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Finance & Tax

Personal Loan Calculator

See your monthly payment, the cash you actually receive and the true APR once the origination fee is priced in — the number lenders bury in the fine print. Built on the Regulation Z actuarial method.

Your personal loan

$20,000
11.5%

True APR 13.30%

4.00%

$800 deducted upfront

Loan term
Monthly payment
$440

5 yrs term

Cash you receive
$19,200

$800 origination fee

True APR
13.30%

+1.80% vs quoted rate

Total cost of credit
$7,191

Interest + origination fee

Where your money goes

The cash you actually receive versus the interest and fee you pay to get it.

Where your money goesThe cash you actually receive versus the interest and fee you pay to get it.
$20,000loan amount
  • Cash to you
  • Interest
  • Origination fee
Where your money goes
CategoryValue
Cash to you$19,200
Interest$6,391
Origination fee$800

Total repayment split

Principal repaid versus everything the lender charges on top.

Total repayment splitPrincipal repaid versus everything the lender charges on top.
$26,391total repaid
  • Principal
  • Interest
Total repayment split
CategoryValue
Principal$20,000
Interest$6,391

Balance decay and cumulative interest

Personal loans amortise quickly — the balance falls in a near-straight line while interest accumulates early.

Balance decay and cumulative interestPersonal loans amortise quickly — the balance falls in a near-straight line while interest accumulates early.$0$4,215$8,430$12,645$16,860Y1Y2Y3Y4Y5
  • Remaining balance
  • Cumulative interest
Balance decay and cumulative interest
CategoryValue
Y1Remaining balance: $16,860 · Cumulative interest: $2,138
Y2Remaining balance: $13,339 · Cumulative interest: $3,895
Y3Remaining balance: $9,391 · Cumulative interest: $5,225
Y4Remaining balance: $4,964 · Cumulative interest: $6,077
Y5Remaining balance: $0 · Cumulative interest: $6,391

Total cost of credit by term

Interest plus the origination fee for every term the lender offers.

Total cost of credit by termInterest plus the origination fee for every term the lender offers.1 year$2,0682 years$3,2833 years$4,5434 years$5,8455 years$7,1917 years$10,009
  • 1 year
  • 2 years
  • 3 years
  • 4 years
  • 5 years
  • 7 years
Total cost of credit by term
CategoryValue
1 year$2,068
2 years$3,283
3 years$4,543
4 years$5,845
5 years$7,191
7 years$10,009

Monthly payment by term

A longer term lowers the payment but raises the total cost of credit.

Monthly payment by termA longer term lowers the payment but raises the total cost of credit.$1,7721y$9372y$6603y$5224y$4405y$3487y
  • 1y
  • 2y
  • 3y
  • 4y
  • 5y
  • 7y
Monthly payment by term
CategoryValue
1y$1,772
2y$937
3y$660
4y$522
5y$440
7y$348

The fee is costing you 1.80% of APR

You were quoted 11.50%, but once the $800 origination fee is priced in, the true APR is 13.30%. Always compare personal loans on the true APR, not the headline rate — that is the number the CFPB requires lenders to disclose in the Loan Estimate.

Amortization schedule

60 payments · 60 rows

#InterestPrincipalExtraBalance
1$192$248—$19,752
2$189$251—$19,501
3$187$253—$19,248
4$184$255—$18,993
5$182$258—$18,735
6$180$260—$18,475
7$177$263—$18,212
8$175$265—$17,947
9$172$268—$17,679
10$169$270—$17,408
11$167$273—$17,135
12$164$276—$16,860
13$162$278—$16,581
14$159$281—$16,300
15$156$284—$16,017
16$153$286—$15,730
17$151$289—$15,441
18$148$292—$15,150
19$145$295—$14,855
20$142$297—$14,557
21$140$300—$14,257
22$137$303—$13,954
23$134$306—$13,648
24$131$309—$13,339
25$128$312—$13,027
26$125$315—$12,712
27$122$318—$12,394
28$119$321—$12,072
29$116$324—$11,748
30$113$327—$11,421
31$109$330—$11,091
32$106$334—$10,757
33$103$337—$10,420
34$100$340—$10,080
35$97$343—$9,737
36$93$347—$9,391
37$90$350—$9,041
38$87$353—$8,687
39$83$357—$8,331
40$80$360—$7,971
41$76$363—$7,607
42$73$367—$7,240
43$69$370—$6,870
44$66$374—$6,496
45$62$378—$6,118
46$59$381—$5,737
47$55$385—$5,352
48$51$389—$4,964
49$48$392—$4,571
50$44$396—$4,175
51$40$400—$3,776
52$36$404—$3,372
53$32$408—$2,964
54$28$411—$2,553
55$24$415—$2,138
56$20$419—$1,718
57$16$423—$1,295
58$12$427—$867
59$8$432—$436
60$4$436—$0

Figures are estimates for planning only. They exclude late fees, returned-payment fees and any prepayment penalty (which is prohibited on most US personal loans but may apply elsewhere). The true APR is solved with the Regulation Z actuarial method on the actual cash flows.

