Loan Calculator

It uses the standard amortization formula to find the level monthly payment that pays off a loan by the end of its term. Enter the amount, years and rate, and it works out the payment, the total repaid and the total interest. It then builds a month-by-month schedule. It assumes a fixed rate, on-time payments and no extra fees, so add any fees your lender charges for the full cost.

Divide the annual rate by 12 to get the monthly rate, then multiply the number of years by 12 to get the number of payments. Put both into the formula above. For $20,000 at 7% over 5 years, the monthly rate is about 0.583% over 60 payments, which gives $396.02 a month. In Excel, the same result comes from =PMT(0.07/12,60,-20000).

Start from the payment, not the loan. Lenders often look at your debt-to-income ratio, which compares your monthly debt payments with your gross monthly income, and many prefer it below about 36% to 43%. Then check your real budget, since a lender's limit isn't necessarily comfortable for you. Try different loan amounts above until you find a payment that leaves room for savings and surprises.

It's a table of every payment over the life of a loan, showing how much goes to interest, how much goes to principal and what you still owe. Early payments go mostly toward interest, and later payments go mostly toward principal. Open the schedule above to see yours, or read more on our loan amortization calculator page.

The interest rate is the yearly cost of borrowing the principal. The APR adds most lender fees, such as origination charges, and expresses the total as a yearly rate. US lenders must disclose it under the Truth in Lending Act, so it's the better number for comparing offers. Enter the interest rate here to see your actual payment, and use the APR to decide which offer is cheaper.

A shorter term costs less overall, but it raises your monthly payment. A $10,000 loan at 8% over 3 years costs $313 a month and $1,281 in interest. Over 7 years, it costs $156 a month and $3,092 in interest. If the higher payment would strain your budget, a longer term with extra payments when you can afford them could offer more flexibility, as long as there's no prepayment penalty.

Extra payments go toward principal if you ask your lender to apply them that way. This lowers your balance, which reduces the interest charged in every later month, so you finish early. The earlier you pay extra, the more you save. Check your agreement for a prepayment penalty first. Our calculator shows the standard schedule, which is the baseline for measuring what extra payments would save.

It depends on the loan type, your credit and current market rates. Loans secured by a house or car usually cost less than unsecured personal loans, and credit cards usually cost the most. Rates change often, so get quotes from a few lenders on the same day. The best test is simple: compare APRs from several offers for the same amount and term.

The math is the same for any fixed-rate loan, so this one works for all of them. Our dedicated pages start with typical amounts and explain what's specific to each one, such as a mortgage, an auto loan, a personal loan, a student loan or a home equity loan.

Only for one rate at a time. An adjustable-rate loan changes its rate on a schedule, so its payment changes too. To test one, run the calculator at the starting rate, then again at the highest rate your agreement allows, to see the range of possible payments. The same goes for credit cards and lines of credit, whose balances and rates can both change.