Installment loan calculator: payments and fees.
Calculate the monthly payment, cash received, total interest, and estimated APR after an origination fee. Enter the annual interest rate before fees.
Assumptions and limits
Fixed interest, monthly payments, and an origination fee deducted up front. Daily interest, irregular dates, and financed fees can produce different results. Do not enter an APR that already includes the same fee.
StraightSum · Educational estimate
Loan cost estimate
| Loan amount | $500.00 |
| Interest rate before fees | 36% |
| Term | 12 months |
| Origination fee | 5% |
| Monthly payment | $50.23 |
| Estimated APR | 46.4% |
| Total cost of credit | $127.75 |
Generated
Estimate for educational use. Not an offer of credit and not financial advice. StraightSum is not a lender. Verify all figures against the lender's written Truth in Lending disclosure before signing.
Total cost calculator
Your figures stay in the address bar, so this result can be bookmarked, printed, or sent to someone else. Nothing is submitted.
The figure the lender approves, before any fee is deducted.
Nominal annual interest rate before any origination fee. Do not enter a TILA APR here if it already includes the fee.
Number of scheduled monthly payments.
Usually deducted from the amount you receive.
Monthly payment
$50.23
You receive
$475.00
Total repaid
$602.75
Estimated APR
46.4%
The fee adds 10.4 percentage points. You were quoted 36%, but $25.00 never reaches you while interest accrues as though it had. Your real cost of credit is 46.4% — that is the number to compare against other offers.
The same loan over different terms
$500 at 36% with a 5% fee. A longer term always lowers the payment and raises the total.
| Term | Monthly | Total repaid | Cost of credit | Estimated APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 mo | $92.30 | $553.79 | $78.79 | 54.8% |
| 12 moselected | $50.23 | $602.75 | $127.75 | 46.4% |
| 18 mo | $36.35 | $654.41 | $179.41 | 43.4% |
| 24 mo | $29.52 | $708.62 | $233.62 | 41.8% |
Going from 6 to 24 months lowers the payment by $62.78 a month and raises the cost of credit by $154.83. Sometimes the smaller payment is the right choice, because it is the one you can reliably make — but it is a trade, not a saving.
Where the money goes
Interest plus fees — the amount repaid above the cash you receive.
Each payment, month by month
Interest is charged on the balance still outstanding, so it shrinks as the balance does. Early payments buy you less principal than late ones — which is why repaying ahead of schedule saves more than most people expect.
Educational estimate, not an offer. Actual APR, fees, and eligibility depend on the lender, your state, and underwriting. Compare this output against the lender's written Truth in Lending disclosure before signing anything.
Esta calculadora también está en español: Calculadora de costo total
Four figures worth checking.
Take these to any offer you are considering and compare them line by line against the lender's written disclosure.
Estimated APR
The comparison number. If it is materially higher than the rate you were quoted, fees are doing the work. Ask what they are and whether they are deducted up front or added to the balance — the difference changes what actually reaches your account.
Total cost of credit
Interest plus fees, in dollars. Percentages are abstract; a figure like $128 on $500 borrowed is not. This is the number to weigh against whatever the loan is for.
Amount you receive
Principal minus any fee taken at origination. If you need a specific sum for a specific bill, this is the figure that has to cover it — not the headline loan amount.
Monthly payment
Check it against your budget with rent, utilities, food, and existing debts already deducted. If it only fits in a month where nothing goes wrong, it does not fit.
How an origination fee changes a $500.00 loan
Both examples use the same principal, 36% annual interest rate before fees, and 12 monthly payments. The 5% fee is an illustration, deducted from the proceeds; it is not added to the balance.
| Deducted fee | Cash received | Monthly payment | Total payments | Cost of credit | Estimated APR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | $500.00 | $50.23 | $602.75 | $102.75 | 36.0% |
| 5% | $475.00 | $50.23 | $602.75 | $127.75 | 46.4% |
The payment stays the same because interest is charged on the same balance. With the deducted fee, you receive $25.00 less, so the cost of credit and estimated APR rise. A quoted APR that already includes this fee should not be entered as the interest rate and charged the fee again.
Need the full $500.00 in cash? A deducted fee leaves a shortfall. Compare cash received as well as the payment. Compare two loan offers with fees. See the CFPB explanation of installment loan fees.
Why amortization changes the outcome.
