Loan Calculator
Calculate personal loan repayments, total interest and payoff date, with a full loan payment schedule, optional monthly fees and the working behind every figure.
Repay interest only for the first years, then principal and interest.
Optional what-if. Leave empty for the contracted repayment only.
Fees
Blank means no fee, which reproduces the fee-free result above.
Charged once at settlement. It is added to the total cost, not to the repayment.
Charged alongside every repayment. It raises the total cost and does not reduce the balance.
Compare a second offer
Same borrowed amount and repayment frequency; only the rate, term and fees change.
Runs the same engine a second time and shows the difference in total cost.
Enter the loan to see repayments, total interest and the schedule.
Summary
Enter the loan amount, rate and term to see the repayment and the working behind it.
Working
- periodic rate = annual rate ÷ periods per year (52 weekly, 26 fortnightly, 12 monthly)
- payment = (principal − balloon ÷ (1 + i)ⁿ) × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)⁻ⁿ)
- each period: interest = opening balance × i, principal part = payment + extra − interest
- closing balance = opening balance − principal part, rounded to the cent
- account fees are added to the total paid and never reduce the balance
- the final payment is adjusted so the closing balance is exactly zero
Assumptions
- The rate is fixed for the whole term; rate changes are not modelled here.
- Repayments are made in full and on time, on a regular cycle from the first repayment date.
- Fees are the amounts you enter, not published rates. The establishment fee is treated as payable at settlement.
- Interest is charged on the payment-period balance, not accrued daily.
Limitations
- Redraw, offset, honeymoon and introductory rates, and lender-specific fee waivers are not modelled.
- Comparison rates published by lenders use a different statutory basis and are not reproduced here.
- Result accuracy class A: deterministic arithmetic on the figures you enter.
Common questions
How are personal loan repayments calculated?
The level repayment is solved from the amount borrowed, the periodic interest rate and the number of repayments in the term, and the calculator then builds the whole amortisation schedule period by period. Each period charges interest on the balance carried into it, applies the repayment, rounds to the cent and carries the remainder forward, so the totals come from the schedule rather than from the formula alone. The final repayment is adjusted to close the balance exactly.
What is the difference between the interest rate and the comparison rate?
The interest rate prices the balance; a comparison rate is a single figure that folds prescribed fees into a rate on a standardised loan size and term. This calculator does not quote a comparison rate. It takes your rate, your establishment fee and your ongoing monthly fee as separate inputs and reports the actual dollars: total interest, total fees and total paid. Comparing the total cost of two offers in dollars sidesteps the standardised assumptions a comparison rate relies on.
How do fees change the cost of a personal loan?
An establishment fee is a one-off cost at the start, while a monthly service fee is charged in every period alongside the repayment, so over a long term the recurring fee usually dominates. The calculator adds both to the schedule and reports total paid including fees, not just interest. This is why two loans at the same rate can differ materially in cost.
How do I compare two loan offers?
Turn on the second offer fields and enter the rival rate, term and establishment fee; both offers are run through the same schedule engine on the same amount borrowed. The comparison reports each offer's repayment, total interest and total paid, so a lower repayment achieved by a longer term shows up as a higher total cost rather than as a win. The calculator presents the two sets of numbers and does not rank them.
Does making extra repayments on a personal loan save interest?
Yes, and the calculator prices it: an extra amount per period goes to principal, so the balance entering each subsequent period is lower and less interest is charged from then on. Whether your contract permits extra repayments without a fee is a matter for the loan terms, which are not modelled here. The methodology page lists every assumption and limitation.
Is a car loan calculated the same way?
The amortisation is identical, but car finance often carries a balloon or residual amount that falls due at the end of the term. That amount reduces each repayment while leaving a lump sum outstanding at term end, which changes the total cost materially. The car loan calculator models the balloon explicitly on the same schedule engine.
Related calculators
- Car Loan CalculatorCalculate car loan repayments with or without a balloon or residual payment. See total cost, total interest and the full schedule, period by period.
- Credit Card Payoff CalculatorCompare how long a credit card takes to clear on minimum payments versus a fixed amount. Promotional-rate expiry is modelled and every cycle is shown.
- Compound Interest CalculatorSavings calculator: project how a balance grows with compound interest and regular deposits, with the year-by-year breakdown, exact formula and editable assumptions.
- Savings Goal CalculatorWork out the deposit needed each month, quarter or year to reach a savings target by your chosen date, verified by re-running the forward calculation.
- Home Deposit CalculatorWork out the house deposit needed at your chosen loan-to-value ratio, plus the upfront costs you enter, with the savings gap and every step of the arithmetic.
- LVR CalculatorCalculate your loan-to-value ratio from a property value and loan amount, alongside the standard LVR bands Australian lenders reference. Full working shown.
All Loan and debt calculatorsHow the Loan Calculator worksAll calculators