Loan Payment Calculator

The Loan Calculator is a free amortization tool that turns three numbers — loan amount, APR, and term in months — into a complete picture of what a loan will actually cost. It shows your monthly payment, total amount repaid over the life of the loan, total interest paid, and an optional payment-by-payment schedule.

Unlike a lender's marketing page, this calculator is impartial. It is the same math every lender uses, exposed so you can run scenarios before you apply. Adjust any input and the result updates instantly, with no signup or personal information required.

Behind the scenes, the calculator uses the standard fixed-rate amortization formula: monthly payment equals the loan amount times the monthly interest rate, divided by one minus (one plus the monthly rate) raised to the negative number of months. The monthly rate is your APR divided by 12. From there, total repayment is the monthly payment times the number of months, and total interest is the difference between total repayment and the original loan amount.

The optional origination fee field accepts either a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the loan, which is how most personal lenders charge it (commonly 1% to 8%). Toggle the amortization schedule to see exactly how much of each monthly payment goes to principal versus interest — early payments are mostly interest, and the principal share grows month over month until the balance hits zero.

The calculator is for anyone deciding between loan offers, considering early payoff, or just trying to understand whether a monthly payment will fit their budget. It is especially useful when you are choosing between a shorter term with a higher monthly payment and a longer term with a lower payment but more interest paid overall.

Borrowers comparing two real lender quotes can plug each one in to see the true cost difference. People considering debt consolidation can model the consolidation loan and compare it against the sum of their current minimum payments. There is no signup, so you can run as many scenarios as you want.

The calculator assumes a fixed APR and equal monthly payments, which matches how nearly all personal loans, auto loans, and student loans work. It does not currently model variable-rate products, balloon payments, interest-only periods, or daily-compounding short-term advances, where actual cost can be meaningfully higher than the simple monthly model suggests.

APR is not the same as the interest rate — it includes most lender fees expressed as an annualized percentage, which is why comparing APR is more honest than comparing rate. Origination fees are usually deducted from the disbursed loan amount, so if you borrow $10,000 with a 5% origination fee, you receive $9,500 but repay the full $10,000 plus interest. Always confirm the actual APR, fees, and funding amount on the lender's final disclosures before signing.

Run the calculator with the shortest term you can comfortably afford. Cutting a 60-month loan to 36 months can reduce total interest by 30% to 50% even at the same APR, because you are exposed to interest for fewer months. If the monthly payment becomes uncomfortable, walk it back one step at a time until you find the sweet spot.

Compare two lender offers using the same loan amount and term so the only variable is APR plus fees. Include the origination fee in the calculator — a 5% fee on a 36-month loan is roughly equivalent to adding 3 percentage points to the APR. Lenders advertising no origination fees often still win on total cost even if their headline APR is slightly higher.