The difference between an installment loan and a single-payment short-term loan is not mainly the rate. It is whether the balance goes down.
| Installment loan | Single-payment short-term loan | |
|---|---|---|
| Repayment | Scheduled payments over months | One lump sum, typically 14–31 days |
| Balance over time | Falls with every payment | Unchanged until repaid in full |
| If you cannot pay | Ask about a hardship plan; the loan still ends on a fixed date | Commonly renewed for a new fee — same principal, charged for again |
| Total cost | Known at signing | Depends on how many times it is renewed |
| End date | Fixed and visible in the schedule | Indefinite if renewals continue |
To see what the right-hand column costs in practice, run the same amount through the rollover calculator, or read the full side-by-side comparison. The arithmetic is usually more persuasive than the argument.
Before you sign anything
- 01Read the Truth in Lending disclosure, not the marketing pageUnder TILA the lender must give you the APR, the finance charge, the total of payments, and the payment schedule in writing before you sign. Those four numbers are the offer. Everything else is presentation.
- 02Reconcile their numbers against this calculatorEnter their amount, rate, term, and fee here. If the monthly payment or total of payments differs by more than a few cents, ask them to explain the difference before signing.
- 03Check the licenceVerify the lender through NMLS Consumer Access, and confirm the product is permitted in your state. A licensed lender exceeding your state's ceiling, or an unlicensed one at any rate, is a reason to walk away.
- 04Find the prepayment termsMany lenders allow early repayment at no cost, which can save a meaningful share of the interest. Some charge for it. It is a single line in the agreement and it is worth locating.
- 05Look at the late and NSF feesThese decide what a bad month costs. If a single missed ACH debit triggers a lender fee and a bank fee together, the real risk of the loan is higher than the APR suggests.
Questions about the maths
How is the monthly payment on an installment loan calculated?
With the standard amortization formula: M = P · r(1+r)ⁿ / ((1+r)ⁿ − 1), where P is the principal, r is the monthly rate (annual interest rate before fees divided by twelve), and n is the number of payments. Each payment splits between interest on the outstanding balance and principal. The interest share falls as the outstanding balance shrinks.
What is the difference between the interest rate and APR?
The interest rate is the charge on the outstanding balance before fees. APR includes applicable finance charges, including many origination fees. This calculator takes the interest rate and a separately entered fee deducted from the proceeds, then estimates APR from the monthly payments. Do not enter a disclosed APR that already includes the same fee: that would count it twice. Compare the lender’s disclosed APR, total payments, cash received, and repayment schedule.
Does a longer term make a loan cheaper?
It makes each payment smaller and the loan more expensive overall. Stretching $1,000 at 36% from twelve months to twenty-four cuts the monthly payment by roughly a third and roughly doubles the total interest. Sometimes the smaller payment is worth it because it is the one you can actually afford — but that trade should be made deliberately, with both numbers in view.
What is an amortization schedule and why should I read it?
It is the month-by-month breakdown of where each payment goes. Worth reading because it shows how little principal comes off early in the term, which matters if you might repay early or refinance. It is also the document to check a lender's figures against — if their schedule does not reconcile with the total of payments in their disclosure, ask why before signing.
Is an installment loan better than a payday loan?
Structurally, usually yes: an installment loan amortizes, so each payment reduces what you owe and the debt has a defined end date. A single-payment short-term loan does not amortize, and when it cannot be repaid in full it is typically renewed for another fee — the same principal, charged for again. That said, an installment loan at 200% APR is still expensive credit. The structure helps; it does not make the price reasonable.
Why does the calculator's final payment differ by a few cents?
Because rounding a level payment to whole cents leaves a small residual balance after the last scheduled period. Real lenders absorb that in the final payment rather than leaving a stray balance open, and this calculator does the same — so the schedule always ends at exactly zero. Expect the last row to differ from the others by a cent or two.
Next questions worth answering
What does my amount cost?
Payment tables by amount, from $500 to $5,000, across every term.
Can I afford this payment?
Add the payment to your existing obligations and see the ratio underwriters look at first.
Could I avoid borrowing?
Work out your daily spending limit until payday. Sometimes the gap is smaller than it feels.
Calculators and guides on this site are educational estimates, not offers of credit and not financial, legal, tax, or credit advice. Actual terms depend on the lender, your state, verification, underwriting, and applicable law. StraightSum is not a lender, loan broker, or credit services organization. We do not make credit decisions, issue funds, set rates or fees, guarantee approval, or service loan accounts.