Loan Calculator

Find the monthly payment for any loan. Enter the amount, term and interest rate to see the monthly payment, the total you will repay and how much of it is interest.

How it works: A fixed-rate loan is repaid in equal monthly instalments. The payment is worked out from the amount borrowed, the monthly interest rate and the number of payments, so that the balance is exactly cleared by the final payment.

How the Loan Calculator Works

This calculator works out the monthly payment, total repayment, and total interest for any fixed-rate loan — personal loans, car loans, student loans, or any other amount borrowed at a set rate over a set time. It is handy before you sign anything: a loan that looks affordable month to month can carry a surprising amount of interest once you see the full term added up, and this page shows both views side by side.

It uses the standard loan amortization formula: M = P × r(1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1). P is the amount you borrow, r is the monthly interest rate (your annual rate divided by 100, then by 12), n is the number of monthly payments (the term in years multiplied by 12), and M is your fixed monthly payment. The calculator multiplies that payment by the number of payments to get the total repaid, then subtracts the amount borrowed to show the total interest — the true extra cost of borrowing.

The estimate assumes the interest rate stays fixed for the whole term, payments are made every month, and there are no fees, penalties, or extra payments. If the rate is 0%, the payment is simply the amount divided by the number of months. Real loans may add origination fees or other charges on top, so read the result as an accurate picture of the loan itself, before any lender fees.

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the total amount you plan to borrow.
Enter the annual interest rate (APR) you have been quoted.
Enter the repayment term in years.
Press Calculate.
Compare the monthly payment, the total you will repay, and the total interest — then try a shorter term or a lower rate to see how much you could save.

Example

Borrow $100,000 at 5% interest over 10 years and the monthly payment is $1,060.66. Over the 120 payments you would repay $127,278.62 in total, which means $27,278.62 of that is interest — more than a quarter of the amount borrowed, paid just for the use of the money.

Pay the same loan off in 5 years instead and the monthly payment rises to $1,887.12, but the total interest falls to $13,227.40. Halving the term cuts the interest bill by more than half, because the balance shrinks faster and there is less time for interest to build up.

What Affects the Result

Interest rate — the single biggest lever on total cost; always compare the total interest, not just the monthly payment, when shopping between lenders.
Term length — longer terms lower the monthly payment but increase total interest, sometimes by a lot.
Loan amount — interest scales with the balance, so borrowing a little less helps twice: smaller payments and less interest.
Extra payments — this calculator assumes the standard schedule; paying extra each month in real life shortens the loan and cuts interest further.
Practical tip — a lower monthly payment is not the same as a cheaper loan. Check the total repayment figure before deciding which offer is better.

To see why comparing rates matters even on the same loan, keep the $100,000 amount and 10-year term from the example but raise the rate from 5% to 7%. The monthly payment climbs from $1,060.66 to $1,161.08 — about a hundred dollars more each month — and the total interest jumps from $27,278.62 to $39,330.18. Two percentage points cost nearly $12,000 over the life of the loan. That is why it pays to collect several quotes before borrowing: lenders’ rates for identical borrowers can differ by this much, and the difference hides in the monthly payment unless you compare the totals. It is also worth checking how a loan fits your wider budget before committing. A payment that looks manageable in isolation has to share your income with housing, food, transport, and everything else, and the borrowers who struggle are usually those who judged the payment alone rather than the whole picture.

The rate you are offered will also depend on what kind of loan it is. Loans secured against something valuable — a house or a car — usually carry lower rates because the lender can recover the asset if you default. Unsecured personal loans rely on your credit history alone, so they cost more, and the same borrower can be quoted rates several points apart purely based on credit score. When you run comparisons here, use the rate for the loan type you actually intend to take; modelling a personal loan at mortgage rates flatters the numbers and sets you up for a surprise at application time.

Loan Calculator FAQs

What types of loans can I use this for?

Any fixed-rate loan repaid in equal monthly instalments: personal loans, auto loans, student loans, home improvement loans, and similar. It is not designed for credit cards or loans with rates that change over time.

Why do I pay so much interest at the start of a loan?

Each month, interest is charged on the remaining balance. Early on the balance is at its largest, so a bigger share of each payment goes to interest. As the balance falls, more of each payment clears the actual debt.

Does a longer term always save me money?

It lowers the monthly payment, which can help a monthly budget, but it increases the total interest — often substantially. The 5-year versus 10-year example above shows the trade-off clearly.

Can I include loan fees in the calculation?

The calculator models the loan amount, rate, and term only. If a lender charges an origination fee, a simple approach is to add the fee to the amount you enter, which approximates its effect on your payments.

What if the interest rate is 0%?

Then there is no interest at all: the monthly payment is simply the loan amount divided by the number of monthly payments, and the total repaid equals the amount borrowed.