates from 2.99% while genuinely offered representative rates sit in the mid 5% range, and Smava advertises from 1.29% against a typical brokered band of 4 to 7%. Auxmoney is priced per application for credit grades B- to B, with third-party sources putting the band at roughly 4.9 to 12.9%.
What Do Mortgages Cost in Germany?
Only ING publishes a full representative example: EUR 300,000 over a 15-year fix with 3% initial repayment at 85% loan to value, 4.27% Sollzins and 4.38% effective, status 17 August 2026. The rest are averages or best cases: Dr. Klein at 3.71% on 3 August is a prime top case at roughly 50 to 60% loan to value, Interhyp's barometer averaged roughly 3.8% in July, and Baufi24's panel roughly 4.1% at 80% loan to value on 5 August.
| Lender | Effective rateeffective rateEffektiver Jahreszins: the yearly cost of the credit with every fee included. The one number that makes two loans comparable, and the figure German lenders must advertise. | Nominal ratenominal rateSollzinssatz: the bare interest rate before fees. Always lower than the effective rate, so never compare loans on it alone. | Fixed periodfixed periodSollzinsbindung: how long the rate is locked. When it ends you refinance the remaining balance at whatever rates are current, which is the main risk in a German mortgage. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr. Klein | 3.71% | n/a | 10-year fixed |
| ING | 4.38% | 4.27% | 15-year fixed, 3% initial repayment |
| Commerzbank | priced on application | n/a | 10-year fixed |
| Deutsche Bank | priced on application | n/a | 10-year fixed |
| DKB | priced on application | n/a | 10-year fixed |
| Interhyp | priced on application | n/a | 10-year fixed |
| Baufi24 | priced on application | n/a | 10-year fixed |
| Huettig & Rompf | priced on application | n/a | bespoke, quoted per applicant |
| Targobank and Santander | priced on application | n/a | quoted per applicant |
August 2026. German mortgage rates track the Pfandbrief market and move weekly. Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, DKB, Interhyp, Baufi24, Huettig & Rompf, Targobank and Santander publish no stable representative example and quote each applicant individually.
Read the fixed period alongside the rate. Ten years is the common Zinsbindung here and ING's example runs to fifteen. Because Bauzinsen follow the Pfandbrief market and move weekly, each figure is a snapshot of the date beside it, and the brokers in the table compare partner banks rather than lend themselves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the effective rate the only thing to compare?
The Effektivzins is the comparator that carries the cost of credit, so it is the right headline number, but check what kind of figure it is. A representative example published under the Preisangabenverordnung is comparable; an advertised “ab” rate is not. Check that the amount and term match the survey reference profile too, EUR 10,000 over 48 months for personal loans.
Why do some rows show no rate at all?
Because those providers publish no representative example of their own. Check24, Smava and Verivox are marketplaces or comparison portals, so the PAngV example on each result belongs to the partner bank that would hold the contract. Auxmoney prices per application for weaker SCHUFA files. Rather than rank a marketing best case, those rows are left without a headline rate and carry a price note instead.
Is there a legal maximum rate in Germany?
No. Germany publishes no statutory interest-rate cap. Under BGB section 138 a rate counts as unconscionable once it reaches 2 times the prevailing market effective rate, or sits 12 percentage points above it. Both tests measure against the market rate of the day, so there is no fixed ceiling in the table to compare an offer with.
Are German mortgage rates fixed?
A German mortgage is sold with a Zinsbindung, a contractually fixed period, and ten years is the common shape among the lenders here; ING's published example runs to fifteen. Bauzinsen track the Pfandbrief market and move weekly. Eurozone money-market reference rates averaged 2.855% over 12 months and 2.647% over 6 months in July 2026, but those are eurozone-wide benchmarks; a German fixed rate is priced off the Pfandbrief market instead.
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