CalcPocket Logo CalcPocket
Finance

Loan payment & amortization calculator

Enter your loan amount, interest rate, and term to instantly see your periodic payment, total interest paid, and a full amortization schedule. Switch between month-by-month and year-by-year views, export to CSV, and visualise your repayment with breakdown charts.

Monthly payment Total interest Amortization schedule Doughnut & balance chart Month / year view CSV export

Loan Calculator

Payments, interest & amortization schedule

$
% / year
years
Payment per period
Total paid
Total interest
Principal
Payments
Breakdown of Total Cost
Principal
Interest
Payment Breakdown & Balance Over Time
Amortization Schedule
# Payment Principal Interest Balance

Loan Calculator — Payments, Interest & Amortization

This free loan calculator uses the standard amortization formula to compute your fixed periodic payment for any loan. Enter the loan amount, annual interest rate, loan term, and compounding and payment frequencies to get instant results.

The full amortization schedule shows exactly how much of each payment goes toward principal vs interest and how your remaining balance decreases with every payment. This helps you plan your budget, compare loan offers, and understand the true cost of borrowing.

Loan Amortization Formula

Monthly Payment (PMT)
PMT = P × r(1 + r)n / ((1 + r)n − 1)

P = Principal  ·  r = Periodic interest rate
n = Total number of payment periods
The periodic rate r = Annual rate ÷ Compounding periods per year. The total cost of the loan is PMT × n, and total interest = (PMT × n) − P.

How Amortization Works

With a standard amortising loan, every payment is identical in size. Early payments are mostly interest; over time, the interest portion shrinks as the principal balance falls, and more of each payment goes toward repaying the principal. This is called negative amortisation in reverse — or simply amortisation.

Early payments Mostly interest, small principal reduction. The balance barely moves in year 1.
Mid-term Interest and principal portions cross over — usually around the halfway point.
Final payments Almost entirely principal. The last payment clears the remaining balance exactly.

How Interest Rate Affects Your Loan Cost

Monthly payment and total interest on a $10,000 loan over 5 years at different rates (monthly compounding):

RateMonthly paymentTotal paidTotal interest
3%$179.69$10,781.40$781.40
5%$188.71$11,322.60$1,322.60
7%$198.01$11,880.60$1,880.60
10%$212.47$12,748.20$2,748.20
15%$237.90$14,274.00$4,274.00

Frequently Asked Questions

The standard amortization formula: PMT = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1). P is the loan amount, r is the periodic interest rate (annual rate divided by payment periods per year), and n is the total number of payments.
An amortization schedule is a complete table of every payment over the life of the loan. For each period it shows the payment amount, how much goes to interest, how much reduces the principal, and the remaining balance. This calculator provides both month-by-month and year-by-year views.
Compounding frequency is how often the lender calculates interest on your balance (e.g. monthly APR = 12 times/year). Payment frequency is how often you make payments. They can differ — for example, some mortgages use semi-annual compounding with monthly payments. The calculator handles any combination.
Three ways: (1) Negotiate a lower interest rate. (2) Shorten the loan term — a 3-year loan pays less total interest than a 5-year loan at the same rate. (3) Make extra principal payments — even small additional payments early in the loan reduce the balance faster and cut interest significantly.
Yes — this calculator works for any fixed-rate amortising loan. For mortgages, the typical setup is monthly payments with monthly or semi-annual compounding. For auto loans, monthly payments with monthly compounding is standard. Adjust the frequencies to match your specific loan.
The balance chart shows how your remaining loan balance decreases over time. The steep drop near the end reflects that most principal repayment happens in the later years of the loan. The doughnut chart shows the split between principal and total interest as a percentage of total amount paid.
Click the CSV button in the schedule section to download a comma-separated file containing the full amortization schedule. This can be opened in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet application.
Topic Cluster

Finance Calculators

The Loan Calculator is part of CalcPocket's Finance cluster — tools for payments, interest, and financial planning.