Loan Calculator
The monthly payment on a loan, the total cost of borrowing and the interest it hides.
A loan quote is usually one number, the monthly payment, and the number that matters is the total. Two offers with the same payment over different terms can differ by thousands in interest.
Enter the amount, the rate and the term in years, and this calculator shows the payment, the total repaid and the interest as a share of everything you hand over.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Amount borrowed, Annual interest rate, Term
- What you get
- Monthly payment, Total interest, Share of repayments that is interest
- Formula shown
- Yes - every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only - always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Loan Calculator
- 1 Enter Amount borrowed
- 2 Enter Annual interest rate
- 3 Enter Term (years)
- 4 Press Calculate. You get Monthly payment, Total interest, Share of repayments that is interest, and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 5 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result - that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
$20,000 over five years at 6.5%
A typical fixed-rate personal or car loan.
You enter
- Amount borrowed
- $20,000.00
- Annual interest rate
- 6.50%
- Term
- 5 years
You get
- Monthly payment
- $391.32
- Total interest
- $3,479.38
- Share of repayments that is interest
- 14.8%
The monthly payment is about $391.32 across 60 payments, so you repay roughly $23,479 in total. Interest is about $3,479, which is 15% of everything you pay: for every $100 handed over, $15 is the price of borrowing and $85 reduces the debt.
$35,000 over seven years at 5.5%
A bigger loan on a lower rate but a longer term.
You enter
- Amount borrowed
- $35,000.00
- Annual interest rate
- 5.50%
- Term
- 7 years
You get
- Monthly payment
- $502.95
- Total interest
- $7,247.93
- Share of repayments that is interest
- 17.2%
The monthly payment is about $502.95 across 84 payments, and you repay about $42,248 in total. Interest is about $7,248, or 17% of the total, so a lower rate over a longer term costs more in interest than the first example. Trimming the term to five years would raise the payments but cut the interest sharply.
Guides that go with it
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Frequently asked questions
What is not included in the monthly payment?
The payment covers principal and interest only. Arrangement fees, valuation costs, mandatory insurance, taxes on the purchase and any monthly account fee are all outside it, and on a mortgage they can add up to a significant sum.
For a fair comparison between two offers, add those costs to the amount borrowed and run the numbers again. The offer with the lower advertised payment can be the more expensive one once fees are counted.
Why is the total interest so high when the rate looks low?
Because interest is charged on the outstanding balance every month for the whole term. A rate of 6.5% sounds modest, but applied to $20,000 over five years it produces about $3,479 of interest, and borrowing the same $20,000 over seven years at 5.5% costs about $4,948, even though the rate is lower.
The monthly payment stays roughly stable as a share of your income, while the total grows quietly in the background. That is exactly why the total is worth checking before signing rather than after.
Should I compare loans by monthly payment or by total cost?
Use the monthly payment to decide what you can afford, then use the total cost to decide which offer is better. A longer term lowers the payment and raises the interest, so the cheapest monthly figure is usually attached to the most expensive loan. The interest share shown here is the fastest way to see that.
The honest middle ground is the shortest term whose payment you can still cover every month without strain, including a buffer for the months when something else goes wrong.
What if I repay the loan early or make extra payments?
The calculator assumes the same payment every month for the full term, so an extra payment would reduce both the interest and the number of months. It also assumes no early repayment penalty, which some fixed-rate loans charge. Check the terms before planning to overpay.
If overpaying is allowed, the effect is worth measuring: putting the same numbers into the Debt Payoff Calculator and raising the monthly payment shows how much interest a larger instalment removes and how many months it takes off the end.
Terms used here
Short, plain-language definitions of the words this calculator uses.