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Personal Loan Calculator
The origination fee comes out before the money reaches you. This personal loan calculator shows your monthly payment, the true APR after that fee and the exact net cash that lands in your account — the drag most tools quietly skip.
See how this works on a $15,000 personal loan — 3 real examples
Monthly payment
$0
Cash you receive
$0
Total interest
$0
Total cost of loan
$0
One payment, month by month
- Interest—
- Principal—
Loan balance over time
Amortization scheduleEvery payment, principal vs interest
How we solve for your true personal-loan APR
The monthly payment is the standard fixed-rate installment formula, computed on the full loan amount at the note rate:
M = P · r(1 + r)n / ((1 + r)n − 1)
r = annual rate / 12 n = years × 12
net proceeds = P − origination fee
true APR solves: net proceeds = M · (1 − (1 + i)−n) / i
where P is the loan amount and i is the periodic rate we solve for numerically, then annualize (× 12) into the APR. The trick lenders gloss over: the origination fee is deducted upfront, so you only receive P − fee, yet your payments are still sized to the full P. Spreading that fee over the money you actually got makes the true APR higher than the note rate — a 5% fee on a $15,000 loan at 11% for 3 years disburses $14,250 and lifts the APR to about 14.6%.
Total interest is the sum of the interest column on the note schedule (fees are shown separately, not counted as interest), and total cost is every payment added together. Extra payments go entirely to principal, with the final payment clamped so the balance lands exactly on zero; interest saved is the gap between the baseline and accelerated schedules. Assumptions: a fixed rate for the whole term, the first payment one month from today, and no prepayment penalty.
An 11% loan that isn't
Three versions of a $15,000, three-year loan at 11%. The payment never moves; the origination fee works somewhere less visible.
The clean version: no fee
true APR11%
- All $15,000 arrives in the account, and the rate on the page is the rate paid.
- Thirty-six payments of $491.08 add up to $2,679 in interest.
- This is the baseline the other two tabs quietly drift away from.
With nothing skimmed off the top, the advertised 11% is the whole story.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)The fine print: a 5% fee
true APR14.58%
- The $750 fee comes out before the money does — $14,250 arrives, but interest runs on $15,000.
- The payment stays $491.08, which is exactly why the fee is easy to miss.
- Counting the fee, borrowing really costs 14.58% — more than 3.5 points above the sticker rate.
Same payment, $750 less in hand: an 11% loan quietly repriced to 14.58%.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)The expensive version: an 8% fee
true APR16.86%
- Only $13,800 of the $15,000 borrowed ever reaches the account.
- The total finance charge lands at $3,879, nearly half again the no-fee loan's $2,679.
- The monthly bill is still $491.08; the fee shows up only in the 16.86% true rate.
The paperwork says 11%; the cash that actually changed hands says 16.86%.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)Illustrations only, not financial advice. Your own rate, taxes and insurance will differ — check with a qualified financial advisor before acting on any of this.
Reading a personal loan offer, in plain English
- Shop on APR, not the rate. The note rate ignores the origination fee; the true APR folds it in, so two loans with the same rate can cost very different amounts.
- Know your net proceeds. A 5% fee on $15,000 means only $14,250 hits your account — borrow a little more if you need the full amount in hand.
- Unsecured means higher rates. With no collateral, personal loan rates sit above mortgage or auto rates and swing widely with your credit score.
- Shorter terms cost far less. Stretching the same loan from 3 to 5 years shrinks the payment but can add thousands in interest.
- Extra payments punch above their weight. With no prepayment penalty, an extra $100 a month on the default loan saves roughly $500 and clears it about six months early.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
How much will my personal loan cost per month?
Your monthly payment comes from the standard installment-loan formula: M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1), where P is the loan amount, r the monthly rate and n the number of payments. A $15,000 unsecured personal loan at an 11% rate over 3 years is about $491 a month. The payment is based on the full loan amount even though an origination fee means slightly less actually lands in your account.
What is an origination fee and how does it affect the amount I receive?
An origination fee is an upfront charge — commonly 1%–8% of the loan — that most lenders deduct before disbursing the funds. On a $15,000 loan a 5% fee is $750, so only $14,250 reaches your bank account, yet you still repay and pay interest on the full $15,000. This personal loan calculator shows that net-proceeds figure right next to your payment so the fee drag is never hidden.
What is the true APR on a personal loan, and why is it higher than the interest rate?
The interest rate is charged on the balance, but the APR folds the origination fee into a single annualized cost on the money you actually received. Because a $750 fee shrinks your $15,000 loan to $14,250 disbursed while the payments stay the same, the true APR on that example is about 14.6% — roughly 3.6 points above the 11% note rate. Use this personal loan APR calculator to compare offers on APR, not just the headline rate.
Should I choose a shorter or longer repayment term?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises total interest, and a shorter term does the reverse. That same $15,000 at 11% costs about $491 a month over 3 years but roughly $326 a month over 5 years — yet the 5-year loan pays thousands more in interest. Adjust the term slider to see the payment and total-cost trade-off instantly.
Can I pay off a personal loan early without penalty?
Most reputable personal loan lenders charge no prepayment penalty, so extra payments go straight to principal and shorten the loan. Adding $100 a month to the default $15,000 loan pays it off about six months early and saves roughly $500 in interest. Enter any amount in the extra-payment field to model your own early-payoff savings.
What is the difference between a secured and an unsecured personal loan?
An unsecured personal loan is backed only by your creditworthiness — no collateral — which is why rates run higher than a mortgage or auto loan. A secured loan is tied to an asset the lender can claim if you default, which can lower the rate but puts that asset at risk. This calculator works for either; just enter the rate and fee your lender quoted.
How is personal loan interest calculated?
Personal loans are almost always fixed-rate and fully amortizing: each month interest is charged on the remaining balance, and the rest of your level payment reduces principal. Early payments are mostly interest and later ones mostly principal. The folded amortization schedule below lists every payment so you can see exactly how the split shifts over time.
Disclaimer: these calculators are educational tools, not financial advice. They model your inputs with published formulas, but they cannot know your full situation — for decisions with real stakes, talk to a qualified professional. Formulas and defaults last reviewed .