Loan Calculator — Monthly Payment and Amortization Schedule

What is a Loan Calculator?

A Loan Calculator (लोन कैलकुलेटर) tells you how much you will pay each month on a loan, how much interest you will pay in total and how every single payment is split between interest and principal. Whether it is a personal loan, car loan, education loan, business loan or home loan, nearly all instalment loans use the same reducing-balance method: you pay a fixed amount every month, interest is charged on whatever balance is left, and the rest of the payment reduces the balance.

This free calculator works in eight currencies, accepts the term in years or months, draws a principal-versus-interest chart, produces a full monthly or yearly amortization schedule you can download as a CSV file, and shows how much time and money you save by paying a little extra every month. It is a quick way to compare offers from different lenders before you sign anything.

Key Features

• Monthly payment using the standard amortizing-loan formula.
• Total interest and total amount paid over the life of the loan.
• Amortization schedule — yearly summary or every month, with balance after each payment.
• Extra payments — see the months and interest saved by paying more.
• CSV export for Excel or Google Sheets.
• Donut chart of principal versus interest.
• Eight currencies — ₹, $, €, £, AED, A$, C$ and S$, with Indian lakh-style digit grouping for rupees.
• Shareable link — your inputs are stored in the page address.

How to Use the Loan Calculator — Step by Step

1. Enter the loan amount and choose your currency.
2. Enter the interest rate per year, exactly as quoted by the lender.
3. Enter the term and choose years or months.
4. Optionally add an extra monthly payment to see the effect of prepaying.
5. Read the results: monthly payment, total interest, total paid and payoff time.
6. Explore the schedule using the Yearly and Monthly buttons, and click Download CSV to keep a copy.

The Loan Payment Formula

Payment = P × r × (1 + r)ⁿ ÷ ((1 + r)ⁿ − 1)

• P = loan amount (principal)
• r = monthly interest rate = annual rate ÷ 12 ÷ 100
• n = number of monthly payments

Worked example: ₹5,00,000 at 11% a year for 5 years. r = 11 ÷ 12 ÷ 100 = 0.0091667 and n = 60. The formula gives a monthly payment of ₹10,871. Over 60 months you pay ₹6,52,273 in total, so the total interest is ₹1,52,273.

In the first month, interest is ₹5,00,000 × 0.0091667 = ₹4,583, so only ₹6,288 of the ₹10,871 reduces the balance. By the final year, most of each payment goes to principal. The schedule shows this shift month by month.

The Power of Extra Payments

Every extra rupee or dollar you pay goes straight to principal, which reduces the interest charged in every following month. In the example above, paying an extra ₹2,000 a month clears the loan in 49 months instead of 60 — 11 months early — and saves about ₹31,335 in interest.

Before prepaying, check your loan agreement. Some lenders charge prepayment fees, especially on fixed-rate loans, or need a minimum amount. Also compare the guaranteed “return” of prepaying (your loan rate) with what you could safely earn elsewhere, and keep an emergency fund before putting extra money into a loan.

Comparing Loan Offers

A lower monthly payment is not always a better deal. A longer term lowers the payment but increases total interest a lot. For example, a ₹25 lakh home loan at 8.5% for 20 years has a payment of about ₹21,696 and total interest of about ₹27.07 lakh — more than the amount borrowed. When comparing offers:

• Compare the total interest and total cost, not just the monthly payment.
• Ask for the APR (annual percentage rate), which includes most fees, so offers are comparable.
• Check processing fees, insurance and other charges, which this calculator does not include.
• Understand whether the rate is fixed or floating; floating rates can rise.
• Read the prepayment and foreclosure terms.

Reducing Balance vs Flat Rate

Some lenders, especially for consumer durables and some vehicle loans, quote a flat rate, where interest is charged on the original amount for the entire term. A flat rate of 10% is far more expensive than a reducing-balance rate of 10% — roughly equivalent to a reducing rate of 17–18% for a 3–5 year loan. This calculator uses the reducing-balance method. If you are quoted a flat rate, ask for the equivalent reducing-balance rate or APR before comparing.

How to Read the Amortization Schedule

The yearly view adds up the principal and interest paid in each year of the loan and shows the balance left at the end of that year — ideal for seeing the big picture, planning a prepayment or checking how much interest you paid in a financial year. The monthly view lists every payment: the interest charged that month, the part that reduced the principal, and the new balance.

Two patterns are worth noticing. First, the interest column falls every month while the principal column rises, even though the total payment stays the same. Second, the balance falls slowly at first and much faster near the end. If you plan to prepay, doing it early in the loan has the biggest effect, because it removes principal that would otherwise attract interest for many years. The CSV download contains the full monthly table with values to two decimal places for your own spreadsheet analysis.

Where You Can Use It

• Personal loans — compare bank and app-based offers.
• Car and two-wheeler loans — decide on the down payment and term.
• Education loans — plan repayments after the moratorium.
• Home loans — see the long-term cost and the value of prepaying. For US home buying with tax and insurance, use the Mortgage Calculator.
• Business loans — check whether the monthly payment fits your cash flow.
• Refinancing — compare your remaining balance at a new rate.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Looking only at the monthly payment — longer terms cost more overall.
• Ignoring fees — processing fees and insurance raise the true cost.
• Confusing flat and reducing rates — they are very different.
• Borrowing to the limit — a common guideline is to keep total loan payments within about 40% of take-home pay, and lower is safer.
• Not planning for rate changes on floating-rate loans.

Tips and Troubleshooting

• Error about rate or term — rates must be 0–60% and terms up to 50 years.
• Payment differs slightly from the bank's — banks may round each month, use daily interest, or start interest from the disbursement date. Small differences are normal.
• Extra payment shows no saving — make sure it is a positive amount; the saving appears below the results.
• Chart looks blank — enter a valid amount, rate and term; the chart redraws automatically.

Quick Glossary

• Principal: the amount borrowed or still owed.
• EMI: equated monthly instalment — the fixed monthly payment.
• Amortization: paying off a loan through regular payments over time.
• Tenure / term: the length of the loan.
• Prepayment: paying more than the scheduled amount to reduce the balance.
• APR: annual percentage rate including most fees — useful for comparison.
• Foreclosure: closing the loan completely before the end of the term by paying the full outstanding balance.
• Moratorium: a period, common with education loans, when repayments have not started yet.

Why Use This Loan Calculator?

It combines the payment, total cost, a clear chart, a full downloadable schedule and prepayment savings in one place, in your currency, without sign-up or tracking. The results are estimates for planning; your lender's loan agreement and repayment schedule are the final word.

Loan Calculator — Key Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

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