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CalcChef

Loan Calculator

Work out a monthly loan payment, or solve for the amount, rate or term from the payment, with total interest and a year-by-year amortization schedule. How it works

Use the Loan Calculator

Rounded to whole months (2.5 years is 30 months); the minimum is one month.

Monthly payment
$299.71
Total interest $789.54 · Total cost of loan $10,789.54

Amount borrowed$10,000.00

36 monthly payments; the last one is $299.69, which clears the balance.

Yearly amortization schedule

How much of each year's payments goes to principal and to interest. The last payment is adjusted so the balance ends at exactly zero.

YearPrincipal paidInterest paidBalance at year end
1$3,168.46$428.06$6,831.54
2$3,330.59$265.93$3,500.95
3$3,500.95$95.55$0.00

For every monthly payment, use the month-by-month amortization schedule with these figures.

About the Loan Calculator

A $10,000 loan at 7% for 5 years costs $198.01 a month and $1,880.75 in interest. The loan calculator uses the standard fixed-rate formula: payment = P × i × (1 + i)^n ÷ ((1 + i)^n − 1), where P is the amount borrowed, i the annual rate ÷ 12 and n the number of monthly payments. It can also work backward from a monthly payment to the amount, the rate or the term.

Monthly payment per $10,000 borrowed

Interest rate3 years5 years7 years
4%$295.24$184.17$136.69
5%$299.71$188.71$141.34
6%$304.22$193.33$146.09
7%$308.77$198.01$150.93
8%$313.36$202.76$155.86
9%$318.00$207.58$160.89
10%$322.67$212.47$166.01
11%$327.39$217.42$171.22
12%$332.14$222.44$176.53

Fixed rate, equal monthly payments, no fees. For another amount, scale the payment: $20,000 costs twice as much a month, give or take a cent of rounding.

Total interest per $10,000 borrowed

Interest rate3 years5 years7 years
4%$628.63$1,049.88$1,481.78
5%$789.54$1,322.74$1,872.47
6%$951.88$1,599.68$2,271.13
7%$1,115.76$1,880.75$2,677.77
8%$1,281.13$2,165.92$3,092.48
9%$1,447.88$2,455.05$3,514.88
10%$1,616.20$2,748.26$3,945.06
11%$1,785.93$3,045.50$4,383.05
12%$1,957.18$3,346.77$4,828.18

Interest over the whole term when every payment is made on schedule, with each month’s interest rounded to the cent and the last payment adjusted to clear the balance.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the monthly payment on a $20,000 loan?
At 7% it is $617.54 for 3 years, $396.02 for 5 years and $301.85 for 7 years. At 8% for 5 years it is $405.53.
Can it find how much I can borrow, the rate or how long the loan takes?
Yes: change What do you want to find? and type the monthly payment. At 7% over 5 years, $400 a month repays $20,200.80, the payment times the annuity factor (1 − (1 + i)^−n) ÷ i. $20,000 repaid at $400 a month over 5 years is a 7.4201% rate, found by repeated halving between 0% and 100% and rounded to 4 decimals. $20,000 at 7% paid at $500 a month takes 46 months (3 years 10 months); the term is rounded up to a whole month, so the payment shown becomes $496.98 and the interest $2,861.12. A payment that can never repay the loan shows a message instead.
How do I calculate a loan payment and the interest by hand?
Divide the annual rate by 12 to get the monthly rate i, and count the monthly payments n. The payment is P × i × (1 + i)^n ÷ ((1 + i)^n − 1): for $10,000 at 5% over 36 months that comes to $299.71. The interest is everything you pay back minus what you borrowed. A $10,000 loan at 7% for 5 years is repaid with $11,880.75, so $1,880.75 is interest; over 3 years the same loan costs $1,115.76 in interest.
Why is so much of the early payment interest?
Interest is charged on what you still owe, and you owe the most at the start. On $20,000 at 7% for 5 years, the first year’s payments include $1,290.34 of interest and the last year’s only $175.41. The yearly schedule under the result shows the split for every year.
Can I use it for a car loan or a mortgage?
Yes, for any loan with a fixed rate and equal monthly payments. Enter the amount you finance after the down payment. Property tax, insurance, PMI and dealer fees are not added, so a payment quoted by a lender can be higher. To see what an extra monthly payment saves on a home loan, use the mortgage payoff calculator; for a month-by-month home loan schedule, the mortgage amortization calculator.
Is the interest rate the same as the APR?
No. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau describes the APR as the interest rate plus the fees the lender charges, so it is usually the higher number. Enter the interest rate here. Entering an APR that includes fees overstates the payment.

How the term changes the cost

Use it before you sign for a personal, car, student or small business loan with a fixed rate. A longer term lowers the payment and raises the interest: on $20,000 at 7%, 3 years costs $617.54 a month and $2,231.50 in interest, and 7 years $301.85 a month and $5,355.80.

To work backward, change What do you want to find? and type the monthly payment. $400 a month at 7% for 5 years lets you borrow $20,200.80. $20,000 repaid at $400 a month over 5 years means a 7.4201% rate. $20,000 at 7% paid at $500 a month takes 46 months, so the payment shown becomes $496.98.

The yearly schedule shows each year's principal, interest and the balance at year end. A link opens the month-by-month schedule with the same figures.

How the monthly payment is calculated

M = P × i × (1 + i)^n ÷ ((1 + i)^n − 1)

M is the monthly payment, P the amount borrowed, i the monthly rate (the annual rate ÷ 12) and n the number of monthly payments. At 0% the payment is P ÷ n.

Example: $10,000 at 5% for 3 years. i = 0.05 ÷ 12 and n = 36, which gives $299.71 a month, $789.54 in interest and $10,789.54 paid in all. In the first year $3,168.46 goes to principal and $428.06 to interest, leaving a balance of $6,831.54.

The term is whole months, from 1 month up to 100 years. The payment and each month's interest are rounded to the cent, and the last payment clears the balance: here 35 payments of $299.71 and one of $299.69.

Working backward, the term is rounded up to whole months and the rate, found by repeated halving up to 100%, to 4 decimals, so the payment shown can differ from the one typed by a few cents.

The rate is the interest rate, not an APR: fees and insurance are not included.

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