Short answer: This personal loan calculator shows your monthly payment, total interest, origination fee, the money you actually receive and the APR once the fee is counted. The payment uses the standard formula: the loan amount times the monthly rate, divided by one minus (1 + the monthly rate) raised to the power of minus the number of payments.
The monthly rate is the yearly rate divided by 12. The year-by-year schedule splits each year’s payments into interest and principal. Personal-Loan.com is a free referral service, not a lender; the results are estimates, and each lender sets its own rate, fee and term.
How do you use the personal loan calculator?
Copy four numbers from a loan offer: the amount, the interest rate, the term in months and the origination fee. The most reliable place to find them is the Truth in Lending disclosure, the box of terms a lender must give you before you sign. Under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.18, it shows the amount financed (the credit you receive after any prepaid finance charge is subtracted), the finance charge in dollars, the annual percentage rate (APR), the payment schedule and the total of payments.
The origination fee, a one-time charge for making the loan, is a loan fee that Regulation Z counts as part of the finance charge. If the lender deducts it from your loan, the amount financed will be lower than the amount you borrow. The glossary entry on APR versus interest rate explains why one offer can show two different rates.
Why does the origination fee change the APR?
A deducted fee raises your true borrowing cost because you repay the full loan but receive less cash. Experian (updated September 25, 2026) puts origination fees at 1% to 10% of the loan amount.
Take a $10,000 loan at an 18% interest rate over 36 months. The payment is $361.52 a month whatever the fee, because interest is charged on the full $10,000. With no fee, the APR is also 18%. With a 5% fee, $500 comes off the top and $9,500 reaches your account. You still make 36 payments of $361.52, so the rate that repays the $9,500 you received, the APR including the fee, is 21.74%. At an 8% fee it is 24.12%.
| Origination fee | Money you receive | Monthly payment (36 payments) | Total repaid | Total cost (interest + fee) | APR including the fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | $10,000 | $361.52 | $13,015 | $3,015 | 18.00% |
| 5% ($500) | $9,500 | $361.52 | $13,015 | $3,515 | 21.74% |
| 8% ($800) | $9,200 | $361.52 | $13,015 | $3,815 | 24.12% |
Example only: $10,000 borrowed at an 18% interest rate, 36 monthly payments, fee deducted from the loan. Not an offer; your rate, fee and APR depend on the lender, your credit and your state.
If you need the full $10,000 in hand, a 5% fee means borrowing about $10,526 instead, which raises the payment. When you compare two offers, compare the APR rather than the interest rate, because the APR already includes the fee.
How does the loan term change the total cost?
A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises the total interest you pay. On $5,000 at 24% APR with no fee, stretching the loan from 24 to 60 months cuts the payment by $120.52 a month and adds $2,286 in interest.
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest | Total repaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 months | $264.36 | $1,345 | $6,345 |
| 36 months | $196.16 | $2,062 | $7,062 |
| 48 months | $163.01 | $2,824 | $7,824 |
| 60 months | $143.84 | $3,630 | $8,630 |
Example only: $5,000 at 24% APR, no origination fee, fixed monthly payments over the term shown. Not an offer.
If possible, choose the shortest term whose payment you can make every month without strain. Lenders also set the terms they offer by loan size and credit profile; the guide to personal loan requirements covers what they look at.
How much can you borrow on your income?
Lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio to judge how large a new payment you can carry. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) defines debt-to-income ratio (DTI) as all your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income, meaning income before taxes and deductions. Experian (September 25, 2026) says lenders generally prefer a DTI below 36%, though many approve higher ratios.
Say you earn $4,500 a month before taxes and already pay $600 a month toward debts, a DTI of about 13%. At 36%, your total debt payments could reach $1,620, which leaves room for a new payment of up to $1,020. At 24% APR with no fee, that payment supports a loan of about $25,999 over 36 months, repaid as $36,720 in total, including $10,721 of interest. Over 60 months it supports about $35,456, repaid as $61,200 in total, including $25,744 of interest.
Example only: 24% APR, no origination fee, 36 or 60 equal monthly payments of $1,020. Not an offer.
Treat that figure as a ceiling. The Personal-Loan.com form takes requests from $100 to $35,000, and each lender sets its own maximum. Borrow only what the expense requires; a smaller loan from a credit union, a payment plan with the creditor or nonprofit credit counseling may cost less. If the loan would pay off credit cards, the debt consolidation guide shows how to check whether the new APR beats your cards.
What rates should you try in the calculator?
Start with the average APR for your credit score band, then test a few points higher. LendingTree reports these average APRs on personal loan offers in the third quarter of 2026, for loans of $5,000 to $54,999 with terms of 36 to 83 months:
| Credit score | Average APR |
|---|---|
| 800 and above | 15.55% |
| 740 to 799 | 17.87% |
| 670 to 739 | 23.01% |
| 580 to 669 | 27.29% |
| Under 580 | 30.18% |
Source: LendingTree, average APR on personal loan offers by credit score, Q3 2026. These are APRs, so enter them with the fee set to 0%.
For comparison, the Federal Reserve’s G.19 release (October 7, 2026) shows an average rate of 11.90% on 24-month personal loans at commercial banks for August 2026 (preliminary). That is a bank benchmark, well below what many online lenders charge. If your score sits in the lower bands, the page on what a bad credit score means for a personal loan explains how lenders price that risk.
State law limits the rates many lenders can charge. For a $2,000, two-year loan, 43 states and the District of Columbia cap the APR, at a median of 34%, according to the National Consumer Law Center (December 19, 2025); see personal loan rate caps by state. Under the Military Lending Act, lenders may not charge covered servicemembers and their dependents a Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR) above 36%.
Personal loan calculator FAQs
Does the calculator show the rate I will get?
No, it shows the math for whatever rate you enter. Your actual rate, fee and term are set by the lender and depend on your credit, income, existing debts and state law.
What is the difference between the interest rate and the APR?
The interest rate covers interest only, while the APR also includes fees such as an origination fee. In the 5% fee example above, an 18% rate became a 21.74% APR.
How is a personal loan payment calculated?
The monthly payment equals the loan amount times the monthly rate, divided by one minus (1 + the monthly rate) raised to the power of minus the number of payments. Example only: a $5,000 loan at 18% APR with no fee, repaid in 36 monthly payments, works out to $180.76 a month and $1,507 in total interest.
Is a longer loan term cheaper?
No, a longer term costs more in total even though each payment is smaller. Example only: at 24% APR with no fee, $5,000 costs $1,345 in interest over 24 months and $3,630 over 60 months.
Does using the calculator affect my credit score?
Entering numbers in the calculator is not a loan request, and it asks for no personal or credit information. Lenders may check your credit when you submit a loan request and apply.
Before you accept an offer, enter its terms here and compare it with at least one other. To see whether lenders in our network make you an offer, send one loan request.
Updated November 2026. This page is general information, not financial or legal advice.