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Loan payment calculator
Estimate the payment and the interest on a fixed-rate installment loan. Choose level payments, or principal split evenly with interest on the remaining balance.
Results
- Scheduled monthly payment
- $400.76
- Total interest
- $4,045.51
- Total paid
- $24,045.51
- Time to pay off
- 5 years
Interest is rounded to the cent, yen, or won each month. The last payment is the remaining balance plus that month's interest, so it can differ by a small amount.
- Year 1$16,574.74
- Year 2$12,883.54
- Year 3$8,905.79
- Year 4$4,619.24
- Year 5$0.00
| Year | Paid | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,809.12 | $1,383.86 | $3,425.26 | $16,574.74 |
| 2 | $4,809.12 | $1,117.92 | $3,691.20 | $12,883.54 |
| 3 | $4,809.12 | $831.37 | $3,977.75 | $8,905.79 |
| 4 | $4,809.12 | $522.57 | $4,286.55 | $4,619.24 |
| 5 | $4,809.03 | $189.79 | $4,619.24 | $0.00 |
How to use this page
- Replace the sample numbers with your own. Nothing is sent to a server.
- Read the result. It changes as you type.
- Open the formula if you want to recompute the result by hand.
- Copy the result if you want to keep it. The numbers you type stay in this browser and are not added to the address.
Formula
Monthly rate r = APR ÷ 100 ÷ 12. For level payments over n months, payment = principal × r × (1+r)^n ÷ ((1+r)^n − 1). Each month, interest = remaining balance × r, rounded to the currency unit, and the rest of the payment reduces principal. Equal-principal mode pays about principal ÷ n each month, plus that month's interest, so the payment starts higher and falls. A check: 1,200 at 12% for 12 months in equal-principal mode costs 78 of interest, because the monthly interest runs 12, 11, …, 1.
Level payment versus equal principal
A level payment stays the same each month. Early months are mostly interest. Later months are mostly principal. An equal-principal payment cuts the same principal every month, so the interest and the payment shrink. The total interest is lower in the equal-principal version if the rate, amount, and term match, because the balance falls faster. The first payment is higher.
This is not an interest-only loan, a balloon with a large final bill, or a credit card. A card balance that you revolve belongs on the credit-card page, where there is no fixed term until you choose a payment.
Extra payments
The extra amount is applied to principal every month on top of the scheduled payment. The page also shows interest saved against the same loan with no extra. A lender may apply extra payments differently, or may charge a fee for paying early. The savings figure ignores fees.
The annual rate is the nominal APR split into twelve. It is not a monthly rate, and it is not an effective annual rate. Fees that are financed should be included in the principal. Fees paid in cash up front are not in the monthly payment unless you add them yourself.
Easy mistakes
- Typing the monthly rate in the annual field.
- Comparing a level payment with an equal-principal payment while ignoring that the first equal-principal bill is larger.
- Assuming an extra payment is allowed. Some contracts apply it to future interest or charge a penalty. Read the note, then the contract.
Questions
Why is the last payment different?
Interest is rounded to the cent, yen, or won each month. The final month collects whatever principal is left plus that month's interest, so the last bill clears the balance instead of leaving a few units.
Can the term be in months?
Type years, and use a decimal if you need to. Eighteen months is 1.5 years. The page rounds the term to the nearest month.
Does this include insurance or a guarantee fee?
No. Add a fee you are financing into the principal, or budget a separate monthly cost outside this page. The mortgage page has fields for tax, insurance, and a monthly association fee because housing quotes usually bundle them.
Related tools
These figures are estimates you can recompute from the formula on the page. They are not a lender quote, a tax bill, a payroll statement, or financial advice.