Personal Loan Payoff Calculator
Calculate your monthly payment, total interest, and a full amortization schedule for any fixed-term personal loan — and see how extra payments shorten it.
Loan Details
How personal loan amortization works
A personal loan is a fixed-term, fixed-rate installment loan: you borrow a lump sum and repay it in equal monthly payments until the balance reaches zero at the end of the term. Every payment is a blend of interest (the cost of borrowing) and principal (repayment of what you borrowed) — but that blend shifts dramatically over the life of the loan.
Because interest is calculated on the outstanding balance each month, and the balance is highest at the start, your earliest payments are interest-heavy. As the balance shrinks, less of each payment goes to interest and more goes to principal — a pattern called amortization. This is why paying even a modest amount extra early in the loan has an outsized effect on total interest paid.
where P = loan amount, r = monthly rate (APR ÷ 12), n = number of months
Each month: Interest = Balance × r · Principal = Payment − Interest · Balance −= Principal
Tips for paying off a personal loan faster
- Add a fixed extra amount to every payment — even $25–$50/month meaningfully cuts total interest on multi-year loans.
- Apply windfalls directly to principal and confirm with your lender that the extra amount is applied to principal, not future payments.
- Check for prepayment penalties before making large extra payments — most modern personal loans don't have them, but some still do.
- Compare offers by APR, not just monthly payment — a longer term can look cheaper monthly while costing far more in total interest.
Using a personal loan to consolidate higher-rate debt? Run the numbers first in the Debt Consolidation Calculator to compare it against your current balances, or see the exact effect of extra payments in the Extra Payment Calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Personal loans use a standard amortization formula based on the loan amount, annual interest rate, and term length. The formula produces a fixed monthly payment that stays the same for the life of the loan, though the mix of principal and interest within each payment shifts over time.
Interest is calculated on the outstanding balance each month. Since the balance is highest at the start of the loan, the interest portion of each payment is largest early on and shrinks as the balance decreases, so more of each payment goes toward principal over time.
Most personal loans can be paid off early without penalty, though some lenders charge a prepayment fee — check your loan agreement. Adding extra principal payments reduces the balance faster, which shortens the loan term and lowers total interest paid.
A personal loan can be a good consolidation tool if its fixed interest rate is meaningfully lower than the average rate on your existing debts, since it replaces variable, often-higher-rate balances with one predictable payment and a fixed payoff date.