Free Loan Calculator
Use this free loan calculator to estimate your monthly payment on a personal loan, auto loan, mortgage, student loan or business loan. Enter the amount you want to borrow, the repayment term and the interest rate, and you'll see your monthly payment, the total interest you'd pay, your payoff date and a full amortization schedule. Add optional extra payments to see exactly how much time and interest you could cut off the loan.
Loan payment calculator
Estimates are for planning only and assume a fixed interest rate with equal monthly payments.
Add extra payments Optional
| Year | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Tip: in the yearly view, click any row to expand that year's individual payments. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar in the table and may differ by a few cents from a lender's schedule.
How to use this loan calculator
The calculator needs three numbers to produce a payment: how much you're borrowing, how long you have to repay it, and the interest rate. Everything else on the page — the total interest, the payoff date, the amortization schedule — is derived from those three inputs. Here's what each one means and where to find a realistic figure.
Loan amount
This is the principal: the amount of money the lender actually hands over, before any interest is added. Enter the full amount you plan to borrow, not the price of the thing you're buying. If you're buying a $32,000 car and putting $6,000 down, your loan amount is $26,000.
One thing borrowers regularly get wrong: some lenders deduct an origination fee from the loan proceeds rather than billing it separately. On a $20,000 personal loan with a 5% origination fee, you'd receive $19,000 but repay interest on the full $20,000. If your lender works this way, enter the amount you're being charged for ($20,000), not the amount that lands in your account.
Loan term
The term is how long you have to pay the loan back. Switch between years and months depending on how your lender quotes it — personal loans are usually quoted in months (36, 48, 60), mortgages in years (15, 30).
Term is the single biggest lever on your monthly payment, and it cuts both ways. Stretching a loan out makes each payment smaller but means more months of interest charges. Shortening it does the opposite. Try moving the term slider while watching the "Total interest" figure — on most loans the difference between a 3-year and a 7-year term is thousands of dollars, even at an identical rate.
Interest rate
Enter the annual interest rate, expressed as a percentage. If you've already been pre-qualified, use the rate on your offer. If you're still shopping, use a realistic estimate based on your credit profile rather than the "as low as" teaser rate in an advertisement — that rate is typically reserved for the small share of applicants with the strongest credit, shortest terms and highest incomes.
Rate vs. APR: this calculator uses the interest rate, not the APR. The APR bundles the interest rate together with origination fees and certain other charges into a single annualized number, so it's the better figure for comparing offers from different lenders. But because those fees are usually paid once, up front, plugging an APR into a payment formula will slightly overstate your monthly payment. Use the interest rate here; use the APR when you're deciding which offer wins.
First payment date
Setting the month of your first payment lets the calculator show a real payoff date and label each row of the amortization schedule with a month and year. It has no effect on the payment amount itself.
Extra payments
Open the "Add extra payments" section to model paying more than the minimum. You can add a fixed amount every month, a lump sum once a year (useful if you get an annual bonus or tax refund), a single one-time payment at a specific point in the loan, or all three at once. Every extra dollar goes straight to principal, so the calculator recalculates the schedule, shortens the term, and tells you exactly how much interest you avoided and how much sooner you'd be debt-free.
Understanding your results
Monthly payment
The large number at the top is your scheduled payment on a fully amortizing fixed-rate loan — the same amount every month until the balance reaches zero. It covers principal and interest only. It does not include property taxes, homeowners or mortgage insurance, or any servicing fees, so a mortgage payment in particular will be larger in practice than what this calculator shows.
Total interest paid
This is the price of borrowing: every dollar you'll hand the lender beyond what you originally received. It's the number most worth optimizing. A payment that's $40 lower each month sounds like a win, but if it came from adding two years to the term it may have cost you $2,000 in extra interest. Comparing total interest across scenarios is how you tell a genuinely cheaper loan from a merely more comfortable one.
Total you'll repay
Principal plus total interest — the all-in cost of the loan across its full life. Useful as a reality check before signing.
Payoff date
The month you'd make your final payment, based on your first payment date. If you've entered extra payments, this date moves earlier and the savings banner tells you by how much.
