Calculate your loan payment, total interest, principal, and complete amortization schedule.
See how your loan balance decreases with each payment.
See how each payment is divided between principal and interest and how your remaining balance changes over time.
| Payment # | Payment | Principal | Interest | Remaining Balance |
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A loan amortization calculator helps you understand exactly how a loan is paid off over time. Enter your loan amount, interest rate, loan term, and payment frequency to estimate your payment, total interest, total loan cost, and complete loan amortization schedule.
Unlike a basic payment calculator, an amortization calculator shows how each payment is divided between principal and interest and how your remaining loan balance changes throughout the repayment period.
A loan amortization calculator uses the loan amount, interest rate, repayment term, and payment frequency to calculate a series of scheduled payments.
For a standard fixed-rate amortizing loan, each payment includes two main components: principal and interest. The interest portion is based on the outstanding loan balance, while the remaining portion of the payment reduces the principal.
As the balance decreases, the amount of interest charged during each payment period generally decreases. More of the scheduled payment can then be applied toward principal.
The result is a complete loan amortization schedule showing the payment amount, principal paid, interest paid, and remaining balance for each payment.
Using the calculator is simple:
The calculator will display your estimated payment, total interest, total loan cost, number of payments, principal-versus-interest breakdown, remaining balance chart, and amortization schedule.
A loan amortization schedule is a detailed table showing how a loan is repaid over time.
For each payment, an amortization schedule can show:
This makes an amortization schedule useful when you want to understand not only your payment amount, but also how quickly your debt balance is declining.
For example, the first payments on a typical amortizing loan can contain a larger interest component because interest is calculated on a higher outstanding balance. Later payments generally contain a larger principal component as the balance declines.
For a standard fixed-rate amortizing loan, the periodic payment can be calculated using the following formula:
If the annual interest rate is 7.5% and payments are monthly, the periodic interest rate is calculated by dividing the annual rate by 12.
The number of payments depends on the loan term and payment frequency.
For a 0% interest loan, the calculation is simpler because the principal is divided by the number of scheduled payments.
Suppose you borrow $25,000 at a fixed annual interest rate of 7.5% for 5 years, with monthly payments.
The amortization calculation determines a scheduled monthly payment and then applies each payment to interest and principal.
At the beginning of the loan, interest is calculated using the larger outstanding balance. After every payment reduces the principal, the balance used to calculate future interest becomes smaller.
Over the full repayment period, the scheduled payments cover the original principal plus the accumulated interest.
Your actual loan terms may differ because lenders can use different rates, fees, payment timing, rounding rules, or loan structures.
Early in an amortizing loan, the outstanding balance is at its highest. Because periodic interest is calculated from the remaining balance, the interest portion can represent a larger part of the payment during the early stages of repayment.
The rest of the payment reduces the principal balance.
As you continue making scheduled payments, the outstanding balance decreases. Because the balance is smaller, the interest charged for each payment period generally becomes smaller as well.
This changes the composition of the payment over time, with a progressively larger share going toward principal.
Near the end of a fully amortizing loan, most of the outstanding balance has already been repaid. The final scheduled payment brings the remaining principal balance to approximately zero, subject to lender rounding and loan terms.
The relationship between principal and interest is one of the most useful parts of an amortization schedule.
Principal is the amount applied toward reducing the original amount borrowed.
Interest is the borrowing cost charged by the lender according to the applicable interest rate and outstanding balance.
Although the scheduled payment for a standard fixed-rate loan can remain the same throughout the term, the portion allocated to principal and interest changes over time.
This is why looking only at the monthly payment does not tell you how quickly your debt is actually being reduced.
A larger loan generally produces a larger payment when the interest rate, term, and payment frequency remain the same. It can also result in more total interest over the life of the loan.
The interest rate directly affects the cost of borrowing. A higher fixed interest rate generally increases the scheduled payment and total interest for the same principal and repayment term.
The loan term determines how many payments are made. A longer term can reduce the required payment by spreading repayment over more periods, but it can also increase the total interest paid over the life of the loan.
Payment frequency determines how often payments are scheduled. This calculator supports monthly, biweekly, and weekly payment schedules.
Changing the payment frequency changes the number of payment periods and the periodic interest calculation, so the resulting amortization schedule can differ.
Loan amortization describes how scheduled payments are applied toward principal and interest over the repayment period.
Simple interest is a method for calculating interest based on the applicable interest rate and principal or outstanding balance according to the loan agreement.
A standard amortizing loan can use interest calculations that result in a changing principal-and-interest composition throughout the repayment schedule.
Not every loan is structured this way. Some financing products can have variable rates, interest-only periods, balloon payments, lines of credit, or other repayment structures.
A longer repayment term spreads the principal over a greater number of payments.
This can reduce the scheduled payment compared with a shorter term for the same loan amount and interest rate. However, because the balance remains outstanding for a longer period, the total amount of interest paid can be higher.
Comparing amortization schedules for different loan terms can help you see the trade-off between the scheduled payment and total borrowing cost.
An amortization schedule can help you understand several important aspects of a loan:
It can also make it easier to compare different loan scenarios before applying for financing.
This calculator provides:
This calculator is designed for standard fixed-rate amortizing loans. It does not automatically account for every possible loan feature or lender-specific charge.
Depending on the loan, actual costs can also include origination fees, application fees, insurance, taxes, prepayment penalties, late fees, variable interest rates, balloon payments, or other charges.
The calculator therefore provides an estimate based on the information entered and the assumptions used by the calculation.
A loan amortization calculator estimates the scheduled payment and generates a payment-by-payment breakdown showing principal, interest, and remaining loan balance.
A loan amortization schedule is a table showing how each scheduled payment is allocated between principal and interest and how the outstanding balance changes over time.
For a standard fixed-rate amortizing loan, the scheduled payment is calculated using the principal, periodic interest rate, and number of payments. Each payment is then divided between interest and principal based on the outstanding balance.
The interest portion depends on the outstanding balance and periodic interest rate. For a typical amortizing loan, the interest portion is generally larger earlier in the repayment schedule and decreases as the balance declines.
As the outstanding balance decreases, the interest calculated for each payment period generally decreases. This means a larger portion of the scheduled payment can be applied toward principal later in the loan.
A longer term can result in more total interest because the loan balance remains outstanding for a longer period, even though the scheduled payment can be lower than with a shorter term.
Yes. It can be used to estimate a standard fixed-rate personal loan amortization schedule. For a dedicated personal loan calculation, see our Personal Loan Calculator.
Yes. The calculator can estimate the amortization of a standard fixed-rate auto loan. For vehicle price, down payment, trade-in, taxes, and fees, use our Car Loan Calculator.
Yes. When the interest rate is 0%, the principal is divided across the scheduled number of payments.
No. The standard calculation focuses on principal and interest. Lender-specific fees and other charges may need to be considered separately.
The schedule is an estimate based on the information entered and the assumptions of a standard fixed-rate amortizing loan. A lender's actual schedule may differ because of rounding, payment dates, fees, rate changes, or other contractual terms.
Use the calculator above to see how your loan could be repaid over time. Enter your loan amount, interest rate, term, and payment frequency to generate an estimated amortization schedule with principal, interest, and remaining balance for each payment.
Understanding the full repayment schedule can give you a clearer picture of the total cost of borrowing than looking at the payment amount alone.
Disclaimer: This calculator is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Results are estimates and are not a loan offer, financial recommendation, or guarantee of actual loan terms. Actual payments and costs can vary depending on the lender, loan agreement, fees, taxes, payment dates, rounding, interest-rate structure, and other factors.