Loan Payment Calculator
This loan calculator turns a loan amount, interest rate, and term into the numbers that matter most — your estimated monthly payment, total interest, and total cost — plus a full month-by-month amortization schedule. It's built for personal loans, auto loans, student loans, and small-business financing, whenever you want a fast, clear "what would I actually owe per month?" before you read the fine print.
Your loan details
Fill in the basics — results update the moment you calculate.
Your results will appear here
Enter your loan amount, rate, and term, then hit "Calculate payment" to see your monthly payment and full schedule.
The math behind your monthly payment.
A fully amortizing loan is structured so that, if you pay the same amount every month, the outstanding balance lands on exactly zero after the final scheduled payment. Each month, interest is charged on whatever balance remains; whatever's left of your payment after that interest is covered goes straight toward principal. That, in turn, makes next month's interest charge a little smaller — and the cycle repeats until the loan is paid off.
Rather than simulating every single month, lenders (and this calculator) use a closed-form expression — the PMT formula — that solves directly for the one fixed payment that zeroes the balance over your chosen term:
M = P × [ r(1 + r)n ] / [ (1 + r)n − 1 ]
- M — the level monthly payment you're solving for
- P — the principal, i.e. the amount you're borrowing
- r — the monthly interest rate (your annual rate ÷ 12, expressed as a decimal)
- n — the total number of monthly payments (years × 12, or your term in months)
When the rate is exactly zero — an interest-free loan or promotional financing — the formula collapses to something much simpler: your payment is just the principal divided by the number of payments (M = P / n). Our calculator checks for that case automatically so you never run into a division-by-zero error.
How to read your results
Monthly payment is the fixed amount you'd pay each period to retire the loan on schedule — this is usually the number people care about most, since it's what has to fit your monthly budget.
Total interest is the sum of every interest charge across the life of the loan — effectively the "cost of borrowing" on top of what you originally took out. It's the gap between everything you'll pay back and the principal you started with.
Total cost is principal plus total interest — the full amount that will leave your account by the time the loan is paid off, assuming you make every payment on schedule with nothing extra.
The amortization schedule breaks each payment down into its principal and interest slices and tracks your remaining balance month by month — useful for seeing exactly how much of your early payments goes toward interest versus how that balance shifts over time.
Common use cases
Compare a five-year and a six-year car loan side by side before you're emotionally attached to a monthly number at the dealership.
Sanity-check a lender's offer for debt consolidation, home repairs, or a major purchase against a quick independent estimate.
Model how a fixed-rate repayment plan would look post-graduation, and see how extra payments could shorten your payoff timeline.
Test whether a fixed monthly debt payment fits a conservative cash-flow forecast before committing to equipment or expansion financing.
Frequently asked.
Everything you need to know about estimating a loan payment.
- Is this the same payment formula lenders use for fixed loans?
- Yes — the monthly payment for a level-payment, fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan follows the same annuity (present value) math that underlies most consumer term loans. Lenders will still round to the cent, post payments on business days, and may handle first partial periods or fees outside this simple form.
- What does the interest rate field actually represent?
- Enter the note rate as a yearly figure with no percent sign, such as 6.5 for 6.5 percent. The calculator divides by twelve to get a monthly rate for the standard formula. This is not the same as APR, which can bundle in other finance charges and fees.
- Can I use this for credit cards or lines of credit?
- Not really — revolving accounts follow a different payment rule than a level amortizing term loan, so a simple PMT model like this one is a weak fit. It works best for installment loans such as auto, personal, and some student loans, where you assume the same payment every month until the balance reaches zero.
- Why isn’t total interest just shown as a percentage of the principal?
- Total interest is the sum of the interest portion of every scheduled payment. In this fixed-rate, equal-payment case, it is simplest to think of it as the difference between the sum of all your payments and the original amount you borrowed.
- When should I use the mortgage calculator instead of this one?
- If you are modeling a home purchase with a down payment, escrow, insurance, and PMI, our mortgage calculator breaks those pieces out and produces a full amortization picture. This loan calculator stays deliberately narrow: one amount, one rate, one term, one regular payment number.
- Can I estimate a personal, auto, or student loan payment here?
- Yes — for any level-payment, fixed-rate installment loan, enter the amount you are borrowing, the annual note rate as a number like 8.25 for 8.25%, and the term. The result is the payment that would zero the balance on that schedule, before fees, insurance, or origination costs.
- What does an extra monthly payment actually change?
- Extra payments go straight toward your principal balance, which lowers the amount future interest is calculated on. Even a modest recurring extra amount can shorten your payoff timeline by months or years and meaningfully cut the total interest you pay over the life of the loan.
- Why might my lender’s number differ slightly from this estimate?
- Small differences usually come from rounding to the cent each period, day-count conventions, fees folded into the loan, or a first payment period that is shorter or longer than a full month. Treat this calculator as a fast, reliable estimate — always confirm exact figures in your loan agreement.
For estimation purposes only
This calculator provides an estimate only and is not financial advice. It models a simplified, fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan and does not account for lender fees, origination costs, insurance, rounding to the cent, or day-count conventions. Actual loan terms, payments, and total costs vary by lender, credit profile, and the specific agreement you sign — always confirm exact figures with your lender or a qualified financial advisor before making borrowing decisions.