Loan Payment Calculator

Work out your monthly loan payment, total interest, payoff date, and the full amortization schedule for any US personal, auto, or student loan. The default is a $25,000 loan at 7.5% APR over 60 months: $500.95 a month, $5,056.92 of interest, and a payoff in November 2031.

What Is a Loan Payment Calculator?

A loan payment calculator works out the monthly payment on any fixed-rate loan: how much you pay each month, how much interest you pay in total, and when the loan is paid off. Enter the loan amount, the annual interest rate (APR), and the term, and the answer appears instantly. The free loan payment calculator above also builds a full month-by-month amortization schedule and shows how extra payments cut the interest and shorten the loan.

This is the USA wording for the calculation. Americans search for “loan payment calculator”, “monthly loan payment” and “car payment calculator” — not for the term used in other countries. The maths is the same everywhere: a fixed monthly payment that covers the interest charged that month plus a slice of the principal, so the balance falls to zero on the last payment. Below you will find the formula, a worked example on a $25,000 loan, the yearly schedule, typical APR ranges for 2026, and the extra-payment tricks that save real money.

What the calculator shows

The result box shows the monthly payment, the total paid over the life of the loan, the total interest, and the payoff month. Below that, a bar shows how much of your total payments go to principal and how much to interest. Then comes the amortization schedule: the first 12 payments in detail, the last payment, and a yearly summary. Enter an extra monthly, yearly, or one-time payment and the whole schedule recomputes, showing the months saved and the interest saved.

How to Use the Loan Payment Calculator

Four numbers define any loan payment, and the calculator needs all four. Get them from your loan offer or from the loan you are considering, and the result is exact for a fixed-rate loan.

1. Enter the loan amount. This is the principal you borrow, before interest. The default is $25,000, a typical personal or auto loan size.
2. Enter the annual interest rate (APR). Use the APR from the loan offer, not the advertised interest rate, because the APR includes fees. The default is 7.5%.
3. Enter the loan term in years. Common terms are 3, 5 or 7 years for personal and auto loans. The default is 5 years (60 months).
4. Pick the loan type. Personal, auto, student or other — this changes the rate context shown, not the maths.
5. Add extra payments if you want. An extra monthly amount, an extra yearly amount, or a one-time payment, all applied to principal.
6. Set the first payment month. The payoff date counts forward from this month. The default is December 2026.

The schedule updates as you type. Try changing the term from 5 years to 3 years on the default loan and watch the monthly payment rise while the total interest falls sharply — that trade-off is the most important lesson in borrowing.

The Loan Payment Formula

The monthly payment on a fixed-rate loan comes from the amortization formula. With P as the loan amount, r as the monthly interest rate (APR divided by 12), and n as the number of monthly payments, the monthly payment M is P times r times (1 + r) to the power n, divided by (1 + r) to the power n minus 1. If the APR is zero, the payment is simply the loan amount divided by the number of months.

Each month, the lender charges interest on the balance still owed, and the rest of your payment reduces the balance. Early on, most of the payment is interest; late in the loan, most of it is principal. That is why extra payments made early save so much interest: they cut the balance while the interest charge is still large.

Worked example: $25,000 at 7.5% for 5 years

The monthly rate is 7.5% divided by 12, which is 0.625% or 0.00625. The number of payments is 60. Plugging those into the formula gives a monthly payment of $500.95. Over 60 payments that is $30,056.92 in total, of which $5,056.92 is interest and $25,000.00 is the principal you borrowed. The first payment is $156.25 of interest and $344.70 of principal, leaving a balance of $24,655.30. The last payment, number 60, is $3.11 of interest and $497.84 of principal, leaving a balance of $0.00. The mortgage calculator uses the same formula for a home loan, with taxes and insurance added on top.

Your Default Loan: $25,000 at 7.5% for 60 Months

The table below is the year-by-year summary of the default loan, generated by the calculator itself. Notice the pattern: in year 1 you pay $1,729.81 of interest and only $4,281.58 of principal, but by year 5 the split has reversed — $237.25 of interest and $5,774.13 of principal. The balance falls slowly at first and quickly at the end, which is exactly why paying extra early is so powerful.

The five years of interest add up to $5,056.92, which matches the total interest in the result box, and the five years of principal add up to $25,000.00, the amount borrowed. If you change any input in the calculator above, this table recomputes with it.