The formula behind your payment

Personal loans are amortising loans, repaid with the equation standardised by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Regulation Z, Appendix J:

M = P × [ i(1 + i)^n ] ÷ [ (1 + i)^n − 1 ]
  • M — the monthly payment
  • P — the principal (loan amount, plus the fee if financed)
  • i — the monthly interest rate (nominal APR ÷ 12)
  • n — the total number of monthly payments

Why the true APR matters more than the quoted rate

An origination fee is real money. If a lender advertises 11.5% but deducts a 4% fee from the proceeds, you receive $19,200 while your payments are calculated on $20,000. The rate that reconciles those two facts is the true APR, and it is solved with the Regulation Z actuarial equation:

Σ CFₜ ÷ (1 + i)ᵗ = 0

where CF₀ is the net cash you receive (positive) and CF₁ … CFₙ are the monthly payments (negative). This calculator solves it with Newton–Raphson, which converges in a handful of iterations for realistic loan shapes. The result is the same figure the CFPB requires lenders to disclose under 12 CFR 1026.18, and the same figure the EU Consumer Credit Directive 2008/48/EC calls the annual percentage rate of charge.

Worked examples

United States — $20,000 at 11.5% with a 4% fee

A $20,000 loan at 11.5% over 60 months has a payment of $439.85 and total interest of $6,391.13. With a 4% origination fee of $800 deducted upfront, you receive $19,200 — and the true APR rises to 13.30%, a full 1.80 percentage points above the quoted rate. Total cost of credit is $7,191.13.

United Kingdom — £15,000 at 9.9% over 5 years

UK personal loans must quote a representative APR under FCA CONC rules, and at least 51% of successful applicants must receive that rate or better. A £15,000 loan at 9.9% over 60 months costs about £317.97 per month, with total interest of roughly £4,078. UK lenders rarely charge an origination fee on unsecured personal loans, so set the fee slider to 0 for a like-for-like comparison.

Eurozone — €15,000 at 6.5% over 5 years

Under the Consumer Credit Directive, EU lenders must disclose the APR inclusive of all fees. A €15,000 loan at 6.5% over 60 months costs about €293.49 per month. If the lender charges a 2% arrangement fee (€300) deducted upfront, the true APR rises to roughly 7.35% — always compare the disclosed APR, not the headline rate.

How to use this calculator

  1. Enter the loan amount you need.
  2. Enter the interest rate the lender quoted — this is the nominal rate, not the APR.
  3. Set the origination fee percentage. The hint below the slider shows the dollar amount and how it is applied.
  4. Choose a 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 7-year term and compare the total cost of credit charts.
  5. Open the advanced panel to switch between financing the fee and paying it upfront, and to add extra monthly payments.
  6. Download the amortization schedule as CSV or share your exact scenario with a link.
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Still unsure about something? Our contact page reaches a real person, usually within two business days.

What is the difference between the quoted rate and the true APR?
The quoted rate is the nominal interest rate the lender charges on the balance. The true APR is the rate that accounts for the origination fee as well, because the fee reduces the cash you actually receive while your payments stay the same. On a $20,000 loan at 11.5% with a 4% fee deducted upfront, you receive $19,200 but still repay as if you borrowed $20,000 — so the true APR is 13.30%, not 11.5%. The CFPB requires lenders to disclose the APR in the Loan Estimate for exactly this reason.
Should I finance the origination fee or pay it upfront?
Financing the fee means you borrow the fee amount too, so you pay interest on it for the whole term — but you keep more cash in hand today. Paying it upfront means you receive less cash but pay no interest on the fee. The true APR is usually slightly lower when the fee is financed because the fee is spread over the term rather than concentrated at time zero. Use the fee-handling toggle above to compare both routes on your own numbers.
What is a typical origination fee on a personal loan?
Most US personal lenders charge between 1% and 8% of the loan amount, with 3–5% being the most common band. Some lenders charge a flat fee instead. The fee is deducted from the proceeds at closing, so a $20,000 loan with a 4% fee pays out $19,200. Under the Truth in Lending Act the fee must be included in the finance charge and reflected in the disclosed APR.
How does loan term affect the total cost of credit?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises total interest, because you carry the balance for longer. On a $20,000 loan at 11.5%, a 3-year term costs about $3,743 in interest while a 7-year term costs roughly $9,209 — nearly two and a half times as much. The total-cost-of-credit chart above prices every term side by side so you can see exactly where the trade-off sits.
Can I pay off a personal loan early?
In the United States, most personal loans have no prepayment penalty, and federal law prohibits them on many consumer credit products. In the UK, the Consumer Credit Act entitles you to settle early with a rebate of future interest. In the EU, the Consumer Credit Directive gives you a right of early repayment with a possible compensation capped at 1% of the amount repaid early. Use the extra-payment slider above to see how much interest early repayment saves.
What credit score do I need for a personal loan?
Many lenders advertise personal loans from 5.99% APR, but those rates typically require a credit score above 720. Borrowers in the 640–699 band usually see APRs in the low-to-mid teens, and below 640 the rate can exceed 20%. Because the origination fee compounds the effective cost, always compare offers on the true APR rather than the advertised rate — a 1% lower rate with a 5% fee can be more expensive than a 1% higher rate with no fee.