Loan Payment Calculator
Estimate monthly payments, total repayment and total interest from the loan amount, rate and term.
Loan Calculator
A loan calculator works the same way whether you're financing a car, a personal loan or tuition — enter the amount, rate and term, and it turns those three numbers into the monthly payment and total interest you'd actually pay.
What is a loan calculator, and what formula does it use?
It uses the standard amortization formula — the same math a lender uses internally — applied to whatever amount, annual interest rate and term you enter, assuming standard monthly compounding, which is how most personal, auto and student loans actually work. The math itself is exact for that standard structure, though it doesn't account for lender-specific fees or unusual loan structures that vary by lender.
Does it include fees, and why might your real payment be higher than expected?
No — origination fees, late fees and other charges some lenders add on top aren't included in this estimate, so your actual payment could run higher. If your real quote comes in above what this calculator shows, the most common causes are added fees, a shorter term than you assumed, or a higher rate than expected, often because of a lower credit score.
How does the loan term affect your monthly payment and total interest?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but increases the total interest paid, since the balance sits accruing interest for longer; a shorter term raises the monthly payment but reduces total interest. Total interest paid overall depends on the amount borrowed, the rate and the term together — a longer loan generally costs more in interest even at the exact same rate.
What's the difference between APR and the interest rate, and is a lower rate always better?
The interest rate measures the cost of borrowing alone; APR (annual percentage rate) can include the interest rate plus certain finance charges, giving a broader, more comparable picture of a loan's total cost. A lower interest rate generally reduces borrowing costs, but fees, the loan term and repayment flexibility all affect the real total cost too — comparing APR rather than the interest rate alone gives a fairer comparison between two offers.
Can this estimate a car loan, and how much car can you actually afford?
Yes — enter the vehicle price minus any down payment as the loan amount, along with your rate and term, for an auto loan estimate. How much car you can actually afford depends on more than the loan payment alone: your income, existing expenses, down payment, insurance costs and the loan's rate and term all factor into what's a reasonable monthly commitment.
How far back does lending at interest actually go?
Much further than any modern loan product — the earliest recorded lending dates to around 3000 BC in ancient Mesopotamia, where farmers borrowed seed grain at planting time and repaid it from their harvest. By around 2000 BC, the standard commercial interest rate in the region was roughly 20% a year, and the Code of Hammurabi, one of the earliest written legal codes, formally capped interest at 20% on silver loans and 33⅓% on grain loans — while also protecting borrowers by canceling a portion of their debt if a harvest failed due to storms or drought. Regulating how much a lender could charge, in other words, is nearly as old as lending itself.
Is Loan Calculator free to use?
Yes. Loan Calculator is completely free, with no sign-up and no usage limits.
Do I need to install any software?
No. Loan Calculator runs directly in your web browser — nothing to download or install.
Is my data kept private?
Everything happens on your device. We never receive or store the file or text you enter into Loan Calculator.