Loan Calculator: Monthly Payment and Total Cost

Written byOleh Soloninupdated 5 October 2026

Loan amount

Interest rate (% APR)

Currency

Term (months)

Payment type

Payment table

Early repayment

Amount

In month

Use it to lower

Loan totals

Payment

$101,805.86

per month

Total paid

$3,665,011.03

Interest paid

$665,011.03

Term

36 mo

PrincipalInterest

$3,000,000.00$665,011.03

Balance trend

Month 1$2,931,944.14

Month 8$2,433,626.32

Month 15$1,894,716.42

Month 22$1,311,907.88

Month 29$681,624.81

Month 36$0.00

Month	Payment	Interest	Principal	Balance
1	$101,805.86	$33,750.00	$68,055.86	$2,931,944.14
2	$101,805.86	$32,984.37	$68,821.49	$2,863,122.65
3	$101,805.86	$32,210.13	$69,595.73	$2,793,526.92
4	$101,805.86	$31,427.18	$70,378.68	$2,723,148.23
5	$101,805.86	$30,635.42	$71,170.44	$2,651,977.79
6	$101,805.86	$29,834.75	$71,971.11	$2,580,006.67
7	$101,805.86	$29,025.08	$72,780.79	$2,507,225.89
8	$101,805.86	$28,206.29	$73,599.57	$2,433,626.32
9	$101,805.86	$27,378.30	$74,427.57	$2,359,198.75
10	$101,805.86	$26,540.99	$75,264.88	$2,283,933.88
11	$101,805.86	$25,694.26	$76,111.61	$2,207,822.27
12	$101,805.86	$24,838.00	$76,967.86	$2,130,854.41
13	$101,805.86	$23,972.11	$77,833.75	$2,053,020.66
14	$101,805.86	$23,096.48	$78,709.38	$1,974,311.28
15	$101,805.86	$22,211.00	$79,594.86	$1,894,716.42
16	$101,805.86	$21,315.56	$80,490.30	$1,814,226.12
17	$101,805.86	$20,410.04	$81,395.82	$1,732,830.30
18	$101,805.86	$19,494.34	$82,311.52	$1,650,518.78
19	$101,805.86	$18,568.34	$83,237.53	$1,567,281.25
20	$101,805.86	$17,631.91	$84,173.95	$1,483,107.30
21	$101,805.86	$16,684.96	$85,120.90	$1,397,986.40
22	$101,805.86	$15,727.35	$86,078.52	$1,311,907.88
23	$101,805.86	$14,758.96	$87,046.90	$1,224,860.98
24	$101,805.86	$13,779.69	$88,026.18	$1,136,834.81
25	$101,805.86	$12,789.39	$89,016.47	$1,047,818.34
26	$101,805.86	$11,787.96	$90,017.91	$957,800.43
27	$101,805.86	$10,775.25	$91,030.61	$866,769.83
28	$101,805.86	$9,751.16	$92,054.70	$774,715.12
29	$101,805.86	$8,715.55	$93,090.32	$681,624.81
30	$101,805.86	$7,668.28	$94,137.58	$587,487.22
31	$101,805.86	$6,609.23	$95,196.63	$492,290.59
32	$101,805.86	$5,538.27	$96,267.59	$396,023.00
33	$101,805.86	$4,455.26	$97,350.60	$298,672.40
34	$101,805.86	$3,360.06	$98,445.80	$200,226.60
35	$101,805.86	$2,252.55	$99,553.31	$100,673.29
36	$101,805.86	$1,132.57	$100,673.29	$0.00

Estimate an annuity loan payment from amount, annual rate, and term.

Calculate monthly loan payment, total interest, and total repayment from amount, APR, and term for quick offer comparison.

A loan calculator answers two questions at once: what the monthly payment will be, and how much the borrowing costs in total. The payment comes from the amount, the rate and the term; the cost is everything paid above the amount borrowed, which is the number lenders quote least often.

On the default figures — 1,000,000 at 14.5% over 60 months — the payment is 23,528.28 and the total interest 411,696.86, so 1,411,696.86 is repaid in all. Stretching the same loan to a longer term lowers the payment and raises that total; shortening it does the reverse.

How to use

Enter the loan amount, the annual rate and the term in months.
Pick the payment type: annuity payments stay equal, declining payments start higher and shrink every month.
To test an early repayment, enter the amount, the month you will pay it and whether it should shorten the term or lower the payment.
Compare the payment, total interest and interest saved, and scroll the schedule to see interest and balance month by month.

