How much does a loan cost per month?

Your monthly payment depends on the amount borrowed, the interest rate, and the term. This calculator uses the standard amortization formula to give you the exact payment and the total interest you'll pay. For example, a $20,000 loan at 7.5% over 5 years costs about $400 per month.

Is paying bi-weekly better than monthly?

Regular bi-weekly payments add up to the same 12 monthly payments, so they change little. Accelerated bi-weekly is different: you pay half your monthly amount every two weeks, which equals 13 full monthly payments a year. That extra payment goes straight to principal and shortens the loan.

What is an accelerated bi-weekly payment?

An accelerated bi-weekly payment is your monthly payment divided by two, paid every two weeks. Because a year has 26 bi-weekly periods, you make the equivalent of one extra full monthly payment each year, which reduces total interest and payoff time.

What is the difference between the interest rate and the APR?

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. The effective APR also includes upfront fees like origination charges, so it reflects the true cost of the loan. Two loans with the same rate can have very different APRs once fees are counted, which is why comparing on APR and total cost matters.

Does paying extra on a loan save money?

Yes. Early in a loan most of each payment goes to interest. Any extra payment or lump sum reduces the balance immediately, so you stop paying interest on that amount for the rest of the term. You can add a steady extra per payment, a one-time lump sum, or a recurring one such as a yearly tax refund, and the calculator shows exactly how much interest and time each option saves.

Can I compare two loan offers side by side?

Yes. Compare mode puts two loans head to head and ranks them by what they actually cost, the effective APR including fees and the total interest over the full term, not the advertised rate. It also finds the break-even point when one loan starts out cheaper but ends up costing more. You can add extra payments and lump sums and choose whether they apply to Loan A, Loan B, or both, so you can test paying one loan down faster against taking the other as it is.

How much can I borrow on a set monthly budget?

Use the affordability solver: enter the monthly payment you are comfortable with, plus a rate and term, and it works the loan amount backwards from your budget. It is the inverse of the payment formula, so you instantly see the largest loan that fits the payment you can actually afford, then load it into the calculator to see the full cost.

How does Buy Now, Pay Later work, and how do these companies make money?

Pay-in-4 plans (Klarna, Afterpay, PayPal) split a purchase into four interest-free payments every two weeks. Missing one does not add interest; the provider charges a flat late fee instead (Klarna up to $7 per missed payment, Afterpay up to $10, usually capped per order). Longer pay-monthly financing (Affirm and others) charges interest from 0% to about 36% APR, and store-card style plans can add deferred interest retroactively if not cleared in time. These companies earn mostly from merchant fees of roughly 3 to 6% per sale plus about 30 cents per transaction, not from you; late fees are a smaller slice and some providers like Affirm charge none.

What is a promotional or 0% intro rate loan?

A promotional loan charges a low or 0% rate for an introductory window, then steps up to a higher rate for the rest of the term. The calculator models the full rate schedule and re-amortizes your payment at each step, so you see the payment rise when the promo ends and how much the intro period saves.

What are interest-only and balloon loans, and what happens at the end?

An interest-only loan lets you pay just the interest for an opening period to keep early payments low, then re-amortizes the full balance over the remaining term. A balloon loan keeps the regular payments low by leaving a large lump, the balloon, due as the final payment. The catch is that final balloon: most people cannot pay it in cash, so they refinance it into a new loan. The calculator models that reality, showing the refinanced payment, how many more years it adds, and the true all-in cost once the balloon is financed, not just the headline monthly payment. Equipment and vehicle leases, the French credit-bail, work the same way, with a buyout residual at the end.

How does inflation change the real cost of a loan?

Fixed loan payments stay the same in dollars, but inflation erodes what those dollars are worth, so a payment years from now costs you less in today's money than the same payment today. Turn on the inflation adjustment and the calculator discounts every future payment back to present value, showing the real cost in today's dollars alongside the headline total. On a long loan the gap can be significant.

Is this loan calculator accurate for US and Canadian loans?

Yes. Consumer loans compound interest at the payment frequency in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada alike, which is what the calculator computes, so the math is identical wherever you are; the US/Canada toggle only sets your default currency. Canadian mortgages are the exception, compounding semi-annually by law, and that case is handled in the dedicated mortgage calculator. Results assume fixed rates and consistent payments.

Calculators / Loan

A taste of the engine

Loan Calculator

The true cost of borrowing, not the sticker rate. See your real payment and effective APR, watch paying a little extra or more often clear it years sooner, and put two offers head to head to find the genuinely cheaper one. Computed to the cent.

Save my entries

Your loan

Loan amount

Interest rate

Term (years)

Roll fees into the loan

Pay it down faster

Extra per paymentGoes straight to principal, so you stop paying interest on it.

What can you afford?

Work backwards from a comfortable payment to the loan it supports.

Monthly budget

Rate

Term

You could borrow about $22,726 for $450/mo over 5 years.

