Finance & Loan
Loan Calculator
Work out what a loan actually costs — the repayment, the total interest, and the real APR once fees are included.
Loan Calculator
About the Loan Calculator
This works out what a loan actually costs: the repayment, the total interest across the term, and a full amortisation schedule showing how each payment splits between interest and principal.
It handles any repayment frequency — weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly — rather than assuming monthly. And it does something most loan calculators skip: enter your arrangement or booking fees and it solves for the effective APR, the rate that describes what you are really paying once fees are counted.
That last figure is the one to compare offers on. A loan advertised at 6% with a £500 fee is not cheaper than one at 6.4% with none, and only an APR calculation tells you which way round it falls.
How to use the Loan Calculator
- Enter the loan amount you want to borrow.
- Enter the yearly interest rate and the term in years.
- Pick your repayment frequency — weekly and fortnightly schedules clear the balance faster than monthly at the same rate.
- Add any upfront fees to see the true APR rather than the advertised rate.
- Select Calculate repayment and check the schedule to see how the balance falls each year.
The repayment formula
Payment = P × [ i(1+i)n ] ÷ [ (1+i)n − 1 ]
P = amount borrowed, i = interest rate per period, n = number of payments. For monthly repayments, i is the annual rate divided by 12.
Worked example
£15,000 borrowed over 5 years at 7.9% annual interest, repaid monthly.
i = 0.079 ÷ 12 = 0.006583. n = 60 payments.
£303.43 a month — £18,206 repaid in total — £3,206 of interest
The interest is 21% of what you borrowed, spread over five years. That is the real price of the loan, and it is the number worth comparing between offers.
Interest rate and APR are not the same (APR calculator)
The interest rate is what accrues on the balance. The APR folds in the compulsory fees as well, expressed as an annual rate — so it describes the total cost of borrowing rather than just the interest component.
The gap matters most on smaller or shorter loans, where a flat fee is spread over less borrowing and less time:
| Loan | Rate | Fee | Approx. APR | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £15,000 over 5 years | 7.9% | £0 | 7.9% | — |
| £15,000 over 5 years | 7.9% | £500 | 9.34% | +1.4 |
| £5,000 over 2 years | 7.9% | £500 | 18.57% | +10.7 |
| £30,000 over 7 years | 7.9% | £500 | 8.43% | +0.5 |
Look at the third row. The same £500 fee on a small, short loan adds nearly eleven points to the effective rate. This is why comparing headline rates alone is misleading, and why regulators require an APR to be quoted — though what must be included in it varies by country.
That makes this page an annual percentage rate calculator as well as a payment calculator. To turn an annual interest rate to monthly, divide by 12: 7% a year is about 0.583% a month.
There is no closed-form solution for APR when fees are involved, so this calculator finds it numerically: it searches for the rate at which the payment stream exactly matches the amount you actually received after fees.
Does paying weekly save money?
A little, and less than the marketing suggests. Two separate effects get conflated:
- More frequent compounding — paying weekly reduces the average outstanding balance slightly, so slightly less interest accrues. This effect is small.
- Paying more per year — 52 weekly payments of a quarter of the monthly amount is 13 monthly equivalents, not 12. That extra payment is what actually shortens the loan.
The second effect does the heavy lifting, and it is not really about frequency at all — you are simply repaying more each year. If your lender allows overpayments, one extra monthly payment a year achieves nearly the same result with less admin.
What goes into the total cost of credit
- Interest — usually the largest component.
- Arrangement or booking fees — charged up front, sometimes added to the balance.
- Early repayment charges — a penalty for settling ahead of schedule.
- Payment protection or insurance — optional, and worth pricing separately.
- Late payment fees — avoidable, but check the amount before you need to.
Ask for the total amount repayable in writing. It is a single figure that captures everything, and it is much harder to present misleadingly than a monthly payment.
Loan amortization calculator: reading the schedule
Early payments are mostly interest, because interest is charged on a large outstanding balance. As the balance falls, the interest portion shrinks and more of each payment goes to principal. The crossover — where more than half of a payment attacks the principal — comes earlier on short loans and later on long ones.
