No Cost EMI vs Upfront

Stores advertise "No Cost EMI" as 0% interest, but the card issuer still charges real interest on the EMI and the merchant or brand funds an equal discount to offset it — and GST (18% by default) is charged on that notional interest and passed to you, even though the "interest" itself is waived. So No Cost EMI is never truly free; it costs slightly more than the sticker price. This calculator also weighs the flip side: paying via EMI lets you keep your cash longer, which you could invest elsewhere. It compares the upfront price to the present value of your EMI payments (discounted at your expected investment return) to tell you which option is actually cheaper in today's money.