Personal Loan Calculator
Estimate personal loan repayments with fees and solve an interest rate from a known repayment.
Your personal loan
Enter the loan details. Results update as you type.
Your loan estimate
Example inputsCorrect the fields marked with errors. Your loan estimate is unavailable.
- $338.42
- Per selected repayment period.
- $1,804
- $379
- $2,183
- $12,183
Total paid includes the amount borrowed and all entered fees, including any fee paid upfront.
Implied interest rate
Enter a known repayment to calculate its implied annual interest rate.
This rate excludes fees. The repayment schedule continues to use the interest rate you entered above.
Balance through the loan
| After repayment | Balance |
|---|---|
| Before repayments | $10,199.00 |
| Year 1 | $7,160.85 |
| Year 2 | $3,774.49 |
| Year 3 | $0.00 |
Calculating Personal Loan Repayments
A personal loan repayment covers interest and gradually pays down the financed balance. This personal loan calculator adds recurring fees to that payment and shows the total cost over your chosen term.
The financed balance is the amount borrowed plus any establishment fee added to the loan. Paying that fee separately leaves a smaller balance and avoids interest on the fee. Both choices include the establishment fee once in total costs.
The calculation uses payment = balance × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n). Divide the annual rate by the payments per year to get r, then express it as a decimal. Use the total payment count for n.
At 0% interest, divide the financed balance by n. Weekly and fortnightly repayments use their own period rate, rather than dividing a monthly payment. The model assumes payments at period end and a fixed rate.
The same arithmetic applies to secured and unsecured personal loans when the entered terms match. Security can affect the offered rate and the lender's recovery rights. This tool estimates payments without assessing eligibility or affordability.
Interest, Fees and Total Cost
Total borrowing cost is interest plus the fees you enter. Total paid adds that cost to the amount borrowed, including fees paid separately at the start.
For a hypothetical $10,000 home-improvement loan, add a $199 establishment fee to the balance and enter 10.9% interest over three years. With a $5 monthly account fee, the monthly repayment is $338.42. These are example terms, not a loan offer.
| Part of the example | Amount |
|---|---|
| Amount borrowed | $10,000 |
| Establishment fee added to loan | $199 |
| Financed balance | $10,199 |
| Total interest | $1,804 |
| Account fees over 36 months | $180 |
| Total interest and fees | $2,183 |
| Total paid | $12,183 |
Paying the $199 fee upfront instead reduces the monthly repayment to $331.91 and total paid to $12,148. The total includes that cash fee. Interest falls because the fee no longer forms part of the loan balance.
Enter the interest rate excluding fees, then add fees in their own fields. Moneysmart's personal loan comparison guide explains how a comparison rate includes interest and most fees. Using a comparison rate as the interest input would count some costs twice.
The account fee is allocated evenly across repayment periods. A lender that charges fees monthly and interest daily can produce a different schedule. The download includes every payment's principal, interest and fee allocation.
Shorter and Longer Terms
A longer term lowers each repayment while increasing the time interest and recurring fees accrue. Compare total cost alongside the payment before choosing a term.
Keep the example's $10,199 financed balance, 10.9% rate and $5 monthly fee. Extending the term from three years to five cuts the monthly payment from $338.42 to $226.24. Total interest rises from $1,804 to $3,076, while total fees rise from $379 to $499.
Total paid increases from $12,183 to $13,575. A smaller payment alone does not show that a loan is affordable. For debt consolidation, compare the new total cost with the remaining costs of the debts being replaced, including any exit fees.
Working Back to an Interest Rate
Enter a known repayment to solve the nominal annual interest rate that would repay the financed balance over the selected term. Include the recurring fee in that repayment. The solver removes the fee before finding the interest rate.
For the starting example, a known monthly repayment of $338.42 implies about 10.9% annual interest. This fee-exclusive rate is separate from the full borrowing cost and is not a statutory comparison rate. A cash establishment fee affects total cost without changing the financed balance used by the solver.
A repayment below the balance divided by the number of payments, plus the recurring fee, cannot clear the loan at any nonnegative rate. The calculator marks that entry as invalid. It also rejects repayments implying more than its 100% annual-rate limit.
The balance table and cost figures keep using the entered interest rate. Copy the solved rate into that field if you want to recalculate the loan on those terms. For a vehicle purchase, use the car loan calculator to include a trade-in or balloon payment.
If you have a repayment budget, compare the loan amount it supports with the amount you need.