Loan & Mortgage Calculator
Work out what a fixed-rate loan or mortgage really costs. Enter the amount you're borrowing, the annual interest rate, and the term in years — you'll get the monthly payment, the total interest, the total you'll pay back, and a full year-by-year breakdown you can expand month by month.
Enter values above to see the result.
What the calculator gives you
Enter three numbers and you get four things:
- Monthly payment — the fixed amount you'd pay each month.
- Total interest — everything the loan costs you on top of what you borrowed.
- Total paid — the amount plus the interest, over the whole term.
- Amortization schedule — one row per year, expandable to its twelve months, showing how much of each payment goes to the balance versus interest.
The formula
For a loan with monthly rate r (the annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100) over n monthly payments:
payment = principal × (r × (1 + r)ⁿ) ÷ ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1)
When the rate is 0%, that formula divides by zero, so a 0% loan is simply principal ÷ n.
A worked example
Say you borrow $250,000 at 6.5% for 30 years.
The monthly rate is 6.5 ÷ 100 ÷ 12 = 0.005417, over 30 × 12 = 360 payments. Run those through the formula and the monthly payment is $1,580.17.
Over the full 30 years that's 1,580.17 × 360 ≈ 568,861 paid in — so about $318,861 of interest on top of the $250,000 you borrowed. Nearly as much again as the loan itself, which is exactly why the interest rate and the term matter so much.
Why the early years are mostly interest
In year one of that loan, almost two-thirds of what you pay is interest, because you still owe nearly the whole $250,000. By the final year, the balance is small, so almost every dollar goes to principal. Expand the years in the schedule and you'll see the interest column shrink and the principal column grow — that crossover is the whole story of a mortgage, and it's why overpaying early is worth so much more than overpaying late.
Frequently asked questions
How is the monthly payment worked out?
From three things: the amount you borrow, the monthly interest rate (the annual rate divided by 12), and the number of monthly payments (the term in years times 12). The standard amortization formula spreads the loan into equal monthly payments so the balance reaches zero on the final month. A 0% loan is simpler — you just repay the amount in equal installments with no interest added.
What does 'amortization' mean?
Amortization is paying a loan off in equal installments over time. Each payment is the same, but the split changes: early on most of it is interest and only a little goes to the balance, and near the end almost all of it goes to the balance. The schedule on this page shows that shift, year by year — expand a year to see its twelve months.
Why is so much of my early payment interest?
Interest is charged on what you still owe, and at the start you owe the most. So the first payments are mostly interest with only a small slice reducing the balance. As the balance falls, the interest slice shrinks and more of each equal payment goes to principal. That's why paying a little extra early saves a lot of interest overall.
Is a loan calculator the same as a mortgage calculator?
For the monthly payment, yes — a mortgage is just a loan, so the math is identical whether it's a home, a car, or a personal loan. This page covers principal and interest, which is the core of any fixed-rate repayment.
Does this include property tax, insurance, or PMI?
No. This shows principal and interest only. A real mortgage statement often bundles in property tax, homeowner's insurance, and sometimes PMI, so your actual monthly bill can be higher. Use this to understand the loan itself; add those extras separately for a full housing cost.