Loan calculator
Repayments and total cost of any fixed-rate loan.
About this calculator
Enter what you plan to borrow, for how long and at what rate to see the monthly payment and the full cost. Try a shorter term to see how the payment rises while total interest falls.
This assumes a fixed rate and equal payments. It does not include arrangement fees or changing rates, so compare it with the total cost in any lender’s offer.
How it works
Uses the standard level-payment formula, so each payment is the same and the interest share shrinks over time.
Worked example
- Loan amount: $25,000
- Term: 5 years
- Interest rate: 8% a year
Monthly payment: $506.91 (for 5 yr)
The story behind it
Where the idea came from: No single inventor. It grew out of the annuity mathematics of early actuaries.
Equal-payment loans rest on the same maths as annuities: a series of regular payments, each worth a little less today than the one before. Mathematicians and actuaries worked out these sums centuries ago, by hand or with printed tables. Today the same formula runs the moment you change a number, so you can compare offers side by side.
Why you can trust this calculator
- It runs in your browser. Nothing you type into it is sent anywhere.
- The method is explained on this page, so you can check it yourself.
- Free to use, with no sign-up.
- Results are estimates, not financial advice.
- Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we'll look into it.
After 15 years as a mathematics educator, I built CalculStore to give students, teachers, professionals and anyone working with numbers simple, reliable tools.
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