Amortization Schedule Explained

An amortization schedule is the month-by-month record of a loan: for each payment, how much went to interest, how much to principal, and what balance remained. The calculator shows the first 12 payments and the last payment in full, plus the yearly summary above. The first payment on the default loan is $500.95, split into $156.25 of interest and $344.70 of principal, leaving $24,655.30 owed. By payment 12 the interest has fallen and the principal share has risen, and by payment 60 the interest is just $3.11.

Reading a schedule teaches you two things. First, the interest is front-loaded: you pay the most interest when the balance is highest, which is at the start. Second, the schedule is a promise: if you pay exactly the monthly amount on time every month, the balance hits zero on the payoff date. Miss a payment, and the interest keeps growing while the balance stands still.

• Payment number: which monthly payment this is, from 1 to the term in months.
• Interest: the balance times the monthly rate. It falls every month as the balance falls.
• Principal: the payment minus the interest. It rises every month as the interest falls.
• Balance: what you still owe after the payment. It reaches exactly $0.00 on the last payment.

Extra Payments: How $50 a Month Saves $564.42

Extra payments go straight to principal, which cuts the balance, which cuts next month’s interest, which leaves more of the following payment for principal. The effect compounds in your favour. On the default $25,000 loan at 7.5% for 60 months, adding just $50.00 a month pays the loan off in 54 months instead of 60, cuts total interest from $5,056.92 to $4,492.51, and saves $564.42 plus 6 months of payments.

Two patterns stand out. First, small monthly extras beat a single lump sum: $50 a month for 54 months is $2,700 of extra payments and saves $564.42, while a single $1,000 payment saves $444.61. Second, the earlier the extra money goes in, the more it saves — an extra payment in month 1 cuts 60 months of interest, while the same amount in month 50 cuts only 10. If you get a tax refund, a bonus, or a raise, sending it to the loan in the first year is the best use of it. Just check first that your loan has no prepayment penalty; most personal and auto loans in the US do not, but some do.

• Round up the payment: paying $550 instead of $500.95 is an extra $49.05 a month, and it works like the $50 example above.
• Pay biweekly: half the monthly payment every two weeks gives 26 half-payments a year — one extra monthly payment a year, which trims the term by months.
• Send windfalls to principal: tax refunds, bonuses and rebates cut the balance fastest when they arrive early.
• Ask for principal-only: when you send extra money, confirm in writing that it is applied to principal, not held as a future payment.

Loan Types and Typical APR Ranges in 2026

Interest rates vary widely by loan type and by credit score, and the ranges below are reference points from 2026 surveys, not live quotes. Rates change weekly, so check current offers before borrowing. The calculator uses whatever APR you enter, and the rate you actually get depends mostly on your credit score, your income, and the loan type.

Different surveys disagree because they measure different things: Bankrate surveys lender offers, Edmunds measures actual loans made, and Dealertrack measures prime-tier averages. That is why the auto-loan range above is wide. What matters for your payment is the APR on your own offer, and the calculator will work it out for any rate you enter. The CalculatorSoup loan calculator is another independent check on the same formula, and Bankrate’s loan calculators show the same amortization maths for mortgages.

Auto Loans: What a Car Really Costs a Month

The average new-car loan in the United States in the third quarter of 2026 was $44,664 at 7.0% APR, with a monthly payment of about $787, according to Edmunds. That $787 payment reflects the longer terms buyers now take — about 69 months at that rate. On a 60-month term at 7.0%, the same $44,664 loan would cost $884.40 a month, with $8,400.04 of total interest. The longer term lowers the payment by about $97 a month but stretches the loan by nine months, which is the trade-off every car buyer should see before signing.

Two auto-loan traps catch buyers. The first is the long term: stretching a loan to 72 or 84 months lowers the monthly payment but raises the total interest and leaves you owing more than the car is worth for years. The second is the monthly-payment trap at the dealership: a dealer who asks “what monthly payment do you want?” can meet almost any number by extending the term. Decide the loan amount and the term first, run them through this calculator, and negotiate the price of the car — not the payment.

• Keep the term at 60 months or less for a new car, so the loan does not outlive the warranty by years.
• Put money down — a down payment cuts the amount financed, the monthly payment, and the total interest all at once.
• Get pre-approved from your bank or credit union before visiting the dealer, so you have a rate to compare.
• Check the total, not just the payment: a $600 payment for 84 months costs $50,400, while a $700 payment for 60 months costs $42,000.

