Follow these steps to calculate the monthly payment and total cost of a personal loan:
Enter your loan amount. Enter the amount you want to borrow. Personal loans typically range from $2,000 to $50,000 — though some providers offer loans as low as $1,000 and as high as $100,000.
Enter your loan term. Write the amount of time you think you’ll take to repay the loan in years. If it’s less than a full year, use a decimal instead — so 0.5 instead of 6 months. Loan terms usually range from 2 to 5 years on personal loans — though some lenders offer as long as 7 years on higher loan amounts.
Enter your interest rate. If the lender doesn’t charge an origination fee, enter the interest rate. Otherwise, enter the annual percentage rate (APR), which factors in application, origination and other closing fees.
What this calculator tells you
This personal loan calculator gives you three numbers:
Monthly payment. This tells you about how much you’ll pay each month on an amortized loan with a fixed interest rate, which is the most common on a personal loan. An amortized loan gives you roughly the same payments each month.
Total principal. Your principal — or loan balance — is the total amount you borrow at first. Your principal will decrease as you pay off the loan.
Total interest. This is the total amount of interest you’ll pay before you close the loan. If you enter the APR instead of interest, this number also includes origination, application or other fees the lender charged at closing. But it doesn’t include prepayment penalties or late fees.
Compare personal loans
Select your credit score and where you live to see what types of loans are available to you online. Prequalify with these providers or use the range of rates and loan amounts available in the personal loan calculator.
Common questions about the cost of a personal loan
Use these answers to help you predict how much a new personal loan might cost.
What’s a good interest rate on a personal loan?
A good interest rate on a personal loan is generally any rate under 12% APR. But the best interest rate available to you depends on factors like your credit score, income and debt-to-income ratio.
With excellent credit score over 720, the average interest rate is just under 8%, according to a lending LendingTree analysis of consumer data in 2019. But even with a fair credit score of 640 to 659, the average interest rate is over 26%. The highest rate personal loan providers can charge is 36% APR.
What is the monthly payment on a $10,000 loan?
The monthly payment on a $10,000 loan usually costs between around $184 to $590, depending on the loan term and interest rate. But the best way to tell how much a loan of this size will cost you is to prequalify with a lender. This gives you an estimate of the rates, fees and terms you can use to expect, which you can use in this personal loan calculator. Read our guide to $10,000 loans to compare providers.
How much would a $20,000 loan cost per month?
The estimated monthly payment on a $20,000 loan can range from $368 and $1,181 per month, depending on your interest rate and term. Loans of this size are on the higher end of what some lender offer and could be eligible for longer loan terms, which can lower your monthly payments — but increases the amount you pay in total interest.
How do I lower my monthly payments?
You can lower your monthly payments by applying for a longer loan term, lower loan amount, interest rate or fees. The easiest way to lower your monthly payments is to go for a longer loan term. But a longer loan term can increase the amount you pay in total interest. Consider taking steps to increase your credit score or rethinking how much you want to borrow to lower your interest rates.
Where to get a personal loan
You can get a personal loan from an online lender, bank, credit union or peer-to-peer platform. Different types of lenders are better for different types of borrowers. Banks and credit unions usually offer the least-expensive options, but are usually only available to people with a credit score over 670.
Online lenders are usually easier to qualify with and can get your funds as soon as the next business day. But they can charge higher interest rates than more traditional options. Peer-to-peer platforms work similarly to online lenders but usually take longer to fund and to charge a higher origination fee than online lenders.
How to prequalify for a personal loan
You can prequalify for a personal loan by filling out a quick online application with many lenders to get an estimate of the interest rate, terms and loan amount you’re eligible for. Follow these steps to prequalify:
Check your credit score. Many lenders ask for an estimate of your credit score when you fill out an application to prequalify for a loan, so have yours on hand before you apply. Also consider checking your credit report for mistakes.
Compare providers. Look for providers offering the amount you want to borrow to people with your credit score range. Also compare factors like loan terms, rates, fees and other requirements.
Ask if there’s a hard credit check. Not all providers offer risk-free prequalificaiton — some lenders may run a hard credit check, which shows up on your credit history and can hurt your score. Try to prequalify with lenders that rely on a soft credit pull instead.
Fill out the form. Most prequalification forms ask for the basics about your income, debts and other aspects of your finances. If you’re applying for a debt consolidation loan, you might also need to provide information about your credit card or other loan accounts.
Repeat. Try to prequalify with multiple lenders to find the best offer available to you.
3 alternatives to personal loans
While you can find funding options from a variety of sources, these are three of the most common alternatives to personal loans.
Line of credit. Instead of borrowing a lump sum, a line of credit allows you to borrow as much or little as you need, up to your credit limit. You only pay interest on the amount you borrow, and interest rates tend to be lower than many credit cards.
Credit card. Credit cards are best for smaller purchases. Many personal loans don’t allow you to borrow less than $1,000. This makes credit cards a good option for day-to-day spending — provided you don’t carry a balance over several months.
Home equity loan or HELOC. Home equity loans and HELOCs use the equity in your home as security to lower the cost of your loan. While these can be used for almost any expense, they’re typically best for home improvement or repairs and post-secondary education costs.
Other personal loan guides
Read these guides to better understand personal loans and how to compare your options:
Anna Serio is a lead editor at Finder, specializing in consumer and business financing. A trusted lending expert and former certified commercial loan officer, Anna's written and edited more than 1,000 articles on Finder to help Americans strengthen their financial literacy. Her expertise and analysis on personal, student, business and car loans has been featured in publications like Business Insider, CNBC and Nasdaq, and has appeared on NBC and KADN. Anna holds an MA in Middle Eastern studies from the American University of Beirut and a BA in Creative Writing from Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College, CUNY.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser Disclosure
finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which finder.com receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. finder.com compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.
We update our data regularly, but information can change between updates. Confirm details with the provider you're interested in before making a decision.
