Loan Calculator
Find the payment on a loan, or the largest loan a payment you can afford will carry.
Payment per month
$495.03
- Loan amount
- $25,000.00
- Total interest
- $4,701.82
- Total of all payments
- $29,701.82
- Number of payments
- 60
- Paid off
- August 2031
Download
Balance falls from $25,000.00 to $0.00 over 5 years. Total principal $25,000.00, total interest $4,701.82.
- Principal
- $25,000.00
- 84.2%
- Interest
- $4,701.82
- 15.8%
- Total of payments
- $29,701.82
Payment schedule
| Year | Principal | Interest | Total paid | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,327.45 | $1,612.91 | $5,940.36 | $20,672.55 |
| 2 | $4,640.26 | $1,300.10 | $5,940.36 | $16,032.29 |
| 3 | $4,975.74 | $964.62 | $5,940.36 | $11,056.55 |
| 4 | $5,335.41 | $604.95 | $5,940.36 | $5,721.14 |
| 5 | $5,721.14 | $219.24 | $5,940.38 | $0.00 |
| Total | $25,000.00 | $4,701.82 | $29,701.82 |
How to Use This Loan Calculator
Enter what you want to borrow and see the payment. Or flip it around: tell us the payment you can manage and find out how big a loan that buys. It works for any fixed-rate loan you pay off in equal installments.
Nearly every loan you'll come across is an amortizing loan. You borrow once and pay it back in equal installments until there's nothing left. Each payment does two jobs. Part of it covers the interest that piled up since last time, and the rest comes off what you owe. As the balance drops, so does the interest, and the principal share grows by exactly the same amount. Your payment itself never budges.
The calculator runs that arithmetic in both directions. First tab: type in what you want to borrow, get the installment. Second tab: type in the installment you can live with, and it tells you how much that actually buys. That second number is the one worth walking into a lender's office holding. Set the payment frequency and add an extra payment if you plan to make one, and the schedule, the charts and the downloads all follow along.
Two kinds of loan run on the same math but drag along costs this page never asks about. For a house, use the mortgage calculator, which stacks property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA dues and PMI on top of the payment. For a car, use the auto loan calculator, which handles sales tax, dealer fees, your trade-in and any rebate before it works out what you are actually borrowing.
Loan Payment Formula
One formula gives you the installment that clears a loan over a fixed number of payments:
M = P × [ r(1 + r)n ] ÷ [ (1 + r)n − 1 ]
- M is the payment per period
- P is the amount borrowed
- r is the annual rate divided by the number of payments in a year, as a decimal
- n is the total number of payments
The "What can I afford" tab rearranges that same equation to solve for P. That's why the two tabs always agree. Put the payment from one into the other and your original loan amount comes straight back.
There's one case the formula can't handle: a 0% loan, where it divides by zero. The answer there is obvious enough, since you just split what you borrowed evenly across the payments, and the calculator does that separately.
Loan Payment Example: $25,000 at 7% for 5 Years
Here's what the calculator gives you for $25,000 over 5 years at 7%, paid monthly.
| Amount borrowed | $25,000 |
| Rate per period (r) | 0.07 ÷ 12 = 0.0058333 |
| Payments (n) | 60 |
| Monthly payment | $495.03 |
| First month's interest | $145.83 |
| First month's principal | $349.20 |
| Total interest over 5 years | $4,701.82 |
Look at that first month. More of the payment goes to principal than to interest, right from the start. On a thirty year mortgage the split doesn't cross over until well past the halfway mark. Short loans behave completely differently.
Biweekly vs. Monthly Loan Payments
Two different things are going on here, and people mix them up constantly.
The first is just paying sooner. Switch the frequency box from monthly to every 2 weeks and the calculator finds the biweekly installment that clears the same loan over the same term. On the $25,000 example that is $228.18 instead of $495.03. Your money lands earlier in each month, so slightly less interest builds up and the total drops from $4,701.82 to $4,662.85. Real money, but not much of it.
When people claim biweekly payments save thousands, they mean the second effect, and it has almost nothing to do with frequency. A year holds 26 two-week periods. Pay half the monthly amount every two weeks and you've quietly paid 13 months' worth over the year instead of 12. Half of $495.03 is $247.52, which is $19.34 more than the biweekly installment the calculator works out. Drop that $19.34 into the extra payment box and the loan closes 11 payments early with $4,215.77 of interest. Against the monthly plan that's $486 saved, not $39.
