Personal Loan Calculator
Estimate your monthly payment and total cost on a personal loan, including origination fees.
About the Personal Loan Calculator
Personal loans are usually unsecured, fixed-rate, and repaid over two to seven years — but many lenders subtract an origination fee from the amount you actually receive, which changes the real cost of borrowing. This calculator shows your monthly payment, total interest, and how much that origination fee costs in dollar terms.
How It Works
The calculator amortizes your loan amount at the given rate and term to compute the fixed monthly payment, exactly as a bank would. Separately, it multiplies the origination fee percentage by the loan amount so you can see the fee in dollars — money that is typically deducted upfront from your loan proceeds rather than added to your payments.
Payment = P × [r(1+r)^n] / [(1+r)^n − 1]; Origination Fee = Loan Amount × Fee %.
Worked example
Scenario: A $10,000 personal loan at 11.5% for 36 months with a 2% origination fee.
- Monthly rate: 11.5% ÷ 12 = 0.9583%; payments: 36.
- Payment = 10,000 × 0.009583 ÷ (1 − 1.009583^−36) = $329.76.
- Origination fee: 2% × $10,000 = $200, deducted up front, so you receive $9,800.
- Total interest ≈ $1,871; total cost of borrowing including the fee ≈ $2,071.
Result: $329.76 a month, $9,800 in your account, and about $2,071 total cost (interest plus fee).
Before choosing a personal loan
Compare APR, fees, repayment term, monthly payment, and total repayment rather than rate alone. A longer term can make the monthly payment easier to manage while increasing the total amount paid over the life of the loan.
Tips and common mistakes
- Because the fee is taken from the loan, you pay interest on money you never receive — the APR Calculator turns this into a single comparable rate.
- If you need exactly $10,000 in hand, borrow about $10,204 so the 2% fee still leaves $10,000.
- Check whether the lender charges a prepayment penalty before planning to pay the loan off early.
Assumptions & Limitations
- The origination fee is assumed to be deducted from the loan proceeds rather than financed into the balance.
- Assumes a single fixed rate for the entire repayment term.
- Late fees, prepayment penalties, and autopay rate discounts offered by some lenders are not modeled.
- Actual disbursed amount may vary by lender depending on how the fee is applied.
Sources and review
Method: Standard fixed-rate amortization (level-payment annuity) formula with monthly compounding, the method used for installment loans and mortgages. The origination fee is treated as deducted from the amount you receive.
Sources:
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) consumer guidance on loan payments, interest and amortization.
Last reviewed: October 2026 by Faheem Ali, founder of CalculatorAnything. The method and examples are provided for transparency; results remain estimates and may contain errors.
Results are estimates for planning and comparison, not financial advice or a lender's quote. Rates, fees, tax rules and regulations vary by country and change over time; confirm figures with your lender or a licensed adviser. Spotted an error? Tell us — see our editorial policy for how corrections are handled.