LoanCalcFast

Unsecured borrowing

Personal Loan Calculator

Work out what an unsecured personal loan costs each month and over its whole life. Includes how to handle an origination fee, which is where these loans get expensive.

Loan details

$
$1,000$1,000,000
%
0.1%30%
Term unit
1 year30 years
Extra payment & start date (optional)
$

Add a start date to see the payoff month. Add an extra monthly payment to see how much interest it saves.

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Your results

Monthly payment

$498.21

36 payments · 3 years

Total interest$2,935.75
Total paid$17,935.75

Payment breakdown

Principal
$15,000.00 (83.6%)
Interest
$2,935.75 (16.4%)

Over the life of this loan you pay 19.6% of the amount borrowed in interest.

Amortization

Where your money goes

Early payments are mostly interest. As the balance falls, more of the same payment goes to the loan itself.

Payment schedule for the first twelve months
PaymentPrincipalInterestBalance
Month 1$348.21$150.00$14,651.79
Month 2$351.69$146.52$14,300.10
Month 3$355.21$143.00$13,944.89
Month 4$358.76$139.45$13,586.13
Month 5$362.35$135.86$13,223.78
Month 6$365.97$132.24$12,857.81
Month 7$369.63$128.58$12,488.18
Month 8$373.33$124.88$12,114.85
Month 9$377.06$121.15$11,737.79
Month 10$380.83$117.38$11,356.96
Month 11$384.64$113.57$10,972.32
Month 12$388.49$109.72$10,583.83

Showing the first 12 of 36 payments. Switch to the yearly view for the whole term.

The opening figures are a realistic example to edit, not a rate we are quoting you. Nothing you type is sent anywhere.

The rate is only half the price

Personal loans are where the gap between the advertised rate and what you actually pay is widest, because so many of them carry an origination fee taken out of the money before it reaches you. The loan is written for the full amount, and you repay the full amount, but a slice never arrives.

Borrow $15,000 at 12% over three years and the payment is $498.21 either way. With a 5% origination fee you receive $14,250. Paying $498.21 a month for money you never got means the real cost is closer to 15.6% a year than 12%. That gap is exactly what the APR is meant to capture, which is why it is the number to compare offers on.

What the rate does to the total

Same $15,000, same three years, three different rates:

A $15,000 personal loan over three years at three rates
APRMonthly paymentTotal interest
8%$470.05$1,921.63
12%$498.21$2,935.75
18%$542.29$4,522.24

Ten points of APR is $2,600 on a three-year loan, and only $72 a month. The monthly figure is what people compare and the total is what they pay, which is a good reason to look at both before signing.

Before you take one

  • Ask what you actually receive after fees, not just what the loan is written for.
  • Compare offers on APR over the same term, or you are comparing nothing at all.
  • Check whether the contract charges anything for paying it off early.
  • Enter the real term you would take, not the shortest one you hope to manage.

What this calculator assumes

A fixed rate, equal monthly payments, and interest charged on the balance you still owe. That covers almost all personal loans. It does not model a variable rate, a loan where the interest is added up front and baked into the balance, or payment protection insurance sold alongside. It also cannot tell you whether you will be approved or at what rate — only a lender can, and a formal application affects your credit record where a quote usually does not.

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Educational estimates only. LoanCalcFast is not a lender and does not give financial advice. Last reviewed August 11, 2026.

Answers

Frequently asked questions

What counts as a personal loan?

A fixed amount borrowed without putting up a car or a house as security, repaid in equal monthly instalments over a set number of years. Because there is nothing for the lender to repossess, the rate depends almost entirely on your credit record, and it is usually higher than a car loan and lower than a credit card. The maths is the same as any other fixed-rate loan.

Should I enter the interest rate or the APR?

Enter the APR. The interest rate is the price of the money on its own, while the APR also folds in the fees you pay to get the loan, which is why it is usually the higher of the two. On personal loans those fees are often substantial, so comparing headline rates can point you at the more expensive offer.

Source: CFPB: interest rate versus APR

How does an origination fee change what I pay?

It is usually deducted from the money you receive, while you repay the full amount you borrowed. Borrow $15,000 at 12% over three years with a 5% fee and you get $14,250, but the payment is still $498.21 a month on the whole $15,000. That works out at an effective yearly rate of about 15.6%, not 12%. If you need $15,000 in hand, you have to borrow more than $15,000, which raises the payment again.

Is a shorter term always better?

It always costs less in interest. On $15,000 at 12%, three years costs $2,935.75 in interest and five years costs $5,019.93 — an extra $2,084 for a payment that is $164 lower each month. Whether that is worth it depends on whether the higher payment would leave you with no slack, because missing payments on an unsecured loan damages the credit record that got you the rate.

Can I use this to compare consolidating my debts?

Yes, with one caution. Add up what you currently owe, enter that as the loan amount with the APR you have been offered, and compare the new payment and total cost against what you are paying now. Consolidation only saves money if the new APR is genuinely lower and you do not stretch the term so far that the smaller payment costs more overall. It also does not help if the old balances start filling up again.