Loan Calculator: Monthly Payment, Interest and Payoff Schedule

Free loan calculator for car loans, personal loans and student loans: monthly payment, total interest, payoff date and full amortization schedule, extra payments, how much you can borrow, and the APR of a loan with fees.

Loan amount

Interest rate (per year)

Years

+ Months

Payments

Loan start date

Currency

Where your money goes each year

Principal (pays the loan down)Interest

Move over a bar to see that year.

Balance left

Balance

Move over the chart to see the balance.

Amortization schedule

One row per year of the loan; click a year to see every payment.

The formulas

payment $ \displaystyle M = L\,\frac{i}{1-(1+i)^{-n}} $

loan from a payment $ \displaystyle L = M\,\frac{1-(1+i)^{-n}}{i} $

each payment $ \displaystyle \text{interest}_k = i\,B_{k-1},\quad B_k = B_{k-1} - (M - \text{interest}_k) $

APR $ \displaystyle \text{received} = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{M_k}{(1+j)^k},\quad \text{APR} = j \times \text{payments per year} $

L = loan amount, i = yearly rate ÷ payments per year (6% monthly: i = 0.005), n = number of payments, B = balance. The payment is rounded to the cent and interest is rounded to the cent every payment, so the last payment is a few cents different and clears the balance to exactly 0.00.

How a loan payment is calculated

Car loans, personal loans and most student loans are amortizing loans: you pay the same amount every period. Each payment first pays the interest on the balance that is left, and the rest pays the loan down. Early payments are mostly interest; the last ones are almost all principal.

Worked example: $20,000 at 6% for 60 months. The monthly rate is 6% ÷ 12 = 0.5%, so the payment is 20,000 × 0.005 ÷ (1 − 1.005⁻⁶⁰) = $386.66. The first month's interest is $100.00, so $286.66 goes to the loan. Rounding the interest to the cent every month like a lender, the 60th payment is $386.41 and the total interest is $3,199.35 (the unrounded formula gives $3,199.36).

Extra payments

Anything you pay on top of the scheduled payment goes straight to the balance, so every later payment carries less interest. On the example above, an extra $50 a month pays the loan off about 7 months sooner. Check that your lender has no prepayment penalty and that extra money is applied to the principal, not to the next payment.

APR vs interest rate

The interest rate is what you pay on the balance. The APR (annual percentage rate) also counts the fees you pay to get the loan, by asking: at what yearly rate are these payments worth exactly the money you actually received? A $500 fee on a $20,000, 5-year loan at 6% raises the APR to about 7.06%. Use APR to compare offers with different fees; in the US and Canada lenders must show it.

Common loans

Car (auto) loan: Usually 3 to 7 years. A longer term means a lower payment but much more interest, and the car can end up worth less than you owe. A bigger down payment lowers the loan amount.
Personal loan: Unsecured, typically 1 to 7 years at higher rates, often with an origination fee taken from the money you receive: use the APR tab to see its real cost.
Student loan: Often 10 years on a standard plan. Interest may build up while you study and be added to the balance; enter the balance at the time repayment starts. Income-driven plans are not modelled.

Frequently asked questions

Does paying every 2 weeks save money?: Paying half the monthly payment every 2 weeks means 26 half-payments, the same as 13 monthly payments a year, so the loan ends sooner. Choosing "Every 2 weeks" here instead spreads the same yearly amount over 26 payments, which saves only a little.
Why is my lender's number a few cents different?: Some lenders count interest by the day, round differently or add fees and insurance to the payment. The result here is the standard calculation with whole-cent rounding.
Does this work for interest-only or balloon loans?: No, it covers ordinary fixed-rate loans paid off in equal payments. For a home loan with taxes, insurance and country rules use the Mortgage Calculator.
Do you store what I type?: No. Everything is calculated in your browser; your last numbers are kept only in your own browser, and a shared link carries the numbers in its address.

Disclaimer: estimates for information and planning only, not a loan offer or financial advice. Confirm the details with your lender.

Compound Interest Calculator · Mortgage Calculator · Percentage Calculator · Days Between Dates · More MES calculators

Comments