Loan and Mortgage Calculator
Calculate the monthly payment of a loan or mortgage and the total interest.
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The loan and mortgage calculator works out the monthly payment on a standard amortizing loan and shows how much you will pay in total and how much of that is interest. It works the same for a mortgage as for a personal or car loan.
What the term changes
For 150,000 at 3% interest:
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 20 years | 831.90 | 49,655 |
| 25 years | 711.32 | 63,395 |
| 30 years | 632.41 | 77,666 |
Stretching from 20 to 30 years lowers the payment by about 200 a month, but costs 28,000 more in interest. That is a legitimate trade if you need breathing room each month, but it is worth making knowing the price.
Why you barely reduce the debt at first
With an amortizing loan, each month’s interest is charged on what you still owe. At the start you owe a lot, so most of the payment goes on interest. In the 25-year example, the first payment is 375 of interest and only 336 of principal. The chart’s “Each year” view shows how that split turns around over time.
How to use Loan Calculator
- 1
Enter the loan amount
What you borrow. For a mortgage, the property price minus your down payment.
- 2
Enter the annual interest rate
Type the nominal interest rate, not the APR. For a variable-rate mortgage, add the lender's margin to the current value of the reference rate.
- 3
Choose the term in years
The longer it is, the lower the payment and the more interest you pay overall. Try a few terms to compare.
- 4
Check the payment and the split
You get the monthly payment, the total you will pay and how much of it is interest. The chart shows year by year how much of what you pay goes on interest, and the amortization schedule can be downloaded as CSV.
Frequently asked questions
How is the payment calculated?
With the standard amortizing formula used by almost all mortgages and personal loans: the payment is the same every month, but at first almost all of it goes on interest and over the years it shifts to paying back the principal.
What is the difference between the interest rate and the APR?
The interest rate is what is charged on what you owe. The APR adds fees and costs so you can compare offers. The payment is calculated with the interest rate, which is what goes here; the APR is for comparing, not for calculating the payment.
Does it include insurance and fees?
No. The result covers principal and interest only. Property taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and arrangement fees are paid on top.
How high should the payment be at most?
A common rule of thumb is that all your debt payments together should stay below about a third of your take-home pay, and lenders apply similar limits when assessing a mortgage.
Should I pay the loan off early?
It depends on the loan's rate compared with what that money would earn elsewhere. If you do overpay, shortening the term saves more interest than lowering the payment. Try both scenarios here by lowering the outstanding amount and comparing total interest.