Payment Calculator
$0.00 / month
Two Ways to Solve a Loan Payment
Every installment loan links four variables: the amount borrowed, the interest rate, the term, and the monthly payment. If you know any three, you can solve for the fourth. This calculator supports the two most common questions: "What will my payment be if I borrow this amount for this many years?" (fixed term) and "How long will it take to pay off this loan if I commit to a specific monthly payment?" (fixed payment). Switch modes above depending on which question you're asking.
How the Math Works
Both modes use the standard amortizing-loan formula, which assumes a fixed interest rate and equal monthly payments for the life of the loan. In fixed-term mode, the payment is calculated directly from the loan amount, monthly rate, and number of payments. In fixed-payment mode, the calculator solves for the number of months algebraically using logarithms; if your chosen payment is at or below the monthly interest charge, the balance never shrinks and the calculator will flag that the loan can't be paid off at that amount.
Related Tools
If this loan is specifically a mortgage, auto loan, or personal loan, you'll get more relevant detail from the mortgage calculator, auto loan calculator, or personal loan calculator, which account for costs like taxes, fees, or insurance specific to those loan types. Use this page instead when you just need the core loan math.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use fixed-term or fixed-payment mode?
Use fixed-term mode when you know how many years you want to take to repay the loan and want to find the resulting monthly payment. Use fixed-payment mode when you already know what you can afford to pay each month and want to find out how long it will take to pay off the loan.
Why does the calculator say my loan can never be paid off?
This happens in fixed-payment mode when your monthly payment is less than or equal to the interest charged on the balance each month. In that case the balance never decreases, so you'll need to enter a higher monthly payment for the loan to amortize.