Personal Loan Calculator
Enter the amount you want to borrow, the term in years and the interest rate from the loan offer. The calculator shows the fixed monthly payment, the total you repay and the total interest. When the last payment differs from the others, a note under the result gives it. Add an origination fee and it also shows the fee, the money you receive, the APR and the loan you would need to receive the full amount.
How to use the Personal Loan Calculator
- Enter the loan amount, the term in years and the interest rate from the loan offer.
- If the offer has an origination fee, enter it as a percent and choose whether it comes out of the money you receive or goes on top of the loan. Leave it at 0 if there is none.
- Press Calculate to see the monthly payment, the total you repay and the total interest, plus the fee and the APR if you entered a fee.
- Change the term and calculate again. A longer term lowers the monthly payment and raises the total interest.
The personal loan payment formula
M = P · r(1 + r)^n / ((1 + r)^n − 1)
P is the loan amount, r is the annual interest rate divided by 12 and n is the number of monthly payments. The calculator rounds M and each month's interest to the cent, so the last payment pays off what is left and can differ a little from the others. A term that is not a whole number of months is rounded to the nearest month, and a note says so. At 0% the payment is the loan amount divided by the number of months. The fee is the loan amount times the fee percent, rounded to the cent. The APR is 12 times the monthly rate at which your payments are worth the money you receive.
Worked example
A $15,000 personal loan at a 12% interest rate over 4 years: M = $395.01/month, and the last of the 48 payments is $394.88. Total paid: $18,960.35. Interest paid: $3,960.35 over the life of the loan. Add a 5% origination fee taken out of the loan: the fee is $750.00, you receive $14,250.00, the payment stays $395.01 and the APR is 14.78%. Interest plus the fee comes to $4,710.35. To receive the full $15,000 you would borrow $15,789.47. Added to the loan instead, the same fee makes it a $15,750.00 loan at $414.76 a month, with an APR of 14.64%.
Frequently asked questions
Should I enter the APR or the interest rate?
Enter the interest rate from the loan offer, and enter the fee in its own field. The CFPB describes the APR as the interest rate plus fees such as origination charges (page last reviewed August 28, 2026), so an APR entered as the rate would count the fee twice.
How does an origination fee change the loan?
If the lender takes the fee out of the money you receive, you still repay the full loan amount. A 5% fee on a $15,000 loan means you receive $14,250, while the payment is still worked out on $15,000: $395.01 a month at 12% over 4 years. If the fee goes on top of the loan, you receive the full amount and pay interest on the fee as well. Your loan offer says which applies. The fee field takes a percent, so for a flat fee divide it by the loan amount and multiply by 100.
Why is the APR higher than the interest rate?
Because you pay interest on the full loan and pay the fee as well. A federal rule, Regulation Z at 12 CFR 1026.4(b)(3), lists loan fees among the charges in the finance charge (eCFR text up to date as of October 30, 2026). The calculator works out the APR from your schedule and does not say whether an offer suits you. With no fee it shows no APR, because the APR would match the interest rate.
How much do I borrow to receive a set amount?
Enter the amount you need and the fee. The note under the result gives the loan that leaves that amount after the fee. By hand, divide by 1 minus the fee: $15,000 / 0.95 = $15,789.47. That note appears only when the fee comes out of the money you receive.
How does the term change the payment?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment and raises the total interest. At 12%, $15,000 over 3 years costs $498.21 a month and $2,935.75 in interest. Over 5 years it costs $333.67 a month and $5,019.93 in interest.