Personal Loan Calculator
Amount, rate, and term — the monthly payment and what the loan really costs.
How this is calculated
M = P·r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1) where r = APR ÷ 12, n = years × 12
Worked example: $15,000 at 12% over 5 years → about $334/month, roughly $4,020 of interest on top of the $15,000 borrowed. Cut the term to 3 years and the monthly rises to about $498 but total interest falls to roughly $2,930 — you pay more each month to pay far less overall.
Before you sign
Check for an origination fee (often 1–8%, sometimes deducted from what you receive) and any early-repayment penalty — both change the true cost beyond the headline rate. The APR you enter should already fold in compulsory fees; if it doesn't, the real cost is a little higher than shown.
Unsecured means the rate carries the risk
A personal loan is usually unsecured: nothing is pledged, so the lender's only protection is your promise and your record. That is why rates sit well above secured borrowing and vary so widely between applicants — the spread between the advertised rate and the rate offered to an average applicant is often several percentage points, and the advertised figure typically needs to be available to only a minority of successful applicants.
It also means the rate you are quoted is information. If several lenders price you well above their headline rate, that is the market's read on your credit file, and it is usually cheaper to spend three months improving the file than to accept the price.
Fees change the comparison
Two loans at the same rate are not the same loan. An initiation or origination fee added to the balance is borrowed money you pay interest on for the whole term. A monthly service fee sits outside the interest calculation and never appears in the rate. Compulsory credit life insurance is a further monthly cost. The only figure that compares two offers honestly is the total amount repayable — ask for it in writing, for the same amount over the same term.
Consolidation: the arithmetic and the trap
Consolidating several expensive debts into one cheaper loan genuinely saves money when the new rate is lower and the term is not much longer. The trap is the term: replacing three debts that would have cleared in two years with one that clears in five lowers the monthly payment and raises the total cost. The second trap is behavioural — the cleared cards remain open, and the debt reappears alongside the consolidation loan. Close them, or the exercise runs backwards.
Early settlement
Check the settlement terms before you sign rather than when you want to clear it. Some agreements carry early-settlement charges; some jurisdictions require notice before full settlement. Where overpayment is permitted, confirm in writing that extra money reduces capital and shortens the term rather than being held against the next instalment — the difference between those two treatments is the entire benefit of paying early.
Frequently asked questions
How is the monthly payment worked out?
It uses 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 months. Early payments are mostly interest; later ones mostly principal, but the payment stays level throughout.
What rate will I actually get?
Personal-loan rates swing widely with your credit — often anywhere from around 7% for excellent credit to 30%+ for poor credit. Enter the rate you have been quoted (the APR), not the advertised “from” rate. A couple of percentage points changes the total interest more than most people expect — try it on the slider.
Does a shorter term really save that much?
Yes. A shorter term raises the monthly payment but cuts total interest sharply, because the balance is exposed to interest for less time. Drop the years and watch the “total interest” figure — the biggest payment you can comfortably sustain is almost always the cheapest overall.