Loan calculator

How to use it

Choose the amount you need and how many months you want to repay it. The calculator starts at an APR of 35.99%, so the first figure you see is the most a loan of that size can cost within our standard. If a lender has quoted you a rate, move the APR slider to it and compare.

Terms run from 3 to 36 months. Longer terms are switched off for small amounts, because a $200 loan is not repaid over three years.

What the three results mean

• Monthly payment. The same amount every month until the loan is finished.
• Total repaid. All the payments added together.
• Cost of credit. The total repaid less the amount you borrowed. This is what the loan costs you.

The bar under the result shows how much of the total is the money you borrowed and how much is the cost of borrowing it.

The arithmetic

The payment is found with the standard formula for a loan repaid in equal installments: the amount, multiplied by the monthly rate, divided by one minus (1 + the monthly rate) raised to the power of minus the number of months. The monthly rate is the APR divided by twelve.

For $1,000 over 12 months at 35.99%, the monthly rate is about 2.999% and the payment comes to $100.46. Twelve payments make $1,205.52, so the credit costs $205.52.

What a shorter or longer term does

Stretching a loan lowers the payment and raises the total. The same $1,000 at 35.99% costs $107.54 over 6 months and $416.96 over 24. Pick the shortest term whose payment you can meet every month without borrowing again.

What the result leaves out

The calculator assumes that any fee is already counted in the APR, which is how lenders are required to state it. It does not include a late fee if you miss a payment. And it cannot tell you the rate you will be offered: that depends on the lender, your state and your credit.

For the full statement of what we allow, see rates and terms. To see how fees change an APR, read what APR means.