Loan Payment Calculator
Find the regular payment on a fixed-rate loan or mortgage. Enter the amount borrowed, the annual interest rate and the term to see the payment per period, the total you will repay, and the total interest cost. Amounts are currency-agnostic — the figures work in any currency.
How this calculation works
The payment uses the standard amortization formula: Payment = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)⁻ⁿ), where P is the principal, r is the rate per period, and n is the number of payments.
The annual rate is divided by the number of payments per year to get the periodic rate; the term in years is multiplied by it to get the payment count.
Total repaid is the payment multiplied by the number of payments; total interest is that minus the amount borrowed.
Worked example
How amortization works
A fixed-rate loan keeps the payment constant, but its split changes every month. Early on, most of each payment is interest because the balance is large. As the balance falls, more of each payment goes to principal, so the loan pays down slowly at first and faster later.
APR vs. interest rate
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. The APR (annual percentage rate) also folds in fees and points, so it is usually higher and is the fairer number for comparing offers. This calculator uses the plain interest rate; add fees separately to estimate true cost.
A longer term costs much more interest
Same 200,000 loan at 6%, different terms:
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 15 years | ≈ 1,688 | ≈ 103,800 |
| 20 years | ≈ 1,433 | ≈ 143,900 |
| 30 years | ≈ 1,199 | ≈ 231,700 |
Extra payments save interest
Any amount paid above the scheduled payment goes straight to principal, shrinking the balance that interest is charged on. Even one extra payment a year, or rounding the payment up, can cut months or years off a mortgage and save a large share of the total interest.