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Personal Loan Calculator

This personal loan calculator shows the monthly payment and total interest from the amount, APR, and term, plus a payoff schedule. Add an origination fee only when the lender finances it into principal. This is not a loan offer or a live rate.

Amount you want to borrow, before a financed origination fee.

Annual percentage rate. 0% is allowed.

Length of the loan in the unit selected below.

Term unit

36 months and 3 years are the same term.

Added to principal when the fee is financed. Leave 0 if you pay it upfront.

Payment estimate

Monthly payment
$332.10
Number of payments
36
Financed principal
$10,000.00
Total interest
$1,955.40
Total paid
$11,955.40

Principal and interest only. Not a loan offer, not live rates, and not taxes or insurance.

Advertiser disclosure: A finance partner link will show here when it is live. We may earn a commission if you use it. This is not a loan offer, and the calculator result does not change.

Advertiser disclosure: Affiliate link: we may earn a commission if you sign up, at no cost to you.

Payoff schedule

Year-by-year principal versus interest
YearPrincipalInterestRemaining
$2,944.53$1,040.67$7,055.47
Month 1$232.18$99.92$9,767.82
Month 2$234.50$97.60$9,533.32
Month 3$236.85$95.25$9,296.47
Month 4$239.21$92.89$9,057.26
Month 5$241.60$90.50$8,815.66
Month 6$244.02$88.08$8,571.64
Month 7$246.46$85.64$8,325.18
Month 8$248.92$83.18$8,076.26
Month 9$251.40$80.70$7,824.86
Month 10$253.92$78.18$7,570.94
Month 11$256.45$75.65$7,314.49
Month 12$259.02$73.08$7,055.47
$3,317.64$667.56$3,737.83
$3,737.83$247.17$0.00

Tap a year to see that year’s monthly rows. Each month splits the payment into principal versus interest and shows the remaining balance.

How to use

  1. Enter the loan amount you want to borrow, before any financed fee.
  2. Enter the APR. Zero percent is allowed and divides principal evenly across the months.
  3. Enter the term and choose months or years. Thirty-six months and three years are the same term.
  4. Enter an origination fee only if it is added to the amount you repay. Leave 0 if you pay that fee upfront in cash.
  5. Read monthly payment, number of payments, financed principal, total interest, and total paid. Open a year in the payoff schedule for that year’s principal, interest, and remaining balance.

Formula

Monthly payment M = P × r(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n − 1). P is financed principal, the loan amount plus a financed origination fee. r = APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12, and n is the term in months. At 0% APR, M = P ÷ n. Each month, interest is the remaining balance × r, rounded to the cent, and the rest of the payment reduces principal.

Example. $10,000 at 10% APR for 36 months and a $0 fee has a monthly payment of $322.67. Total interest is $1,616.20 and total paid is $11,616.20. Month 1 interest is $83.33 and principal is $239.34, leaving $9,760.66. Financing a $300 origination fee raises principal to $10,300, the payment to $332.35, and total interest to $1,664.69.

Frequently asked questions

What is the personal loan payment formula?

The monthly payment is M = P × r(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n − 1). P is financed principal, r is APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12, and n is the number of months. $10,000 at 10% APR for 36 months and no fee uses P = 10,000, r = 0.10 ÷ 12, and n = 36, so the payment is $322.67. Total interest is $1,616.20 and total paid is $11,616.20. At 0% APR the formula simplifies to principal divided by months: $1,200 over 12 months is $100.00 a month and $0.00 interest.

Are 36 months and 3 years the same term?

Yes. Choose Months and enter 36, or choose Years and enter 3. Both run the same 36-payment schedule. The term must be longer than zero. A 5-year loan is 60 months.

Should I include an origination fee?

Enter the fee only when the lender adds it to the amount you repay. $10,000 at 10% APR for 36 months with a $300 financed fee uses principal of $10,300, a payment of $332.35, and total interest of $1,664.69. If you pay the fee in cash at signing, leave the field at 0. That cash fee does not change the payment this page calculates. It can raise the APR a lender discloses, which this field does not recompute.

What does the payoff schedule show?

The table groups the loan by year: principal paid, interest paid, and the balance left at the end of that year. Open a year to see each month. On $10,000 at 10% APR for 36 months, month 1 interest is $83.33 and principal is $239.34, leaving $9,760.66. Year 1 pays $3,007.41 of principal and $864.63 of interest and ends at $6,992.59. The last year pays the balance down to $0.00.

Is this a loan offer or a live rate?

No. Quick Tools does not lend money, check credit, or pull lender rates. Type an amount, APR, and term you are considering. Eligibility, fees, and the rate you are offered come from a lender. The estimate is principal and interest on a fixed installment loan.

Does this include taxes, insurance, or extra payments?

No. An unsecured personal loan payment here is principal and interest only. There is no escrow for taxes or insurance, no credit-score adjustment, and no extra or lump-sum payment. Paying extra in real life would reduce later interest; this schedule assumes you pay the calculated amount each month and nothing more.

What happens in the first month of a loan?

Interest for the month is the starting balance times the monthly rate, rounded to the cent. The rest of the payment is principal. At 10% APR, the monthly rate is 0.10 ÷ 12. On a $10,000 balance that is $83.33 of interest. A $322.67 payment therefore applies $239.34 to principal. Each later month charges interest on the smaller balance, so the interest share shrinks and the principal share grows.

Can the APR be zero?

Yes. Enter 0 in APR (%). The payment is financed principal divided by the number of months, and total interest is $0.00. A $1,200 loan for 12 months at 0% is $100.00 a month. A financed origination fee is still added to principal before that division.

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