The schedule is also how you check a lender's figures. If their quoted total differs from what this produces on the same inputs, ask what else is in it.
Using this as a car loan or student loan calculator
Car loans and most personal loans amortise exactly like this, so the arithmetic transfers directly. Two cautions:
- PCP and lease deals do not. They involve a balloon payment at the end and a different structure entirely, so this calculator will understate the picture.
- Student loans often are not conventional loans. In the UK, repayment is income-contingent with a write-off date, so the balance and interest rate matter far less than your future earnings. This tool does not model that at all.
For a home loan with PITI, PMI and an amortisation schedule, use the mortgage calculator. To see what savings do in the other direction, try the compound interest calculator.
This is a calculation aid, not financial advice. It does not know your circumstances, and nothing here is a quote, an offer or a recommendation. Rates, fees, tax rules and lending regulations change constantly and differ by country and provider. Before committing to anything, get figures in writing from the provider and, where the amounts matter to you, take advice from a qualified adviser who knows your situation.
Monthly loan payments at a glance
Use this table for a quick feel. Then enter your own numbers above for the exact payment and schedule.
| Loan amount | 7%, 3 years | 7%, 5 years | 9%, 5 years | 9%, 6 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | $154 | $99 | $104 | $90 |
| $10,000 | $309 | $198 | $208 | $180 |
| $15,000 | $463 | $297 | $311 | $270 |
| $20,000 | $618 | $396 | $415 | $361 |
| $25,000 | $772 | $495 | $519 | $451 |
| $30,000 | $926 | $594 | $623 | $541 |
| $35,000 | $1,081 | $693 | $727 | $631 |
| $40,000 | $1,235 | $792 | $830 | $721 |
| $50,000 | $1,544 | $990 | $1,038 | $901 |
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises the total interest. On $25,000 at 9%, stretching from 5 to 6 years saves $68 a month but costs about $1,300 more in interest.
One loan calculator, many loan types
Most fixed-rate loans use the same repayment formula. So this calculator works for:
- Car and classic car loans — enter the price minus your down payment and trade-in.
- Mobile and manufactured home loans — including chattel loans, where the home is financed as personal property rather than with land. Rates are often higher than for a standard mortgage.
- Equipment, aircraft and boat loans — same maths; terms and rates come from your lender.
- Student loan refinancing — compare your current payment with a new rate and term. As a student loan payment estimator it covers standard fixed plans; income-driven plans follow different rules.
- Hard money loans — short-term property loans, often interest-only. For an interest-only payment, multiply the loan by the yearly rate and divide by 12.
- Motorcycle payment calculator — $15,000 at 8% costs about $304 a month over 5 years, or $366 over 4.
- Business, wedding and renovation loans — any fixed-rate personal or business loan uses the same maths.
Buying a house with land? The mortgage calculator adds property tax, insurance and PMI.
Simple interest loans
On a simple interest loan, interest is charged only on the balance you still owe — not on past interest. Most car loans and personal loans work this way. Each payment covers that month's interest first. The rest cuts the balance.
That is why paying early or paying extra saves money: a smaller balance means less interest next month. Some lenders use the 365/360 method, charging a 365-day year of interest on a rate divided by 360. It makes the real cost slightly higher than the quoted rate — about 1.4% more interest.
Money factor to interest rate (car leases)
Car leases quote a money factor instead of an interest rate. It looks tiny, like 0.00250. Convert it like this:
Interest rate (APR) ≈ money factor × 2,400
So a money factor of 0.00250 equals about 6% APR. To go the other way, divide the APR by 2,400.
Total interest percentage (TIP)
US mortgage disclosures show a figure called TIP. It is the total interest over the full term, as a percentage of the loan. Work it out from the results above:
TIP = total interest ÷ loan amount × 100
A $25,000 loan that costs $6,138 in interest has a TIP of about 24.6%.
