Free Loan Calculator
Calculate loan payments for monthly, biweekly or weekly schedules with extra payments, payoff date and a CSV amortization table.
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How to calculate a loan payment and payoff date
Enter the amount you borrow, the APR and the term to see the regular payment, total interest and the date the loan is paid off. Add an extra payment to see how much interest and time it saves.
- Enter the loan amount and the annual percentage rate (APR).
- Enter the term and choose years or months.
- Pick monthly, biweekly or weekly payments and set the loan start date.
- Optionally add an extra amount paid toward principal with every payment.
- Read the payment, total interest and payoff date, switch the schedule between yearly and per-payment views, or download the CSV.
When to use a loan calculator
A loan calculator answers the questions people ask before they sign a personal loan, student loan refinance, equipment loan or any other fixed-rate installment loan. How much will each payment be? How much interest will I pay in total? When will the debt be gone? Knowing these numbers before you talk to a lender makes it easier to compare offers and to spot a payment that does not fit your budget.
This tool also supports biweekly and weekly schedules, which some lenders and payroll-linked loans use, and it lets you add an extra amount to every payment. That makes it useful after you have the loan too, when you want to know how fast extra payments would clear it. For home loans with property tax and insurance, the mortgage calculator on this site is a better fit.
Worked example: a 20,000 dollar personal loan
Suppose you borrow 20,000 dollars at 7 percent APR for 5 years with monthly payments, starting on January 15, 2026. The calculator shows a payment of 396.02 dollars a month for 60 payments. Total interest is 3,761.44 dollars, so you repay 23,761.44 dollars in all, and the last payment falls on January 15, 2031. The first payment is split into 116.67 dollars of interest and 279.36 dollars of principal. In the first loan year you pay off 3,461.96 dollars of principal and 1,290.33 dollars of interest, leaving 16,538.04 dollars owed.
Now add 100 dollars of extra principal to every payment. The loan is paid off in 47 payments instead of 60, on December 15, 2029, and the final payment is only 50.62 dollars. Total interest drops to 2,867.72 dollars, a saving of 893.72 dollars. If you switch the original loan to biweekly payments instead, each payment is 182.54 dollars over 130 payments and total interest is 3,730.39 dollars.
How the payment and schedule are calculated
The periodic rate r is the APR divided by the number of payments per year: 12, 26 or 52. The number of payments n is the term in years times payments per year, rounded to a whole number. The level payment is P times r divided by (1 minus (1 plus r) to the power of minus n), where P is the amount borrowed. With a 0 percent rate the payment is simply P divided by n.
Each period, interest is the remaining balance times r. The rest of the payment, plus any extra, reduces the balance. Once the balance is smaller than a full payment, the last payment covers only what is left. The yearly view groups each run of payments into loan years counted from the first payment, and the CSV lists every payment with its date, principal, extra principal, interest and remaining balance.
Common mistakes to avoid
The most common mistake is entering a monthly rate or a rate that includes fees as if it were the APR. Use the annual rate from your loan offer. Another is confusing a true biweekly loan with paying half of a monthly payment every two weeks. The second approach makes 13 full monthly payments a year and pays the loan off faster, but it is a different calculation from the one shown here.
Finally, remember that lenders round each payment to the cent and may count interest by days, so their schedule can differ from this one by a few cents or a few dollars. Treat the results as a planning estimate and confirm exact figures with your lender before you decide.
Useful tips and limitations
- Compare the payoff date with and without an extra payment to see whether a small monthly top-up is worth it.
- Use the per-payment view to check how much of each early payment goes to interest.
- Download the CSV and open it in a spreadsheet if you want to chart your balance or plan extra payments month by month.
- Change the start date to see the exact calendar month your loan would be paid off.
Common questions
How does the loan calculator handle biweekly payments?
It divides the APR by 26 and spreads the term over 26 payments a year, so a 5-year loan has 130 payments. This matches loans that charge interest every two weeks, not a monthly loan paid in halves.
When is the first payment in the loan calculator?
The first payment is one payment period after the start date you enter: one month later for monthly loans, 14 days for biweekly and 7 days for weekly.
Does the loan calculator include fees or variable rates?
No. It models a fixed-rate loan with level payments. Origination fees, insurance and rate changes are not included, so check your lender's disclosure for those.
Why does the loan calculator show fewer payments when I add an extra amount?
Extra money goes straight to principal, so the balance falls faster and less interest builds up. The loan reaches zero before the scheduled number of payments, and the calculator shows how many payments and how much interest you save.
Can the loan calculator work out a loan with a 0 percent APR?
Yes. With a 0 percent rate there is no interest, so each payment is the loan amount divided by the number of payments.
What is the difference between this loan calculator and the EMI calculator?
The EMI calculator covers a simple monthly loan. This loan calculator adds biweekly and weekly payments, extra principal payments, a start date with a payoff date, and a schedule you can view by year or by payment.
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