Amortization schedule
The table at the bottom is the loan's full life, payment by payment. It opens as a year-by-year summary; click any year to expand the individual months inside it, or switch to "By month" to see every payment in sequence. Each row shows how much of that payment went to interest, how much went to principal, and what was left owing afterward. You can download the whole thing as a CSV to open in Excel or Google Sheets, or print it.
How loan payments actually work
A fixed-rate installment loan uses a formula that solves for a single constant payment which, made every month for the full term, will exactly retire the balance. That formula is:
Payment = P × [ r(1 + r)n ] ÷ [ (1 + r)n − 1 ]
where P is the principal, r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12) and n is the total number of monthly payments.
Take a $25,000 loan at 12.5% over five years. The monthly rate is 12.5 ÷ 12 ÷ 100 = 0.0104167, and n is 60. Run those through the formula and the payment comes to $562.45. Over 60 payments you'd hand the lender $33,747 — $25,000 of principal and $8,747 of interest.
What the single payment figure hides is that its composition changes every month. Interest is charged on the balance you currently owe, so:
- Month 1 on that loan: $260.42 goes to interest, $302.03 to principal.
- Month 30, halfway through: about $155 to interest, $408 to principal.
- Month 60, the last payment: about $6 to interest, $557 to principal.
Your payment never changed, but the share of it doing useful work climbed steadily. This is amortization, and it explains a great deal about how loans behave.
Why amortization matters to you
Three practical consequences follow from the front-loading of interest:
Early extra payments are worth far more than late ones. A $1,000 extra payment in month 3 removes $1,000 from a balance that will accrue interest for another 57 months. The same $1,000 in month 55 removes it from a balance with five months left. On a 30-year mortgage the difference is dramatic — try the one-time lump sum field at payment #6 versus payment #200 and compare the interest saved.
You build equity slowly at first. On a $300,000 30-year mortgage at 6.7%, payment number 237 — nearly 20 years in — is the first one where more than half goes to principal. If you're likely to move within a few years, most of what you paid went to interest, not ownership.
Refinancing restarts the clock. Refinancing a loan you're eight years into back to a fresh 30-year term drops you back to the interest-heavy front of a new schedule. The lower payment can still be the right call — but compare total interest, not just the monthly figure, before deciding.
Before you make extra payments, check two things. First, ask whether your loan carries a prepayment penalty — uncommon on personal loans and prohibited on most qualified mortgages, but still found on some auto loans and non-QM mortgages. Second, tell your servicer in writing to apply extra amounts to principal. Left unspecified, many servicers apply the surplus to your next scheduled payment instead, which does not reduce your interest at all.
Loan types you can model here
Any fixed-rate loan with equal monthly payments works in this calculator. The table below shows typical structures so you can sanity-check your inputs.
| Loan type | Typical amount | Typical term | Secured? | Notes for this calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal loan | $1,000 – $100,000 | 2 – 7 years | Usually unsecured | Watch for origination fees of 1% – 10% deducted up front. |
| Auto loan | $5,000 – $75,000 | 3 – 7 years | Secured by the vehicle | Enter the amount financed after your down payment and trade-in. |
| Mortgage | $100,000+ | 15 or 30 years | Secured by the home | Result is principal & interest only — add taxes and insurance separately. |
| Home equity loan | $15,000 – $500,000 | 5 – 30 years | Secured by the home | Fixed-rate second liens amortize exactly like this. A HELOC does not. |
| Student loan | $5,000 – $200,000 | 10 – 25 years | Unsecured | Standard repayment amortizes normally; income-driven plans do not. |
| Small business loan | $10,000 – $5,000,000 | 1 – 10 years | Varies | Term loans fit. Merchant cash advances and factoring do not. |
| Debt consolidation | $5,000 – $50,000 | 2 – 7 years | Usually unsecured | Compare total interest against what you'd pay on the debts you're replacing. |
What doesn't fit: credit cards and HELOCs in their draw period are revolving, not amortizing — the balance and minimum payment change as you spend, so a fixed schedule won't describe them. Adjustable-rate loans can be approximated by running the calculator once at the initial rate and again at the worst-case rate after adjustment, which brackets your realistic range. Interest-only and balloon loans have a large principal payment at the end that this schedule doesn't model.
