Loan Payment Calculator
Enter the amount, rate and term — see your monthly payment and what the loan really costs in interest.
Before signing for a car loan, personal loan or student loan, you want two numbers the lender doesn't lead with: the monthly payment, and the total interest you'll hand over across the whole term. This calculator gives you both instantly using the standard amortization formula — the same math every bank uses — and updates live as you adjust the numbers, so you can feel out what a different rate or a shorter term does to the payment.
That live adjustment is where the insight is. Stretching a $25,000 car loan from 5 to 7 years drops the monthly payment — but try it above and watch the total interest climb. Likewise, shaving one percentage point off the rate often saves more than a thousand dollars over the term, which tells you exactly how hard to shop around or negotiate. The interest-as-percentage readout under the results makes loans easy to compare apples-to-apples. Buying a home instead? The mortgage calculator adds down payment, taxes and insurance; saving instead of borrowing? See what the same monthly amount grows to with the compound interest calculator.
How to use the Loan Calculator
- Enter the loan amount you're borrowing.
- Enter the annual interest rate (APR) the lender quoted.
- Enter the term in years — half-years like 5.5 work too.
- Read your monthly payment, total paid and total interest; adjust any number to compare scenarios live.
Monthly payment is not the same as total cost
Lenders love to advertise a low monthly payment, but the payment on its own tells you almost nothing about what a loan really costs. Stretching a loan over more years lowers the monthly figure while quietly increasing the total interest you pay, because your balance stays high for longer. The honest comparison between two offers is total cost — payment multiplied by the number of payments — not the monthly number in the headline.
This calculator shows both, so you can see the trade-off directly: shorten the term and the monthly payment rises but the total falls, often by thousands. If you want the maths behind why early payments are mostly interest, our guide on how loan payments are calculated walks through a full amortization example.
Frequently asked questions
How is the monthly payment calculated?
With the standard amortization formula: M = P × r × (1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1), where P is the amount borrowed, r the monthly rate (annual ÷ 12) and n the number of monthly payments. Every mainstream lender uses this same formula for fixed-rate loans.
Is APR the same as interest rate?
Nearly. The interest rate covers only interest; APR also folds in mandatory fees, making it slightly higher and the better number for comparing offers. Enter the APR here for the most realistic total cost.
Why does a longer term cost so much more in interest?
Interest accrues on the outstanding balance every month, and a longer term keeps that balance high for more months. The payment falls but the meter runs longer — a 7-year loan can cost 40%+ more interest than the same loan over 5 years.
Does this work for car loans, personal loans and student loans?
Yes — any fixed-rate, monthly-payment loan amortizes the same way. It doesn't model credit-card minimum payments (revolving debt) or loans with variable rates, which change over time.
What happens if I pay extra each month?
Extra payments go straight at the principal, shortening the term and cutting total interest — often dramatically. A quick way to estimate: re-run the calculator with a shorter term until the payment matches what you'd actually pay each month.