Loan Payment Calculator
Estimate your monthly payment and total interest on a fixed-rate loan from the principal, rate, and term.
Educational estimate only, not financial advice. Your actual payment depends on the exact terms your lender offers, including fees, taxes, and insurance that aren't part of this calculation.
How it works
Enter the loan amount, the annual interest rate, and the term in years. The calculator converts the annual rate into a monthly rate, converts the term into a number of monthly payments, and runs the standard fixed-rate amortization formula lenders use for mortgages, auto loans, and personal loans. If you enter a 0% rate, it just splits the loan evenly across every payment, since there's no interest to amortize.
Worked example: a $250,000 loan at 6.5% over 30 years comes out to a monthly payment of $1,580.17. Multiply that by 360 payments and you've paid $568,861.20 total, which means $318,861.20 of that is interest, more than the original loan amount. That gap is the real cost of stretching a loan out over three decades, and it's why even a small drop in rate or a shorter term changes the total so much.
FAQ
Why is the total interest so much higher than the loan amount?
Interest is calculated on whatever balance is still outstanding, and early in a long loan almost the entire balance is still outstanding. Over 30 years at a normal mortgage rate, interest routinely adds up to more than the principal itself. Shortening the term or paying extra toward principal each month cuts that total fast, because it shrinks the balance interest gets charged on sooner.
Does this include taxes, insurance, or fees?
No. This is just principal and interest on the loan itself. A mortgage payment you actually write a check for usually also includes property taxes and homeowners insurance held in escrow, plus possibly PMI. Ask your lender for the full estimated payment, not just the principal and interest number, before you budget around it.
What happens if I put in a shorter term?
A shorter term raises the monthly payment but lowers the total interest, often by a lot, because you're paying down the balance faster and giving interest less time to accumulate. Try the same loan amount and rate at 15 years instead of 30 and compare the total interest line to see the difference for yourself.
Can I use this for a car loan or personal loan, not just a mortgage?
Yes, the math is the same fixed-rate amortization regardless of what the loan is for. Just make sure you're using the loan's actual annual percentage rate (APR), not a teaser rate or a monthly rate mistakenly entered as an annual one.
For more on the bigger picture around loans and debt, see understanding your student loan repayment options, whether a debt consolidation loan is worth it, and how to save for a house down payment.