The frequency box is worth using. The extra payment box is where the real money is.
Worth checking first: some lenders hold your biweekly payments and apply two of them together as one monthly payment. Do that and you get none of the benefit. Ask whether payments are credited the day they arrive before you set anything up.
How to Get a Lower Interest Rate on a Loan
- Get prequalified rather than applying everywhere. Most personal loan lenders will quote you a rate off a soft inquiry, which does not touch your credit scores. Gather three or four of those, then make one real application. That rate-shopping window you've heard about, where several applications count as one inquiry, covers mortgage, auto and student loans. It doesn't cover personal loans. Apply to five lenders and you can end up with five hard inquiries sitting on your report.
- Ask a credit union. Credit unions are not-for-profit and often come in under a bank for the same borrower. Asking for a quote alongside your bank's costs you nothing but a few minutes.
- Fix the easy credit problems first. Pay a card down below 30% of its limit and your score can move inside one billing cycle. The rate you're offered moves with it.
- Take a shorter term if you can carry it. Lenders price short loans cheaper because they get their money back sooner. Check the payment on the affordability tab before you commit to one.
- Get the offer in writing. A quoted rate and a signed rate aren't the same thing. Ask for the APR and the total of payments on paper, and compare those instead of the headline rate.
Loan Calculator FAQ
How much loan can I afford?
Switch to the "What can I afford" tab and the calculator runs the payment formula backwards. Give it the installment you can live with, plus the rate and the term, and it hands back the largest loan that installment will clear. A $500 monthly payment at 7% over five years carries about $25,251. Know that number before you sit down with a lender. It changes the conversation from what they are willing to lend you into what you have already decided to borrow.
What is the difference between the interest rate and the APR?
The interest rate is what you're charged on the balance. The APR rolls that rate together with origination fees and other finance charges into one yearly number, so it's usually the higher of the two and the better one for comparing offers. This calculator works off the interest rate, which is why a lender quoting APR will show you something slightly different. Ask every lender for both.
Does paying extra reduce the interest I pay?
Yes, as long as the extra lands on the principal. Every dollar you knock off the balance early stops earning interest for the entire rest of the term, so a small extra payment in year one is worth far more than the same money in year four. Here's the catch: some servicers treat an overpayment as your next installment paid early, which does nothing for you at all. Mark it principal-only, then check next month's statement and make sure the balance dropped by the full amount.
Are biweekly payments better than monthly?
Barely, unless you're doing the 13-payments trick. Setting the frequency to every 2 weeks works out the biweekly installment that clears the same loan over the same term. Your money arrives sooner inside each month, so a little less interest builds up: about $39 across a $25,000 loan at 7% over five years. The saving people actually mean comes from paying half the monthly amount every two weeks, which quietly adds up to 13 months of payments a year instead of 12. Model that in the extra payment box and the same loan saves around $486 and finishes 11 payments early.
What counts as a good interest rate on a loan?
Almost entirely down to your credit score, and the spread is enormous. Excellent credit might get you 7% or 8%. The same loan for someone with thin or damaged credit can come in at 20% or more. Get quotes from two or three lenders and a credit union before you accept anything, because the same borrower often gets quoted wildly different rates on the same afternoon.
Is it better to take a longer term and pay extra?
Often yes, if you've got the discipline. A longer term lowers the payment you're legally on the hook for, which is what saves you in a bad month. Paying extra when you can gets you close to the same result without the obligation. It only works if you genuinely make those extra payments, and a few loans carry a prepayment penalty, so read the contract before you build a plan around it.
What happens if I miss a payment?
Interest keeps building on the balance and a late fee usually gets added. After 30 days most lenders report it to the credit bureaus, and that is the part that follows you around. If you can see a hard month coming, call before the due date instead of after. Lenders have hardship and deferral options they rarely offer up front but will often apply if you ask early enough.
Sources
Where the consumer credit claims on this page come from. The math is ours, and we set out how we do it in the methodology.
- What is the difference between a loan interest rate and the APR? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- What is a prepayment penalty? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- What is a credit inquiry? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- Credit report inquiries — myFICO
Reviewed by Usman Ali ·
Estimate only. This calculator is for general information, not financial advice. Once your lender adds fees, insurance and a credit check, their figures will differ from ours. Check any number here with them before you sign.