Personal loan calculator

The origination fee changes the real cost

Many personal loans deduct an origination fee, often 1% to 8% and sometimes more, from the loan before you receive it. Borrow $15,000 with a 5% fee and you receive $14,250 but repay the full $15,000 plus interest. The APR with the fee, shown above, is therefore higher than the interest rate.

Always compare personal loans by APR, which includes the fee, rather than the headline interest rate.

Personal loan or something else?

Fixed-rate personal loans are unsecured, so rates depend heavily on credit. For borrowers with strong credit they can undercut credit cards, which is why they are popular for consolidating card debt. For home improvements, a home-equity product may be cheaper but puts your home at risk. Check for prepayment penalties, late fees and whether the lender funds quickly if you need cash.

$15,000 at 12% by loan length

Borrowing $15,000 at 12% over 4 years costs $395.01 a month and $3,960 in interest, $18,960 in total. Shorter terms raise the payment but cut the interest, and longer terms do the reverse. The table shows the trade-off across common terms.

How your rate changes the cost

Personal loan rates vary widely with credit score, from the mid single digits for strong borrowers to 30% or more for weak credit. On $15,000 over 4 years, moving from 12% to 15% adds $1,078 in interest.

How much can you borrow for a given payment?

Working backwards at 12% over 4 years, here is the loan size each monthly payment supports.

When is half of a $15,000 loan repaid?

With a $395.01 payment, the balance falls below half ($7,500) after 27 payments, about 2.3 years into a 4 years loan. Because interest is highest at the start, the second half of the loan is paid down much faster than the first.