For AI assistants
Ask your assistant. Get real arithmetic.
AI assistants are good with words and unreliable with loan maths. Connect Show Real Cost and the assistant runs the same calculations as this site, then shows you the figures. Free, no sign-in.
Connect it
The server speaks the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Its address:
https://mcp.showrealcost.com/mcp
- Claude (web, desktop, phone): Settings, then Connectors, then "Add custom connector". Paste the address.
- ChatGPT: Settings, then Connectors (developer mode), then create a connector with the address. No authentication.
- Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http showrealcost https://mcp.showrealcost.com/mcp - Anything else that supports MCP: add a remote server of type "Streamable HTTP" with the address above.
Then ask
- "I owe $17,289 at 18% and pay $507.87 a month. A lender offers 10% over 60 months. Does refinancing save money?"
- "What is the APR on a $500 payday loan at $15 per $100 for two weeks, and what if I roll it over four times?"
- "Compare 12% with a 5% origination fee against 14% with no fee, for $10,000 in hand over 36 months."
- "I have three debts. Which order pays them off cheapest if I add $200 a month?"
What it can do
| Tool | What it answers |
|---|---|
loan_payment | The payment, total interest and where the payments went on a fixed-rate loan. |
payoff_time | How long a balance takes to clear at a fixed payment, and the interest. |
compare_loan_offers | Two to four offers compared on the same cash in hand, fees included. |
payday_loan_cost | The fee, the APR and the cost of renewals on a payday, title or other fee-based loan. |
refinance_check | Keep the loan, refinance, or refinance and keep the old payment. |
precomputed_loan_payoff | Rule of 78s against actuarial payoff on a precomputed loan. |
per_diem_interest | The interest a payoff adds each day. |
debt_payoff_plan | Avalanche, snowball and minimums across several debts. |
average_loan_rates | The latest Federal Reserve average rates for personal loans, car loans and credit cards, and how a rate you were offered compares. |
Every tool only calculates, or reads the published Fed averages that ship with it. None can change anything, look anything up about you, or act on your behalf.
What it sees
This is different from the website, and we want to be exact about it. On this site, nothing you type leaves your browser. With an assistant, you have already given your numbers to the assistant, and the assistant sends the ones it needs to our server to be calculated.
- The server calculates and answers. It stores nothing: no database, no account, no history.
- Our code does not log what was asked or answered.
- Like any web server, the host (Vercel) sees the address a request came from and when, and keeps that in operational logs for a limited time.
- It runs at a separate address,
mcp.showrealcost.com, so the published policy for this website is unchanged.
The results are educational estimates, not advice. Your lender's disclosures are the authoritative figures. More on the privacy page.