Estimate your monthly payment, total interest, and total cost for a mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan. Free and instant — no sign-up required.
Estimate your monthly payment and total interest for any amortized loan.
The calculator uses the standard amortization formula:
M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ / ((1+r)ⁿ − 1), where P is the
loan amount, r the monthly interest rate, and n
the number of monthly payments. This keeps your payment identical every
month while gradually shifting its composition from interest to principal.
Total interest is often the eye-opener: on a 30-year mortgage at typical rates, interest can approach the size of the original loan itself. Compare a 15-year vs 30-year term to see the trade-off between monthly affordability and lifetime cost. For a deeper walkthrough, see our guide on how to calculate loan payments and how amortization works.
Any fully amortized fixed-rate loan: mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, and most student loans. It does not model interest-only loans, adjustable rates, or credit card revolving balances.
Amortized payments stay constant, but interest is charged on the remaining balance. Early on the balance is large, so interest consumes most of the payment; as the balance falls, more of each payment goes to principal.
No. For mortgages, remember to budget for property taxes, homeowners insurance, and possibly PMI on top of the principal-and-interest payment shown here.
Shorten the term, improve your rate before borrowing, or make extra principal payments. Even one extra payment per year can shave years off a 30-year mortgage.
See the exact formula lenders use to set your monthly payment, work through a car loan and a mortgage by hand, and learn to compare loans like a pro.
Loan amortization explained with real numbers: how payments split between principal and interest, how to read a schedule, and why extra payments save so much.
Learn how personal loans work, what rates and terms to expect, how approval decisions are made, and when borrowing makes sense — with worked examples.