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Calculate your monthly loan payments, total interest, and total cost instantly.
Our free loan calculator helps you estimate your monthly payment for any loan. Enter the loan amount, interest rate, and term to get instant results including total interest paid and overall cost. The calculator is designed to give a fast answer, but the quality of the answer still depends on accurate inputs and a clear idea of what decision you are trying to support.
- Enter Loan Amount, Annual Interest Rate, and Loan Term using the same units you plan to compare or report.
- Read the main monthly payment first, then use the supporting outputs to understand the trade-offs behind that result.
- Compare your numbers with the worked examples below if you want a quick reasonableness check.
Monthly payment tells you the cash flow commitment, while total payment and total interest show how expensive the borrowing becomes over the full term. On this page, the primary output is monthly payment.
Scenario 1: $10,000 personal loan at 6% for 3 years. Inputs used: principal: 10000, rate: 6, term: 36. Example result: $304.22/month. A $10,000 loan at 6% annual interest over 36 months results in a monthly payment of $304.22, totaling $10,951.92 — meaning $951.92 in interest. Scenario 2: $25,000 auto loan at 4.5% for 5 years. Inputs used: principal: 25000, rate: 4.5, term: 60. Example result: $466.08/month. A $25,000 auto loan at 4.5% over 60 months costs $466.08 per month, with $2,964.80 in total interest paid.
Core formula: M = P * [r(1+r)^n] / [(1+r)^n - 1]. This is the standard amortization formula for fixed-payment loans. It spreads principal and interest across the full repayment term.
- When the rate is zero, the payment falls back to principal divided by term.
- Total interest equals total payments minus the amount borrowed.
Use this calculator when comparing lenders, checking affordability, or deciding between shorter and longer repayment periods. Related paths for follow-up analysis include mortgage calculator, compound interest calculator, and roi calculator.
Most bad outputs come from a few repeated input errors or interpretation mistakes. Use this short checklist before relying on the result.
- Comparing monthly payments without checking total interest paid.
- Using years when the calculator expects months for the term input.
- Ignoring fees that are outside the amortization formula.
