Loan Calculator
Free online loan calculator: monthly payment, total interest and total cost for any amount, rate and term. Choose equal (annuity) or declining (differentiated) payments. No signup, instant results.
Loan parameters
Payment breakdown
annuity · 60 mo.What it shows
The loan calculator computes the annuity payment — equal monthly installments over the entire loan term. This is the most common amortization scheme for consumer loans.
FAQ
What's included in the total cost? +
The total cost includes principal, interest over the full term, insurance and fees. Lenders must disclose the APR in the contract.
How is the monthly payment calculated? +
Formula: P = S · r·(1+r)ⁿ / ((1+r)ⁿ−1), where r is the monthly rate and n is the number of months.
How does it differ from a differentiated payment? +
Annuity = equal payments over the term, higher total interest. Differentiated = decreasing payments, lower total interest but higher initial payments.
Find out what a fixed-rate personal loan will cost each month, how much you will repay in total, and how much of that is interest.
How the calculation works
The calculator uses the standard amortization formula for equal monthly payments: P = L × r × (1 + r)ⁿ / ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1), where L is the loan amount, r the monthly rate (annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100) and n the number of monthly payments. Total repaid = P × n, and total interest = total repaid − L. Switch the payment type to Differentiated for declining payments: principal is repaid in equal parts L / n and interest is charged on the remaining balance, so the first payment is L / n + L × r, the last is L / n × (1 + r), and total interest is L × r × (n + 1) / 2.
Inputs: loan amount from $1,000 to $200,000, annual interest rate up to 30% (a slider in 0.1-point steps, or type an exact rate such as 7.49), and term from 6 to 120 months, with quick buttons for 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 and 10 years. Besides the monthly payment (the first and last payment for the differentiated option) you see the loan amount, total of payments, total interest in dollars and as a percentage of the amount borrowed, plus a chart of principal versus interest.
Only interest at the nominal rate is included. Origination fees and add-on products are not — those are captured by the APR, which US lenders must disclose under the Truth in Lending Act. Use the APR when comparing offers.
Worked example
A $25,000 loan at 7.5% for 60 months: r = 0.075 / 12 = 0.00625. Payment = 25,000 × 0.00625 × 1.00625⁶⁰ / (1.00625⁶⁰ − 1) ≈ $500.95, shown as $501. Over five years you repay about $30,057, so interest totals about $5,057 — 20.2% of the amount borrowed. On a 36-month term the payment rises to $777.66 but interest falls to $2,995.60.
Things to keep in mind
- Compare offers on APR, not the advertised rate: an origination fee raises the true cost even when the interest rate looks the same.
- If the lender deducts the fee from the loan proceeds, you receive less cash than the amount you repay on — factor that in.
- Check whether there is a prepayment penalty; extra payments toward principal cut total interest on an amortizing loan.
- Lenders compute interest on the outstanding balance, sometimes daily, so your schedule may differ from this estimate by a few cents per payment.
FAQ
How is the monthly loan payment calculated?
Is a shorter term always better?
Does this include taxes, insurance or fees?
What does the Differentiated option show?
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