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Principal and interest
Principal $10,000.00 (87%) · Interest $1,531.86 (13%)
Amortization schedule
| Year | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $3,023.35 | $820.61 | $6,976.65 |
| 2 | $3,323.41 | $520.55 | $3,653.25 |
| 3 | $3,653.25 | $190.71 | $0.00 |
Payments by loan amount
Pre-computed monthly payments for common personal loan amounts, across typical rates and terms.
Calculate Your Personal Loan Payment
The Tools Kit’s free Loan Calculator works out the monthly payment on a fixed-rate personal loan, along with the total interest and the total amount you will repay. Enter the loan amount, the annual interest rate, and the term in years, and all three figures update as you type. It is a quick way to check what a personal loan, debt consolidation loan, or any other fixed-rate installment loan will really cost before you sign.
With the default inputs, borrowing $10,000 at 9.5% APR for 3 years costs $320.33 a month. Over 36 payments you repay $11,531.86, which means $1,531.86 of the total is interest.
How to Use the Loan Calculator
- 1
Enter the loan amount
Type the principal in dollars: the amount you are borrowing, not the total you expect to repay.
- 2
Enter the interest rate
Type the annual interest rate as a percentage, for example 9.5. Decimals to two places are accepted, and 0 works for promotional 0% financing.
- 3
Set the loan term in years
Enter how long you have to repay, in years. Half years such as 2.5 are accepted, as is any term that works out to whole months; a value like 1.3 years (15.6 months) shows an error instead.
- 4
Read the results
The monthly payment, total interest, and total paid update instantly as you type, so you can change the rate or term and compare the cost right away.
Results appear once the amount, rate, and term are filled in. The calculation runs in your browser, with no signup and no limit on how many loans you compare.
The Loan Payment Formula
Fixed-rate personal loans are amortized: every monthly payment is the same, and each one covers that month’s interest plus enough principal to clear the balance exactly on the last payment. The calculator uses the standard amortization formula:
Payment = P × r × (1 + r)n ÷ ((1 + r)n − 1)
- P — the loan amount (principal)
- r — the monthly rate: the annual rate ÷ 100 ÷ 12
- n — the number of monthly payments: the term in years × 12
Total paid is the payment multiplied by n, and total interest is total paid minus the principal. At a 0% rate the formula would divide by zero, so the calculator simply splits the principal evenly: $12,000 over 2 years at 0% is $500 a month.
Because interest is charged on the remaining balance, early payments are mostly interest. In the first month of a $10,000 loan at 9.5%, $79.17 of the $320.33 payment is interest and the rest reduces the balance; by the final payments almost all of it goes to principal. The same reducing-balance method drives the EMI calculator used for loans in India, just expressed in rupees.
How Loan Term and Interest Rate Change the Total Cost
The two numbers that matter most after the amount borrowed are the term and the rate. A longer term lowers the monthly payment but keeps the balance outstanding longer, so you pay more interest overall. Here is $10,000 at 9.5% APR across different terms:
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 2 years | $459.14 | $1,019.48 |
| 2.5 years | $375.79 | $1,273.81 |
| 3 years | $320.33 | $1,531.86 |
| 5 years | $210.02 | $2,601.12 |
The rate matters just as much. A $15,000 loan over 4 years costs $373.28 a month and $2,917.23 in interest at 9%, but $417.46 a month and $5,038.14 in interest at 15%. A better credit score that moves you into a lower rate band can save thousands, which is worth weighing against the long-run growth the same money could earn, as the compound interest calculator shows.
What This Loan Calculator Does Not Include
The result covers principal and interest only. Origination fees, late fees, and optional payment protection insurance are not added, and there is no extra-payment option. Many lenders quote an APR that already folds some fees in; the calculator treats whatever rate you enter as a plain annual rate.
For specific kinds of borrowing, a dedicated tool is a better fit. The auto loan calculator adds sales tax, trade-in value, and a down payment, and the mortgage calculator lets you add a monthly property tax and home insurance amount. If you are thinking about a consolidation loan to clear card balances, compare the result here with the credit card payoff calculator to see how long the debt would take at its current rate.