Personal Loans: Fast Cash, Higher Rates

Personal loans are unsecured — there is no car or house behind them — so lenders charge more. The average rate is about 12% for a borrower with a 700 credit score, and the range runs from about 7% for excellent credit to 36% for poor credit. At 12% APR, a $25,000 loan for 5 years costs $556.11 a month, with $8,366.67 of total interest — far more than the $5,056.92 at 7.5% in the default example. That difference is the price of the higher rate, and it is why improving your credit score before borrowing can save thousands.

Personal loans are useful for consolidating credit card debt, because card rates are usually much higher than personal loan rates, and for one-off expenses such as a medical bill or a home repair. They are a poor way to fund a holiday or a wedding, because the interest turns a one-week trip into five years of payments. Always compare the personal loan rate with the rate on the debt it replaces, and never borrow more than the debt you are consolidating.

• Compare APR, not the monthly payment: the APR includes fees, so it is the honest price of the loan.
• Watch origination fees: a 5% origination fee on a $25,000 loan is $1,250 taken off the top, so you receive $23,750 but pay interest on $25,000.
• Shorter is cheaper: a 3-year personal loan costs more per month but far less interest than a 5-year loan at the same rate.
• Do not stack loans: taking a second personal loan to pay the first is a warning sign, not a solution.

Student Loans: Federal Rules Are Different

Federal student loans work differently from personal and auto loans. The interest rate is fixed by Congress for the year the loan is taken out, the loan offers income-driven repayment plans, and borrowers may qualify for forgiveness programs such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The calculator above works out the standard 10-year payment for any balance and rate you enter, which is the baseline every other plan is compared against.

Private student loans behave like personal loans: the rate depends on your credit score, often with a co-signer, and the repayment options are narrower. If you have both federal and private loans, pay the private ones first when you have extra money, because their rates are usually higher and their protections are weaker. And never refinance a federal loan into a private loan without understanding that you give up income-driven repayment and forgiveness forever.

• Standard plan: fixed payments over 10 years — the baseline this calculator shows.
• Income-driven plans: payments set as a share of income, with forgiveness after 20 or 25 years of payments.
• Extra payments: apply to the highest-rate loan first, which is the avalanche method.
• Interest during school: on unsubsidized loans, interest builds while you study, so the balance at graduation is larger than the amount borrowed.

APR vs Interest Rate: They Are Not the Same Thing

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the money. The APR, the annual percentage rate, is the interest rate plus the fees, spread over the loan term and expressed as a yearly rate. When fees exist, the APR is always higher than the interest rate, and the APR is the number that lets you compare two loan offers honestly. A loan at 7.0% interest with a 2% origination fee can cost more than a loan at 7.5% interest with no fee, and only the APR shows that.

The calculator asks for the APR and uses it as the rate in the formula. If your offer only quotes an interest rate, add the fees into your thinking separately: the true cost is the interest plus the fees, and the APR is the lender’s own statement of that total. US law requires lenders to disclose the APR under the Truth in Lending Act, so it is always on the offer — look for it before you sign.

• Interest rate: the rate charged on the balance each month.
• APR: the interest rate plus fees, as a yearly rate. The honest comparison number.
• Fees that raise APR: origination fees, points, and some closing costs.
• Fees that do not: late fees and prepayment penalties are not in the APR.

What the Monthly Payment Does NOT Include

The payment this calculator shows is principal and interest only. Real loans often have other costs on top, and forgetting them is the most common budgeting mistake borrowers make.

• Mortgage: property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, PMI (private mortgage insurance) and HOA dues are usually added to the mortgage payment. The mortgage calculator includes them.
• Auto loan: insurance, registration, and maintenance are separate monthly costs, and lenders require full coverage insurance on a financed car.
• Personal loan: origination fees are often taken out of the loan before you receive it, so you get less cash than you borrowed.
• Student loan: fees and capitalised interest add to the balance before repayment starts.

Add those costs to the monthly payment before deciding whether you can afford the loan. A $500.95 loan payment is affordable only if the rest of the costs fit in your budget too. To check affordability against your income, the salary calculator converts your pay to a monthly figure, and student loan interest may be tax-deductible — the federal tax calculator shows how a deduction changes your tax.

How Extra Payments Change the Payoff Date

The payoff date depends on the first payment month you enter. With the default first payment of December 2026 and 60 payments, the last payment falls in November 2031. Add $50 a month and the loan ends in May 2031 — six months earlier. Add $100 a month and it ends in December 2030 — eleven months earlier. A single $1,000 payment at the start ends it in September 2031, two months earlier.

