Personal Loan Calculator
Estimate your monthly payment and the full cost of a personal loan, including the origination fee many lenders deduct before the money ever reaches you. Everything updates instantly.
- Amount you receive
- $15,000
- Total of payments
- $19,568
- Total interest
- $4,568
- Total cost (interest + fee)
- $4,568
Estimate only. Assumes a fixed rate and equal monthly payments. Your actual APR depends on your credit profile, income, and lender, and some lenders add the fee to the balance instead of deducting it from the disbursement.
How your personal loan payment is calculated
Personal loans are almost always fixed-rate, fully amortizing loans: you make the same payment every month, and each payment is split between interest and principal. Early payments are more interest-heavy; later payments are mostly principal. The monthly payment comes from the standard amortization formula:
M = P · r · (1 + r)n / ((1 + r)n − 1)
where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12), and n is the number of monthly payments. The calculator runs this formula for you and then layers in the one cost that payment formulas quietly skip: the origination fee.
What an origination fee really costs
Many personal loan lenders charge an origination fee of roughly 1% to 8% of the loan amount. Here's the part that surprises people: the fee is usually deducted from your disbursement, not added to your bill. Borrow $15,000 with a 3% fee and the lender sends you $14,550 — but you still make payments on the full $15,000. You are paying interest on money you never received. If you need a specific amount in hand, you have to borrow more than that amount to cover the fee, which raises the payment and the interest on top of it.
A worked example
Say you borrow $15,000 at 11% APR over 5 years with a 3% origination fee. The monthly payment is about $326. Over 60 payments you repay roughly $19,568 in total, of which about $4,568 is interest. The origination fee takes $450 off the top, so you actually receive $14,550. Measured against the cash in your hand, the loan costs about $5,018 — the interest plus the fee. Shorten the same loan to 3 years and the payment rises to about $491 per month, but total interest drops to roughly $2,679, cutting the interest cost nearly in half.
Ways to pay less for the same loan
- Compare APR, not the interest rate: APR folds the origination fee into the quoted number, so it's the fairest way to compare offers side by side.
- Choose the shortest term you can afford: a shorter term means a higher payment but dramatically less total interest.
- Check your credit before applying: personal loan APRs span a huge range — strong credit can mean single digits while weaker credit can push rates past 30%.
- Prequalify with several lenders: most prequalification checks use a soft credit pull, so shopping around costs you nothing.
- Look for zero-fee lenders: some lenders charge no origination fee at all, which can beat a lower-rate offer once the fee is counted.
- Confirm there's no prepayment penalty: most personal loans let you pay extra or pay off early for free, which shortens the effective term.
What this calculator does not include
This is a planning estimate. It assumes a fixed rate, on-time payments, and a fee deducted from the disbursement — some lenders instead add the fee to your balance, which slightly raises the payment. It doesn't account for late fees, optional insurance add-ons, or variable-rate products. Your actual offer depends on your credit score, income, debt-to-income ratio, and the lender's own pricing, so treat the results as a comparison tool rather than a quote.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good APR for a personal loan?+
It depends heavily on credit. Borrowers with excellent credit often see APRs in the 7% to 12% range, average credit tends to land in the mid-teens to low 20s, and weaker credit can run 25% or higher. Because ranges shift with the market, the best benchmark is prequalifying with two or three lenders and comparing the APRs you are actually offered.
Is a loan with an origination fee ever worth it?+
Sometimes. A loan with a fee but a meaningfully lower interest rate can cost less overall than a zero-fee loan at a higher rate, especially over longer terms. Compare offers by APR and by total cost — interest plus fees — rather than by the interest rate alone.
Should I pick a shorter or longer loan term?+
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises total interest, while a shorter term does the opposite. A common approach is to choose the shortest term whose payment fits comfortably in your budget, then pay extra when you can if the loan has no prepayment penalty.
Does checking rates hurt my credit score?+
Prequalifying with most lenders uses a soft credit inquiry, which does not affect your score. A hard inquiry only happens when you formally submit an application, and even then multiple applications for the same type of loan within a short window are often scored as a single event.
Does this calculator store my information?+
No. Every calculation runs entirely in your browser. The numbers you enter are never sent to a server or saved.
Keep going
Why early loan payments are mostly interest, how the balance actually falls each month, and what extra principal payments really do.
What APR includes that the interest rate leaves out, how fees change the real cost of a loan, and how to compare offers fairly.
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