Common uses
- Comparing two personal loan offers with different rates and terms
- Checking whether a monthly loan payment fits your budget before you apply
- Seeing how much extra interest a longer repayment term really costs
- Estimating a debt consolidation loan against the debts it would replace
- Working out the payment on a 0% financing offer for furniture or electronics
A loan also shows up as a liability when you track your finances, so the balance belongs in a net worth calculation. For a multi-year loan, the inflation calculator shows how the real value of a fixed payment falls over time. More money tools are in the full list of calculators.
Loan calculator terms explained
| Term | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Principal | The amount you borrow; the "Loan Amount" field |
| Interest rate / APR | The yearly cost of borrowing as a percentage. The calculator divides it by 12 to get the monthly rate |
| Loan term | How long you have to repay, entered in years and converted to monthly payments |
| Monthly payment | The fixed amount due each month that covers that month’s interest plus part of the principal |
| Total interest | Everything you pay above the amount borrowed: total paid minus principal |
| Total paid | The monthly payment multiplied by the number of payments |
| Amortization | Paying a loan off with equal payments whose interest share shrinks and principal share grows over time |
Frequently Asked Questions
Use the amortization formula: payment = P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1), where P is the loan amount, r is the annual rate divided by 12 (as a decimal), and n is the number of monthly payments. A $10,000 loan at 9.5% for 3 years works out to $320.33 a month.
It depends on the rate and term. At 9.5% APR, a $10,000 loan costs $459.14 a month over 2 years, $320.33 a month over 3 years, and $210.02 a month over 5 years.
Total interest is the total of all payments minus the amount borrowed. Borrowing $10,000 at 9.5% for 3 years means 36 payments of $320.33, or $11,531.86 in total, so $1,531.86 is interest. The calculator shows this as "Total Interest".
Yes. A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises total interest, because the balance is outstanding for longer. On $10,000 at 9.5%, stretching the term from 3 to 5 years cuts the payment from $320.33 to $210.02 but raises interest from $1,531.86 to $2,601.12.
A lot, especially over longer terms. A $15,000 loan over 4 years costs $373.28 a month and $2,917.23 in interest at 9%, but $417.46 a month and $5,038.14 in interest at 15%.
Yes. Enter 0 as the rate and the calculator divides the loan amount evenly across the monthly payments. A $12,000 loan at 0% over 2 years is $500 a month with no interest.
The term field is in years, but you can enter fractions of a year that make whole months. Divide the months by 12: 30 months is 2.5 years and 18 months is 1.5 years. A term such as 1.3 years (15.6 months) is rejected with a message.
No. It calculates principal and interest only. Origination fees, late fees, and optional payment insurance are not included, so if a lender deducts a fee from the amount you receive, your real cost will be higher than the result shown.
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal alone. APR (annual percentage rate) also folds in certain upfront fees, so it is usually a little higher and is the better number for comparing offers. The calculator treats whatever rate you enter as a plain annual rate and does not add fees on top.
Yes. Under the results it shows how much of the total goes to principal and to interest, and a schedule by year or by month with the principal, interest and remaining balance for each period, which you can download as a CSV file. On a $10,000 loan at 9.5% over 3 years, the first year pays $3,023.35 of principal and $820.61 of interest. It does not model extra payments.
The math is the same for any fixed-rate loan, so the payment will be correct for a simple car loan or mortgage. It does not handle sales tax, trade-ins, down payments, property tax, or home insurance, which the dedicated auto loan and mortgage calculators on the same site cover.
No. The calculation runs in your browser as you type. There is no signup, and the amounts you enter are not submitted to a server.
Reviewed by Raja Jahangir · Last reviewed: October 7, 2026
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How do you calculate a personal loan payment?
A personal loan payment uses the standard amortization formula: principal × monthly rate × (1 + rate)^months ÷ ((1 + rate)^months − 1). Borrowing $10,000 at 9.5% APR over 3 years costs $320.33 a month, $11,532 in total, so about $1,532 goes to interest. Enter any amount, APR, and term in years, including half years.
Does a shorter loan term cost less?
Yes. A shorter term raises the monthly payment but cuts total interest, because the balance shrinks faster and interest accrues on less. Repaying $10,000 at 9.5% over 2 years instead of 3 lifts the payment to about $459 a month yet trims interest from roughly $1,532 to about $1,020.