Car loan payoff calculator: auto loan early payoff
Most car loans are simple interest loans, so every extra dollar cuts the balance and the interest that follows. Take a $30,000 auto loan at 7% over 60 months. The payment is $594 and the total interest is $5,642.
| Extra each month | Paid off in | Interest saved |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | 60 months | — |
| $50 | 55 months | $533 |
| $100 | 50 months | $972 |
| $200 | 43 months | $1,654 |
It works as an extra car payment calculator and a remaining car loan payoff calculator in one. To use it as an auto loan calculator with extra payments, enter your current balance, your rate and the months left. Then raise the payment by shortening the term until it matches what you plan to pay. The new term is roughly your payoff date. Before you overpay, ask the lender to confirm the money goes to principal, and check the contract for a prepayment penalty.
How long should a car loan be?
Longer terms win on the monthly payment and lose on total cost. Here is a $35,000 car loan at 7.5%:
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 36 months | $1,089 | $4,194 |
| 48 months | $846 | $5,621 |
| 60 months | $701 | $7,080 |
| 72 months | $605 | $8,571 |
| 84 months | $537 | $10,095 |
The average car payment per month in the US now runs roughly $740–$750 for a new car and about $520 for a used one, according to Experian’s auto finance reports. A popular car affordability rule is 20/4/10: put 20% down, borrow for no more than 4 years, and keep all car costs under 10% of gross income.
Long loans also raise the risk of negative equity — owing more than the car is worth. If you owe $18,000 on a car worth $15,000, the $3,000 gap usually gets rolled into your next loan. Add it to the new loan amount here to see what it really costs.
Balloon loan calculator
Some car finance and business loans leave a large final payment, called a balloon. Your monthly payments are lower because they never repay that last chunk. Borrow $30,000 at 7% over 60 months with a $10,000 balloon and you pay about $454 a month, instead of $594 — then owe the $10,000 at the end.
This calculator assumes the loan is repaid in full, so it shows the higher, no-balloon payment. Treat the difference as the cost of avoiding the balloon. A lease buyout calculator works in a similar way: the buyout price is the balloon, and you can finance it as a fresh loan. An $18,000 lease buyout loan at 7.5% over 48 months costs about $435 a month.
Line of credit and HELOC payoff calculator
A line of credit, HELOC or business line of credit works differently from a fixed loan. You borrow only what you need and pay interest only on the amount you have drawn.
- During the draw period, many lines need interest only. $20,000 drawn at 9% costs $150 a month: 20,000 × 0.09 ÷ 12.
- During repayment, the balance is paid off like a normal loan. That same $20,000 over 10 years at 9% costs about $253 a month — enter it above to see the schedule.
Rates on most lines are variable, so rerun the numbers whenever your rate changes.
Credit card payoff calculator
Credit cards charge high interest on a falling minimum payment, which is why balances linger for years. Here is $5,000 at 22% APR:
| Payment plan | Time to pay off | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum only (1% + interest, at least $25) | about 19 years | about $8,100 |
| $150 a month | 52 months | $2,798 |
| $200 a month | 34 months | $1,750 |
| $300 a month | 21 months | $1,022 |
A fixed payment beats the minimum payment by a mile. To plan one here, enter the balance and APR, then try terms of 2 or 3 years and see which payment fits your budget. The finance charge — the total interest — shows in the results.
Construction, equipment and DSCR loans
- Commercial real estate loan calculator — commercial loans often run 5 to 10 years with payments set over 20 to 25 years, leaving a balloon. Work out the payment here, then read the balance at the balloon year from the schedule.
- Farm loan calculator — farm and land loans may pay yearly or twice a year; pick Quarterly or set the term to match the lender’s schedule.
- Construction loan calculator — you usually pay interest only on the money drawn so far. The interest rises as the build progresses, then the loan converts to a normal mortgage (a construction-to-permanent loan) or must be refinanced.
- Equipment loan calculator — a standard amortizing loan, often 3 to 7 years. $50,000 at 8% over 5 years costs about $1,014 a month.
- Aircraft and airplane loan calculator — longer terms of 10 to 20 years are common. $150,000 at 7.5% over 15 years costs about $1,391 a month.
- DSCR loan calculator — rental property lenders check the debt service coverage ratio: net operating income ÷ yearly debt payments. Many want at least 1.20–1.25. Use the payment from this calculator, times 12, as your debt service.
