Loan Calculator: Monthly Payment & True Cost
See your exact monthly payment, total interest and payoff schedule before you talk to any lender — plus the real APR hiding inside payday and short-term loan fees. Free, instant, no signup.
Estimates only. Results assume a fixed rate and equal payments and are not a loan offer. Your actual rate, fees and terms are set by the lender and vary by credit profile and state. ExpressLoans.com is not a lender.
Monthly payment calculator
For personal, installment and business loans repaid in equal monthly payments.
View full amortization schedule ▾
| Month | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|
Payday & short-term loan true cost
Fee-based loans hide their price. Enter the fee — see the APR it really is.
Title loan? Enter the monthly rate as the fee (e.g. 25) with 30 days. Each rollover repeats the finance charge — that’s how a 2-week loan becomes a 5-month debt.
Monthly payment on a $5,000 loan
Quick reference across the realistic APR range — from good-credit personal loans to subprime installment pricing. For a $10,000 loan, double the figures; for $2,500, halve them.
| APR | 12 months | 36 months | 60 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8% | $434.94 ($219 interest) | $156.68 ($641) | $101.38 ($1,083) |
| 12% | $444.24 ($331) | $166.07 ($979) | $111.22 ($1,673) |
| 18% | $458.40 ($501) | $180.76 ($1,507) | $126.97 ($2,618) |
| 25% | $475.22 ($703) | $198.80 ($2,157) | $146.76 ($3,805) |
| 36% | $502.31 ($1,028) | $229.02 ($3,245) | $180.66 ($5,840) |
| 99% | $672.09 ($3,065) | $437.72 ($10,758) | $416.08 ($19,965) |
💡 Two lessons hide in this table. First, stretching the term shrinks the payment but multiplies the interest — at 36% APR, going from 12 to 60 months drops the payment by $322 but adds $4,800 of interest. Second, at subprime rates the term is everything: a 99% APR loan kept to 12 months costs $3,065; the same rate over 60 months costs four times the amount you borrowed.
How loan payments are actually calculated
The amortization formula
Every fixed-rate installment loan — personal, installment, SBA — uses the same math: M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)⁻ⁿ), where P is the amount borrowed, r the monthly rate (APR ÷ 12) and n the number of payments. Early payments are mostly interest, late payments mostly principal — that’s why the amortization schedule above starts interest-heavy and flips over time, and why paying extra in the first year saves the most.
APR vs. interest rate
The interest rate prices the borrowing; the APR adds mandatory fees (like origination fees, commonly 1–10% on personal loans) and expresses the true annual cost. Two loans with the same rate can have very different APRs — which is why federal law requires lenders to disclose APR before you sign, and why APR is the only number worth comparing across offers of the same shape.
Why a “$15 fee” is a 391% APR
Short-term lenders quote fees because fees sound small. The conversion is mechanical: APR = (fee ÷ amount) × (365 ÷ days) × 100. A $500 payday loan with a $15-per-$100 fee due in 14 days costs $75 — and (75 ÷ 500) × (365 ÷ 14) = 391% APR. The fee isn’t a lie; the timescale is the trick. Annualizing is what makes a two-week product comparable to everything else on this site.
Picking the right term
Choose the shortest term whose payment you can absorb after a bad month, not the longest one offered. A useful test: if the 36-month payment fits only when nothing goes wrong, take 48 and pay extra when you can — most personal and SBA loans allow prepayment without penalty, so the longer term is a free insurance policy you can override every month.
Calculator questions
What borrowers ask about the math.
Does using this calculator affect my credit score?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser — nothing is submitted, stored or checked. Even comparing real offers through our form uses only a soft inquiry that never touches your score.
How accurate are the results?
The math is the exact amortization formula lenders use for fixed-rate loans. Differences with a real offer come from fees (origination, late fees) and rounding conventions — always confirm with the lender’s Truth in Lending disclosure.
What APR should I enter?
Typical ranges: 6.99%–35.99% for personal loans, 36%–225% for subprime installment, Prime + 4.5%–6.5% for SBA Express. Use the preset chips for a realistic starting point, then refine with your actual offers.
Why is my total interest so high on a long term?
Interest accrues on the outstanding balance every month — more months means more balance-carrying time. The payment falls, but the meter runs longer. The schedule view shows exactly where each dollar of each payment goes.
How do I calculate a payday loan APR?
APR = (fee ÷ amount borrowed) × (365 ÷ days until due) × 100. The second calculator does it for you — a standard $15 per $100 for 14 days works out to 391% APR.
Can I pay a loan off early?
Most personal and SBA Express loans have no prepayment penalty — extra payments go straight to principal and shrink total interest. Some subprime installment and title lenders do charge one: check before signing.
You know the payment you can afford. Now get the rate.
One free 2-minute request shows your real APRs across lenders — plug them back in here and choose with the full picture.
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