What determines the rate you're offered
Two people can walk into the same lender on the same day and be quoted rates ten percentage points apart. These are the factors doing the work:
- Credit score. The largest single input on unsecured loans. As of August 2026, average personal loan APRs from pre-qualified borrowers ran roughly 14.7% for scores of 720+, around 19% for 690–719, about 23% for 630–689, and roughly 27% for scores below 630.
- Debt-to-income ratio. Your monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Most lenders want this below 36–43%. A strong score with a stretched DTI still gets priced up.
- Whether the loan is secured. Collateral lowers the lender's loss if you default, and the rate reflects that. This is why auto loans and mortgages price well below personal loans for the same borrower.
- Loan term. Longer terms usually carry higher rates, because the lender is exposed to your credit risk and to rate movements for longer.
- Income stability and employment history. Steady, documented, W-2 income prices better than variable or self-employed income of the same size.
- Lender type. Credit unions are frequently the cheapest option and federally capped at 18% APR on most loans. Online lenders are fast and flexible but price a wider range. Banks often reserve their best pricing for existing customers.
- Prevailing market rates. Everything sits on top of a benchmark that moves with the economy. For scale, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was about 6.72% in mid-August 2026.
Five ways to cut what the loan costs you
- Shop at least three lenders, and do it within a short window. Rate shopping is the highest-return hour of work in the whole process. Credit scoring models treat multiple hard inquiries for the same loan type inside a 14–45 day window as a single event, so comparing several offers costs you almost nothing in score terms.
- Take the shortest term whose payment you can comfortably sustain. Not the shortest term you can technically afford — build in room for a bad month. But every year you shave off the term removes twelve months of interest charges.
- Spend 60 days improving your credit before applying, if you can wait. Paying revolving balances down below 30% of their limits and correcting reporting errors can move a score enough to cross a pricing tier. On a $30,000 five-year loan, moving from the "fair" tier to the "good" tier is worth thousands.
- Compare APR, not the headline rate. A 10.9% loan with a 6% origination fee is more expensive than an 11.9% loan with no fee. The APR is the only number that catches this.
- Round your payment up. Adding even $25 or $50 a month costs little and compounds. Model it in the extra payments section above — on most mid-sized loans a modest round-up shortens the term by several months.
Worked examples
Consolidating $18,000 of credit card debt
You're carrying $18,000 across three cards at an average 24% APR, paying roughly $600 a month and barely moving the balance. A five-year consolidation loan at 15% produces a payment of about $428 and total interest of about $7,700. Keeping the $600 payment on the new loan instead — an extra $172 a month — pays it off in about three years and two months and cuts total interest to roughly $4,700. The rate reduction saves money; refusing to spend the freed-up cash flow saves considerably more.
A four-year versus six-year auto loan
You're financing $28,000 at 7.5%. Over 48 months the payment is about $677 and total interest about $4,500. Over 72 months the payment drops to about $484 — $193 easier each month — but total interest rises to roughly $6,900. You're paying about $2,360 for the lower payment. Worth knowing before you decide, and worth weighing against the fact that a 72-month loan on a depreciating car leaves you underwater for longer.
An extra $200 a month on a $300,000 mortgage
At 6.7% over 30 years, the principal-and-interest payment is about $1,935 and total interest over the full term is roughly $396,900. Adding $200 a month brings the payoff forward by seven full years and saves approximately $108,600 in interest — more than a third of the total interest bill, for $200 a month. That is the single clearest illustration of why early principal reduction matters on long loans.
What this calculator doesn't include
Being clear about the limits keeps your planning honest:
- Fees. Origination, application, documentation and closing costs are excluded. Add them separately, or compare offers on APR.
- Taxes and insurance. For mortgages, property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI and any HOA dues are typically escrowed into your monthly bill and can add hundreds of dollars.
- Variable rates. The math assumes a fixed rate for the entire term.
- Late fees, deferments and forbearance. Missed or paused payments change the schedule and usually add cost.
- Prepayment penalties. If your loan has one, extra payments may not save what the calculator shows.
- Daily-simple-interest accrual. Some auto lenders accrue interest daily rather than monthly, so paying a few days early or late shifts the split slightly.
