Loan Calculator
The monthly payment, the total interest, and the full schedule for any fixed-rate loan repaid in equal instalments.
The address carries whatever you changed, so anyone opening it sees these numbers. Nothing is saved on our side.
Monthly payment
$396.02/mo
$20,000 over 5 years at 7%. Fixed rate, equal payments, nothing owed at the end.
- Principal84%$20,000
- Interest16%$3,761
- Total repaid$23,761
- $3,761
- over the full term
- $23,761
- principal plus interest
- 5 years
- 16%
- of everything you repay
Where the money goes
Early payments are mostly interest. The balance shifts month by month, and the schedule shows exactly when.
Loan year
More of your payment goes to principal than to interest from year 1 onward.
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,462 | $1,290 | $16,538 | |
| $3,712 | $1,040 | $12,826 | |
| $3,981 | $772 | $8,845 | |
| $4,268 | $484 | $4,577 | |
| $4,577 | $175 | $0 |
How this calculator works
One formula, the same one every lender uses for an amortizing loan.
M = P · r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n)
- P
- the amount borrowed
- r
- the monthly rate — the annual rate divided by twelve
- n
- the number of monthly payments
Each month, interest is charged on whatever is still owed and the rest of the payment reduces the balance. Because the balance falls, the interest portion falls with it and the principal portion grows — which is why the early payments barely move the balance and the last ones barely cost anything.
What is assumed
- A fixed rate for the whole term.
- Equal payments, every month, none missed or early.
- No fees. If your loan has an origination fee, its true cost is higher than the rate suggests.
- Interest rounded to the cent each month, the way a servicer rounds it, so the final payment settles the balance exactly.
A worked example
Twenty thousand dollars over five years at 7%.
| Amount borrowed (P) | $20,000 |
|---|---|
| Monthly rate (r) | 0.0058333 |
| Number of payments (n) | 60 |
| First month's interest | $116.67 |
| First month's principal | $279.35 |
| Total interest | $3,761.48 |
| Total repaid | $23,761.48 |
| Monthly payment | $396.02 |
Stretch the same loan to seven years and the payment falls to about $302 while the total interest rises past $5,300 — roughly $1,500 more for the same money.
Questions people ask
Any fixed-rate loan repaid in equal instalments — personal, auto, student, equipment, most consolidation loans. It does not fit a credit card, where you choose the payment and the balance revolves, or a variable-rate loan, where the payment changes when the rate does.
Because you are borrowing the money for longer, and interest accrues on whatever is still outstanding. Stretching a loan lowers the monthly payment and raises the total — sometimes dramatically. Change the term in the calculator and watch the two figures move in opposite directions; that trade is the whole decision.
Only when there are no fees. A quoted rate describes what you are charged on the balance; APR folds in origination and other charges to describe what the borrowing actually costs. If your loan has fees, use the APR calculator instead.
Every extra dollar goes straight against the principal, so it removes all the future interest that dollar would have accrued. On a long loan the effect is much larger than it looks. This calculator models the scheduled payments only.
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An estimate for planning, not a loan offer or a quote. Your actual rate depends on your credit and your lender.