Payment

$501

per month

Total interest

$5,057

over 5 yr

Effective APR

7.50%

true rate, with fees

Cost per $1

1.20

paid back per borrowed

Balance owing

Interest paid

Balance and interest over time
Series	Label	Value
Balance owing	Month 1	$24,655
Balance owing	Month 2	$24,308
Balance owing	Month 3	$23,959
Balance owing	Month 4	$23,608
Balance owing	Month 5	$23,255
Balance owing	Month 6	$22,899
Balance owing	Month 7	$22,541
Balance owing	Month 8	$22,181
Balance owing	Month 9	$21,819
Balance owing	Month 10	$21,454
Balance owing	Month 11	$21,088
Balance owing	Month 12	$20,718
Balance owing	Month 13	$20,347
Balance owing	Month 14	$19,973
Balance owing	Month 15	$19,597
Balance owing	Month 16	$19,219
Balance owing	Month 17	$18,838
Balance owing	Month 18	$18,455
Balance owing	Month 19	$18,069
Balance owing	Month 20	$17,681
Balance owing	Month 21	$17,290
Balance owing	Month 22	$16,898
Balance owing	Month 23	$16,502
Balance owing	Month 24	$16,104
Balance owing	Month 25	$15,704
Balance owing	Month 26	$15,301
Balance owing	Month 27	$14,896
Balance owing	Month 28	$14,488
Balance owing	Month 29	$14,078
Balance owing	Month 30	$13,665
Balance owing	Month 31	$13,249
Balance owing	Month 32	$12,831
Balance owing	Month 33	$12,410
Balance owing	Month 34	$11,987
Balance owing	Month 35	$11,561
Balance owing	Month 36	$11,132
Balance owing	Month 37	$10,701
Balance owing	Month 38	$10,267
Balance owing	Month 39	$9,830
Balance owing	Month 40	$9,391
Balance owing	Month 41	$8,948
Balance owing	Month 42	$8,503
Balance owing	Month 43	$8,055
Balance owing	Month 44	$7,605
Balance owing	Month 45	$7,151
Balance owing	Month 46	$6,695
Balance owing	Month 47	$6,236
Balance owing	Month 48	$5,774
Balance owing	Month 49	$5,309
Balance owing	Month 50	$4,842
Balance owing	Month 51	$4,371
Balance owing	Month 52	$3,897
Balance owing	Month 53	$3,421
Balance owing	Month 54	$2,941
Balance owing	Month 55	$2,458
Balance owing	Month 56	$1,973
Balance owing	Month 57	$1,484
Balance owing	Month 58	$993
Balance owing	Month 59	$498
Balance owing	Month 60	$0
Interest paid	Month 1	$156
Interest paid	Month 2	$310
Interest paid	Month 3	$462
Interest paid	Month 4	$612
Interest paid	Month 5	$760
Interest paid	Month 6	$905
Interest paid	Month 7	$1,048
Interest paid	Month 8	$1,189
Interest paid	Month 9	$1,328
Interest paid	Month 10	$1,464
Interest paid	Month 11	$1,598
Interest paid	Month 12	$1,730
Interest paid	Month 13	$1,859
Interest paid	Month 14	$1,986
Interest paid	Month 15	$2,111
Interest paid	Month 16	$2,234
Interest paid	Month 17	$2,354
Interest paid	Month 18	$2,472
Interest paid	Month 19	$2,587
Interest paid	Month 20	$2,700
Interest paid	Month 21	$2,810
Interest paid	Month 22	$2,918
Interest paid	Month 23	$3,024
Interest paid	Month 24	$3,127
Interest paid	Month 25	$3,228
Interest paid	Month 26	$3,326
Interest paid	Month 27	$3,422
Interest paid	Month 28	$3,515
Interest paid	Month 29	$3,605
Interest paid	Month 30	$3,693
Interest paid	Month 31	$3,779
Interest paid	Month 32	$3,862
Interest paid	Month 33	$3,942
Interest paid	Month 34	$4,019
Interest paid	Month 35	$4,094
Interest paid	Month 36	$4,166
Interest paid	Month 37	$4,236
Interest paid	Month 38	$4,303
Interest paid	Month 39	$4,367
Interest paid	Month 40	$4,429
Interest paid	Month 41	$4,487
Interest paid	Month 42	$4,543
Interest paid	Month 43	$4,596
Interest paid	Month 44	$4,647
Interest paid	Month 45	$4,694
Interest paid	Month 46	$4,739
Interest paid	Month 47	$4,781
Interest paid	Month 48	$4,820
Interest paid	Month 49	$4,856
Interest paid	Month 50	$4,889
Interest paid	Month 51	$4,919
Interest paid	Month 52	$4,947
Interest paid	Month 53	$4,971
Interest paid	Month 54	$4,992
Interest paid	Month 55	$5,011
Interest paid	Month 56	$5,026
Interest paid	Month 57	$5,038
Interest paid	Month 58	$5,048
Interest paid	Month 59	$5,054
Interest paid	Month 60	$5,057

The frequency dividend

Switching to accelerated weekly saves $551 and clears it 6 mo sooner, on the same budget.

Frequency	Payment	Interest	Saved
Monthly	$501	$5,057	baseline
Bi-weekly	$231	$5,015	$42
Accelerated bi-weekly	$250	$4,527	$530
Weekly	$115	$4,998	$59
Accelerated weekly	$125	$4,506	$551

How much does the rate matter?

1% higher rate+$718 interest

1% lower rate-$708 interest

A calculator weighs the loan. FinPal weighs whether to borrow.

This tool compares the offers you type in. The full FinPal knows your whole picture: your income, the debts you already carry, your credit, and your spending. So it does not just pick the cheaper loan, it tells you whether this borrowing fits your plan at all, and the simple steps that get you a better rate first.

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