That is the whole secret of paying off debt early: every extra dollar goes to principal, and principal paid today stops interest from being charged on it for every month that remains. The effect is biggest at the start of the loan, when the balance and the interest charge are both at their largest, and it fades as the loan nears its end. If you can only afford extra payments for one year, do it in the first year, not the last.

Common Loan Mistakes to Avoid

Borrowing mistakes are expensive because they repeat every month for years. Here are the ones that cost the most.

• Shopping by monthly payment alone. A low payment on a long term costs far more in total interest than a higher payment on a short term.
• Ignoring the APR. Comparing interest rates without fees hides the true cost of the loan.
• Skipping the amortization schedule. The schedule shows how little principal you pay in year 1 — and why extra payments matter most early on.
• Borrowing the maximum offered. The lender’s maximum is not your budget. Borrow what the purchase needs, not what the lender will allow.
• Forgetting the extra costs. Taxes, insurance, fees and PMI sit on top of the principal-and-interest payment.
• Paying extra without checking prepayment penalties. Most US personal and auto loans have none, but check before you send extra money.
• Refinancing without doing the maths. A lower rate helps only if the fees and the new term do not eat the saving. Run both loans through this calculator first.

Three Worked Examples

These examples use the calculator above, so you can check every number by entering the same inputs.

Example 1 — the default loan. Borrow $25,000 at 7.5% APR for 5 years. Monthly payment $500.95, total paid $30,056.92, total interest $5,056.92, payoff November 2031 with the first payment in December 2026. The first payment is $156.25 of interest and $344.70 of principal; the last payment is $3.11 of interest and $497.84 of principal.

Example 2 — the same loan with $50 extra a month. Borrow $25,000 at 7.5% for 5 years and pay $50.00 extra each month. The loan is paid off in 54 months, in May 2031, with total interest of $4,492.51. You save $564.42 of interest and 6 months of payments, for $2,700 of extra payments spread over the life of the loan.

Example 3 — a $10,000 loan at 12% for 3 years. Borrow $10,000 at 12% APR for 36 months. The monthly payment is $332.14, the total paid is $11,957.15, and the total interest is $1,957.15. Compare that with the same $10,000 at 7.5% for 3 years: $311.06 a month and $1,198.24 of interest. The 4.5-point rate difference costs $758.91 — which is why your credit score matters so much when you borrow.

Loan Payment Calculator vs Mortgage Calculator

A loan payment calculator and a mortgage calculator use the same formula, but a mortgage has extra layers: property tax, homeowner’s insurance, PMI, and sometimes HOA dues, all rolled into one monthly payment. The mortgage calculator handles those. Use this loan payment calculator for personal loans, auto loans, student loans, and any other fixed-rate loan where the payment is principal and interest only. If you want to see what the same money would earn instead of cost, the compound interest calculator shows the other side of the same maths.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is a monthly loan payment calculated?

With the amortization formula: the monthly payment equals the loan amount times the monthly rate times (1 plus the monthly rate) to the power of the number of payments, divided by (1 plus the monthly rate) to the power of the number of payments minus 1. The monthly rate is the APR divided by 12.

What is the difference between APR and interest rate?

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the balance. The APR adds the fees to the interest rate and expresses the total as a yearly rate. When fees exist, the APR is higher, and it is the honest number for comparing loan offers.

How much interest will I pay on a $25,000 loan at 7.5% for 5 years?

Total interest of $5,056.92, with a monthly payment of $500.95 and a total paid of $30,056.92. Adding $50 a month cuts the interest to $4,492.51 and pays the loan off 6 months early.

Do extra payments really save money?

Yes. Extra payments go straight to principal, which cuts the balance and every future interest charge. On a $25,000 loan at 7.5%, $50 extra a month saves $564.42 of interest and 6 months of payments.

Does the calculator include taxes and insurance?

No. The payment shown is principal and interest only. Mortgages add property tax, insurance and PMI, and auto loans sit alongside insurance and registration costs. Add those separately to your budget.

What happens if I miss a payment?

Interest keeps building on the balance, a late fee is usually charged, the payoff date moves later, and the missed payment can be reported to the credit bureaus. If you cannot pay, call the lender before the due date — many offer a short hardship pause.

Can I pay off a loan early without a penalty?

Most personal and auto loans in the US have no prepayment penalty, but some do. Check your loan agreement for the words “prepayment penalty” before sending extra money, and confirm extra payments are applied to principal.

Disclaimer: This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Rates shown are reference ranges, not live quotes, and change weekly. The payment shown is principal and interest only and excludes taxes, insurance, fees and PMI. Check your loan offer before borrowing.