Every page on this site goes through a 7-step editorial workflow before it reaches you, and every fact we publish traces back to one of four verified tiers of sources. This policy explains how we compare loan products, what happens when a law changes, and how you can trust the numbers on your screen.
How do you decide which loan costs less?
We start with the total expense, not the monthly payment. A longer term with smaller installments often costs more in absolute dollars than a shorter, higher-payment alternative. Our fact-checking policy requires that every comparison include at least one lower-cost alternative arranged by total expense, so you see the full picture before committing.
Defining terms first. Before we compare any product, we define each lending term the first time it appears. "APR" (annual percentage rate) encodes both interest and fees as a yearly rate, making cross-product comparison possible. "Finance charge" is the total dollar cost of borrowing, excluding the principal. "Rollover" means extending a loan by paying only fees and carrying the principal forward—often the most expensive path a borrower can take.
Our tiered sourcing structure supports this. Tier 1 sources—primary regulators and statutes including the CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), state Attorneys General, and state banking regulators—provide the legal boundaries within which lenders operate. Tier 2 public records from OCCC (Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner) portals and the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database show how those boundaries translate to real borrower experiences. Only after establishing this foundation do we layer in Tier 3 peer-reviewed research from Pew Charitable Trusts, the Center for Responsible Lending, and NBER working papers, plus Tier 4 original reporting from interviews and lender-disclosed APR ranges.
Who verifies the numbers behind the comparisons?
Humans extract every citation, statute number, and dollar figure—never AI. Our verification software then parses each numeric claim, legal citation, regulator name, and dollar figure, matching every item against Tier-1 or Tier-2 sources. This transparency in ownership matters because our revenue comes from lender referrals; we disclose this so you understand why rigorous verification serves both your interests and ours.
When a claim lacks immediate support, our 48-hour rule activates. We remove the unverified figure from the page and restore it only after human confirmation against a primary source. This applies equally to statutory citations and to APR ranges disclosed by lenders themselves—clearly labeled as the lender's own claim, never presented as our independent finding.
What happens when laws or rates change?
Static guidance becomes unreliable guidance. Each page begins a 12-month review cycle upon publication, but statutory changes or rate adjustments trigger immediate revision regardless of that schedule. State hubs carry the heaviest maintenance burden here: they track statutory citations, the legal framework governing loans, and contact information for regulators across jurisdictions with different amendment timelines.
Our corrections process documents every substantive change with a dated explanation. Minor formatting or typographical fixes post silently; anything affecting a borrower decision—rate updates, regulatory contact changes, revised statutory interpretations—receives public notation.
How can you check our work yourself?
Primary sources remain accessible. For federal regulation, the CFPB publishes consumerfinance.gov. State-level frameworks live in OCCC portals and equivalent state agencies. The CFPB Consumer Complaint Database offers anonymized borrower experiences. FDIC and NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) materials cover insured depository alternatives.
For deeper context, nonprofit research centers provide peer-reviewed analysis. The Pew Charitable Trusts small-dollar lending project, Center for Responsible Lending, National Consumer Law Center, and NBER working papers examine structural patterns that single-borrower anecdotes cannot capture. We distinguish these from our original reporting—interviews on file at SB Loan, industry trade-association data—by labeling sources explicitly.
Which sources should you trust for your own decisions?
Match source to question. Use Tier 1 for legal boundaries: what a lender may charge, what disclosures must include. Use Tier 2 for operational reality: whether lenders do comply, how complaints are resolved. Layer Tier 3 for strategic understanding: how product design affects borrower behavior over time. Treat Tier 4 as supplemental color, not standalone evidence.
Our Money pages follow this hierarchy. They begin with real-dollar cost comparisons grounded in Tier-1 rate caps and Tier-2 complaint patterns. They define lending terms precisely. They present alternatives arranged by total expense, including credit union products, employer advances, and bill-forbearance programs where data supports their inclusion.
Practical checklist: evaluating any loan comparison site
- Check the date. Is the guidance current? Does the site commit to a review cycle?
- Trace the numbers. Can you find the primary source for any APR or fee claim? Is AI involvement in citation extraction disclosed?
- Read the definitions. Are lending terms explained on first use, or assumed familiar?
- Compare alternatives. Does the site present lower-cost options by total expense, or only quote single-product terms?
- Verify state specificity. Does the guidance acknowledge that statutory frameworks vary by jurisdiction?
- Assess transparency. Does an ownership disclosure explain how the site makes money?
- Understand corrections. Is there a documented process for publishing fixes to guidance that changes?
FAQ: how we build and maintain comparisons
Why do you define basic terms like APR every time—don't borrowers already know?
Assumption creates risk. A borrower researching their first loan deserves the same clarity as someone comparing their fifth. Defining terms on first appearance ensures no reader proceeds on partial understanding, especially when comparing across product types with different cost structures.
What if I find a number that doesn't match the source you cite?
Contact us immediately. Our 48-hour removal rule applies internally too: if a discrepancy emerges, we freeze the claim and verify against Tier-1 or Tier-2 sources. If you've found an error before we did, we acknowledge and correct it per our corrections policy.
How do you handle lender-reported APR ranges in your comparisons?
We label them explicitly as "lender-disclosed" and separate them from independently verified figures. These Tier-4 data points appear only after Tier-1 and Tier-2 sources establish the regulatory context. We do not average them into a "typical" rate or present them as representative.
Why emphasize total expense over monthly payment?
Monthly framing obscures cumulative cost. A loan with manageable installments but high fees and a long term often extracts more absolute dollars than a shorter, steeper-payment alternative. Our comparisons arrange options by total expense so you see the trade-off clearly.
How quickly do you update when a state changes its lending laws?
Immediate revision. While each page carries a 12-month scheduled review, statutory changes trigger out-of-cycle updates. State hubs carry dedicated tracking for statutory citations, the legal framework governing loans, and regulator contact information—precisely because these elements change unpredictably.