Personal Loan Calculator

A personal loan is an instalment loan: you borrow a fixed amount, agree a fixed rate, and repay the same amount every month until the balance reaches zero. What changes over time is the split inside that payment. In the first months most of the money covers interest on a large outstanding balance; by the end almost all of it is repaying principal. That shift is what the amortization schedule above makes visible.

The rate you are offered is driven by credit history, income stability, loan size and term. Longer terms lower the monthly payment but raise the total interest, sometimes dramatically — try switching the term between three and seven years and watch the total cost figure move while the monthly payment barely changes. That trade-off is the single most useful thing this calculator can show you.

Extra payments are the other lever. Because any extra amount is applied straight to principal, it removes every future interest charge that principal would have generated. A modest extra payment each month often cuts a year or more off the term. Before committing, check whether your lender charges an early repayment penalty and whether your emergency fund is intact — paying down a loan is irreversible in a way that saving is not.

Fixed rates keep the payment identical from first month to last; variable rates can start lower but move with the market. Consolidating several card balances into one instalment loan usually lowers the blended rate, but watch for origination fees rolled into the balance — they raise the true cost even when the headline rate looks better.