Loan Payment
What will my loan cost each month — and in total?
Use this for car loans, personal loans, student loans and other loans with a fixed monthly payment. It shows your payment, how much of your money goes to interest, and how much you'd save by paying a little extra.
How to use this calculatorShowHide
- Step 1: Enter how much you're borrowing, the interest rate and how long you have to pay it back.
- Step 2: Optional: try adding a small extra payment (even $25 or $50) to see how much faster you'd be done.
- Step 3: Check “Total interest” — that's the real cost of borrowing on top of the amount you borrowed.
What you'll need
- The loan amount
- The interest rate or APR — on your loan offer or monthly statement
- The loan length (term), such as 5 years or 60 months
Don't know a number? Leave the example value in, or tap the ⓘ next to it. New to this? Read the Beginner's Guide →
Payment per month
$1,199.10
Borrowing $200,000 at 6% means paying $1,199.10 a month. Over the life of the loan you'll pay $231,677 in interest — $431,677 in total — and be debt-free in Jan 2056.
- Total interest
- $231,677.04
- Total paid
- $431,677.04
- Payoff date
- Jan 2056
- 360 payments
What this means
In plain English
Most loans — car loans, personal loans, student loans — are paid back with the same payment every month. Each payment covers that month's interest first, and whatever is left pays down what you owe.
At the start, most of your payment goes to interest. As you owe less, more and more of each payment goes toward the loan itself. The schedule table shows this payment by payment.
When to use it
- Checking whether a monthly payment fits your budget before you borrow
- Comparing a shorter loan with a longer one
- Seeing how much you'd save by paying a little extra
Example
Borrow $200,000 at 6% for 30 years. Your payment is $1,199.10 a month.
Over 30 years you'd pay about $231,677 in interest — more than you borrowed. Pay just $200 extra each month and you'd finish 9 years early and save about $79,800.
Watch out for
Only looking at the monthly payment. A longer loan has a smaller payment, but you pay interest for more years — often far more in total. Always check "Total interest" too. And before paying extra, make sure your lender doesn't charge a fee for paying early.
The math (optional)
Payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n)
- P — the amount borrowed
- r — the rate per payment (yearly rate ÷ payments per year; 6% monthly → 0.005)
- n — the total number of payments (30 years × 12 = 360)
With a 0% rate, the payment is just the amount ÷ the number of payments. Each row is rounded to the cent, and the last payment is adjusted by a few cents so you end at exactly $0.00.