Results are estimates for planning. Your lender's Truth in Lending disclosure is the authoritative document for any specific offer.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this loan calculator?
The underlying math is the standard amortization formula every lender uses, so for a fixed-rate loan with equal monthly payments the payment figure should match your lender's to within a few cents. Differences come from rounding conventions, fees folded into the loan, or daily rather than monthly interest accrual. Treat the result as accurate for planning and the lender's Truth in Lending disclosure as authoritative for a specific offer.
Should I use the interest rate or the APR?
Use the interest rate in the calculator. APR includes fees that are usually paid once up front, so entering it produces a monthly payment that's slightly too high. Use the APR when you're comparing two offers against each other — it's the number that exposes a low rate hiding a large origination fee.
Can I use this for a credit card minimum payment?
Not directly. Credit cards are revolving credit: the balance changes as you spend, and the minimum payment is recalculated each month as a percentage of the balance rather than being fixed. You can use the calculator to model a plan — enter your current balance, your card's APR, and the number of months you want to be debt-free in — and it will tell you the fixed payment required to get there, assuming you stop adding new charges.
What if my loan has an adjustable rate?
Run it twice. First at the initial rate to see your payment during the fixed period, then at the maximum rate your loan documents allow after adjustment. That gives you the realistic range. If the worst-case payment is one you couldn't manage, the loan is riskier than the introductory rate makes it look.
Does making extra payments hurt my credit score?
No. Paying down an installment loan faster reduces your balances and is neutral to positive for your score. You may see a very small, temporary dip when the account finally closes, because closing an account can slightly reduce the average age and mix of your credit — but the effect is minor and short-lived, and it's not a reason to stay in debt longer.
Is it better to pay extra monthly or make one lump sum a year?
Monthly wins, all else equal, because each payment reduces the balance sooner and every subsequent interest charge is calculated on a smaller number. The gap is usually modest — often a few hundred dollars over the life of a mid-sized loan. If a once-a-year bonus is the only realistic way for you to pay extra, that's still far better than not paying extra at all. Use the fields above to compare your actual options.
Why is so much of my early payment going to interest?
Because interest is charged on the balance you currently owe, and at the start of a loan that balance is at its maximum. As the principal falls, the interest portion falls with it and the principal portion grows — which is why the composition of your payment shifts steadily even though the payment amount never changes.
How much can I borrow?
Lenders generally look at your debt-to-income ratio, wanting your total monthly debt payments — including the new loan — to stay below roughly 36% to 43% of gross monthly income, though limits vary by lender and loan type. Credit score, income stability and collateral all move the figure. A useful approach is to work backwards: decide the monthly payment you're comfortable with, then adjust the loan amount here until the payment matches.
Does checking my rate hurt my credit?
Pre-qualification uses a soft credit inquiry, which is visible only to you and has no effect on your score. A hard inquiry happens when you formally apply, and typically costs a few points. Scoring models also treat multiple hard inquiries for the same loan type within a 14–45 day window as one event, so shopping several lenders in a short period is not penalized the way it might appear.
Can I see the schedule in a spreadsheet?
Yes. Use the "Download CSV" button above the amortization table to export every payment — date, amount, principal, interest and remaining balance — as a file you can open in Excel, Numbers or Google Sheets. The export also includes a summary of your inputs and totals.
See the rates you'd actually be offered
The calculator tells you what a loan costs at a given rate. The next step is finding out what rate you qualify for. Compare pre-qualified offers from multiple lenders on Loans.net in a few minutes — checking uses a soft credit inquiry and won't affect your score.
Compare loan ratesRelated calculators and guides
- Personal loans — compare pre-qualified offers
- Mortgage loans — rates, terms and lender options
- Car loans — financing new and used vehicles
- Home equity loans — borrowing against your home
- Debt consolidation — combining balances into one payment
- Student loans — repayment and refinancing
- Loans for bad credit — what's realistic below a 630 score
- Business loans — term loans, lines of credit and SBA
- Improve your credit — move up a pricing tier before you apply
Last updated: August 2026. Rate figures cited on this page are market averages as of August 2026 and change frequently; they are provided for context only and are not an offer of credit. Loans.net is a loan comparison marketplace, not a lender.