Other ways to use this calculator
Fixed-rate loans share one repayment formula, so this tool fits most of them.
- Mobile home loan calculator (manufactured homes too) — including chattel loans; enter the amount, rate and term.
- Classic and exotic car loan calculator — enter the price minus down payment and trade-in.
- Hard money loan calculator — for interest-only, multiply the loan by the yearly rate and divide by 12.
- Student loan refinance calculator — compare your current payment with the new rate and term.
- Biweekly car payment calculator — choose Fortnightly repayments.
- 365/360 loan calculator — for a rough figure, multiply your rate by 365 ÷ 360 before you enter it.
- Title loan calculator — enter the amount, the APR the lender discloses and the term. Title loan APRs are often very high, so compare the total repaid carefully.
- Refinance your car calculator — enter your remaining balance at the new rate and term, then compare the total interest with what is left on your current loan.
- Interest only loan calculator — multiply the balance by the yearly rate and divide by 12; this tool shows the payment once principal starts.
- Loan tenure calculator — try different terms until the payment fits your budget.
- Personal loan calculator and loan payment calculator — enter the amount, rate and term for the monthly payment.
- Monthly repayment calculator — switch the frequency to see weekly or fortnightly repayments.
Related guides
- Biweekly Mortgage Payments: Do They Really Save Money?
- Minimum Credit Score to Buy a House
- Monthly Mortgage Payment on a $200k to $600k House
Frequently asked questions
The interest rate is what accrues on your balance. The APR includes compulsory fees as well, expressed as an annual rate, so it reflects the true cost of borrowing. On £15,000 over five years at 7.9%, a £500 fee pushes the effective APR to about 9.3%. On a smaller, shorter loan the same fee can add nearly eleven points — which is exactly why APR exists.
Slightly, but less than advertised. Weekly payments reduce the average outstanding balance a little, so marginally less interest accrues. The bigger effect is that 52 weekly payments add up to 13 monthly equivalents rather than 12 — you are simply paying more each year. One voluntary extra payment annually achieves nearly the same thing with less hassle.
Interest is usually the largest part, but also count arrangement or booking fees, early repayment charges, any payment protection insurance, and late payment fees. The cleanest way to compare offers is to ask each lender for the total amount repayable in writing. That single figure captures everything and is much harder to present misleadingly than a monthly payment.
Car loans and most personal loans amortise exactly this way, so yes. Two exceptions: PCP and lease deals include a balloon payment and a different structure, so this will understate them. And UK student loans are income-contingent with a write-off date, which means your future earnings matter far more than the interest rate — this calculator does not model that at all.
Multiply the money factor by 2,400. A lease money factor of 0.00250 is roughly a 6% APR. To turn an APR into a money factor, divide it by 2,400.
Yes. Enter the amount you are borrowing, the rate and the term from your lender. The repayment formula is the same for most fixed-rate loans, including mobile home, chattel, equipment and aircraft loans.
A loan where interest is charged only on the balance you still owe. Most car and personal loans work this way. Paying extra, or paying early, lowers the balance and cuts the interest you pay.
Pay extra each month and ask the lender to put it toward principal. On a $30,000 car loan at 7% over 60 months, an extra $100 a month clears it in 50 months and saves about $972 in interest. Check your contract for a prepayment penalty first.
In the US the average monthly car payment runs roughly $740 to $750 for a new car and about $520 for a used car, based on Experian auto finance data. Your own payment depends on the price, down payment, rate and term.
Often decades. A $5,000 balance at 22% APR, paying 1% plus interest with a $25 floor, takes about 19 years and costs around $8,100 in interest. Paying a fixed $200 a month clears it in 34 months with about $1,750 of interest.
Divide the annual rate by 12. A 7% yearly rate is about 0.583% a month, and 9% is 0.75% a month. That monthly rate is the i in the repayment formula on this page.
Sources and further reading
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Understanding loan options — APR, fees and comparing credit offers
- FCA — Consumer Credit sourcebook (CONC) — UK rules on APR disclosure and total cost of credit
- MoneyHelper — Loans and credit — impartial UK guidance on borrowing
- Federal Reserve — Consumer credit data — published average consumer loan rates