Annuity or declining payments

An annuity keeps the payment constant: payment = amount × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), with r the monthly rate and n the number of months. The interest share falls over time and the principal share grows; whether interest is more than half of the first payment depends on the rate and the term.

With declining payments the principal is repaid in equal parts and interest is charged on what is left, so each payment is smaller than the one before. The first payments are higher, but the total interest is lower because the balance falls faster.

Worked out with this calculator.
25,000 at 8% for 60 months	Annuity	Declining
First payment	506.91	583.33
Last payment	506.91	419.44
Total interest	5,414.59	5,083.33

Early repayment: shorter term or lower payment

An extra repayment goes straight to principal, and no interest is charged on that part again. Keeping the payment and finishing sooner always saves more than keeping the term and paying less, because the balance stays lower for longer.

On the same loan, 5,000 repaid early in month 12 closes it in 47 months instead of 60 and saves 1,606.67 in interest. Used to lower the payment instead, it cuts the payment to 384.85 and saves 859.10. The earlier the extra repayment, the more it saves.

Monthly payment by loan size and term

Find your loan amount and term for a quick estimate. The rate used is 11.86%, the Federal Reserve's G.19 average for 24-month personal loans at commercial banks in the second quarter of 2026. Stretching 15,000 from three years to five lowers the payment from 497.21 to 332.61 but raises the interest from 2,899.64 to 4,956.39.

Monthly payment at 11.86% a year. Enter your own rate in the calculator.
Loan	12 months	24 months	36 months	60 months
5,000	443.92	235.04	165.74	110.87
10,000	887.83	470.08	331.47	221.74
15,000	1,331.75	705.12	497.21	332.61
25,000	2,219.58	1,175.20	828.69	554.34
50,000	4,439.17	2,350.41	1,657.37	1,108.69

How the rate changes the total cost

Every four percentage points add 28 to 31 a month to a 15,000 loan over three years and about 1,000 to 1,100 to the total interest. At 24% the interest is more than three times what it is at 8%.

Loan of 15,000 over 36 months. Worked out with this calculator.
Rate	Monthly payment	Total interest over 36 months
8%	470.05	1,921.64
12%	498.21	2,935.73
16%	527.36	3,984.80
20%	557.45	5,068.34
24%	588.49	6,185.74

What this calculator shows

Monthly payment estimate
Total interest over the full term
Total amount repaid

What to keep in mind

Fixed APR and equal monthly payments are assumed.
Fees, insurance, and one-off commissions are not included.
Payment dates are treated as regular monthly periods.

Where the numbers come from

Checked against the standard annuity payment formula.

FAQs

Should an early repayment shorten the term or lower the payment?

Shortening the term saves more interest, because the balance stays lower for longer. Lowering the payment eases the monthly budget but keeps you borrowing for the full term.

How is the monthly payment calculated?

With the standard annuity formula, which keeps the payment constant while shifting its split: the interest share shrinks and the principal share grows month by month. Whether interest is more than half of the first payment depends on the rate and the term.

Why does the total repaid exceed the amount borrowed by so much?

Interest accrues on the outstanding balance every month. On a long term at a high rate, the interest can approach or exceed the principal itself.

Does a longer term make a loan cheaper?

No: it lowers the payment and raises the total cost. 15,000 at 11.86% costs 497.21 a month and 2,899.64 in interest over three years, or 332.61 a month and 4,956.39 in interest over five.

What is the monthly payment on a 10,000 loan?

At 11.86% it is 331.47 over 36 months or 221.74 over 60 months, with total interest of 1,933.09 or 3,304.26. Enter your own rate and term to see your figure.

How much can I borrow with a 400 monthly payment?

Use loan = payment × (1 − (1 + r)^−n) ÷ r, where r is the monthly rate. At 11.86% over 36 months, 400 a month repays a loan of about 12,067.

How is the interest on each payment worked out?

Multiply the balance still owed by the monthly rate, the annual rate divided by 12. At 11.86% on a 15,000 balance the first month's interest is 148.25; the rest of the payment reduces the balance.

Are fees and insurance included?

No. Origination fees, mandatory insurance and account charges sit outside this calculation, and they are exactly where the advertised rate and the real cost diverge.

Worked example

1,000,000 at 14.5% over five years

Input: Amount 1,000,000; rate 14.5% a year; term 60 months

Output: Payment 23,528.28; total interest 411,696.86; total repaid 1,411,696.86

Note: Monthly rate 14.5 ÷ 12 ÷ 100 = 0.0120833. In a spreadsheet: =PMT(14.5%/12, 60, -1000000).

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