CLEARBORROW · UPDATED OCTOBER 24, 2026
Installment loan calculator: monthly payment
Enter a principal, fixed annual interest rate, number of months and any origination fee deducted from funding. This calculator estimates equal monthly payments, total interest and net cash received. It also compares terms and shows how each payment reduces the balance. It does not calculate the legally disclosed APR or assess approval.
DO THE MATH FIRST
A monthly payment
is only part of the story.
Try a fixed-rate installment loan example. See what you would repay, and how an upfront fee changes the cash you actually receive.
Illustration only. This is not a quote, APR calculation or approval estimate. It assumes equal monthly payments and a fixed annual interest rate; it excludes late fees, subscriptions and other charges.
Understand interest, APR and fees ↗Compare repayment terms
Same balance and rate; 12, 24 and 36 months are illustrative scenarios, not available offers.
View the monthly amortization schedule
What to enter from your offer
Use the loan balance on which interest is calculated, not just the cash you want to receive. Enter the fixed annual interest rate as a percentage: 18 means 18%, not 0.18. Use the number of monthly payments, and enter an origination fee only if it is deducted from the principal at funding.
The default $5,000, 18% and 24-month example is an illustration. It is not a rate available through ClearBorrow. Your inputs stay in the browser; this form does not request personal details or send a credit application.
Why net proceeds can change the comparison
For $5,000 over 24 months at 18%, the modeled monthly payment is $249.62 and total interest is $990.89. If a 5% fee is deducted, the amount received falls to $4,750. Payments remain based on $5,000, so modeled interest plus the deducted fee becomes $1,240.89.
That total is a dollar-cost illustration, not an APR. It excludes charges you have not entered. If fees are financed, paid separately, refundable or assessed on another basis, this particular model will not describe them correctly. Use the lender’s disclosure for the actual arrangement.
The calculation behind the result
With principal P, monthly rate r and number of payments n, the payment is P × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)−n]. The monthly rate is the annual interest percentage divided by 1,200. At 0% interest, the payment is P ÷ n. The schedule applies interest to each opening balance and uses the rest of the payment to reduce principal.
Amounts are calculated at full precision, then rounded for display. The final scheduled payment clears the remaining modeled balance. A lender using daily interest, different rounding rules or irregular dates may produce different figures.
Use the term comparison without assuming eligibility
The comparison keeps your principal, interest rate and deducted-fee percentage constant while showing 12, 24 and 36 months. Those terms are scenarios, not offers the lender must provide. A longer term usually lowers the modeled monthly payment but increases interest when the rate is positive.
Compare the cash received and total repayment as well as the payment. If two offers have different APRs, fees or dates, changing only the term cannot establish which is cheaper. Use the offer checklist to record each actual contract.
Where this tool stops
This model is for fixed-rate monthly amortization. It does not model payday lump sums, variable interest, subscriptions, tips, late charges, skipped payments, extra repayments or a specific calendar. It does not determine state availability, lender authorization, credit eligibility or whether a payment is affordable.
Use the installment-loan overview to understand the product first. If you are comparing a two-week loan with monthly payments, read the payday comparison rather than treating both as the same calculator input.
Enter the contract’s interest rate rather than mixing price measures
This calculator models amortization using an annual interest rate and a separate fee deducted at funding. The interest field is not a complete APR solver. If an offer’s disclosed APR includes a qualifying origination charge, entering that APR as interest and adding the same charge again can overstate the modeled cost.
Find the contractual interest rate and how any fee is collected. If those details are unavailable, keep the result hypothetical and ask the lender. A marketing rate, a daily charge and a fee-inclusive APR are not interchangeable inputs. The lender’s disclosure remains the source for the actual APR.
| Calculator field | Enter | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Principal | The balance on which the modeled interest is charged | Automatically using the smaller cash deposit |
| Annual interest rate | Contractual annual interest percentage for this model | Treating a flat fee or daily rate as an annual rate |
| Months | The number of equal monthly payments | Entering years without converting them |
| Deducted fee | Percentage withheld from principal at funding | Using this field for a financed or separately paid fee |
A complete example you can reproduce
Enter principal $2,400, annual interest 24%, 12 months and a 5% deducted fee. The model produces a monthly payment of $226.94 and total repayment of $2,723.32 using unrounded calculations. Interest is $323.32. The fee is $120, so cash received is $2,280 and modeled interest plus deducted fee is $443.32.
| Output | Illustrative result | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly payment | $226.94 | A modeled installment, not an approved lender offer |
| Total repayment | $2,723.32 | Principal and modeled interest paid over the term |
| Net cash received | $2,280.00 | Principal less the deducted fee |
| Interest + deducted fee | $443.32 | Total repayment minus cash received; not an APR |
For the first modeled month, $2,400 × 2% is $48 in interest. The rest of the unrounded payment, approximately $178.94, reduces principal. That leaves roughly $2,221.06 before the next monthly interest calculation. The amortization table shows this balance declining; it does not simply divide total interest evenly across all months.
This is an independent calculation, not a product quote. The table rounds each displayed figure, while the engine retains full precision and adjusts the final modeled payment to clear the balance. Your lender may calculate interest daily, round differently or set an irregular first period.
Check units and boundary cases before trusting a result
Two years means 24 monthly payments in this model, not two. A 0% interest entry divides principal by the number of months; it does not erase an entered deducted fee. With $1,200 principal, 12 months, 0% interest and a 5% deducted fee, the modeled payment is $100, total repayment $1,200, cash received $1,140 and fee-related cost $60.
The form’s limits are input controls, not claims about products. It accepts whole-dollar principal, a whole number of months and nonnegative interest within its displayed limits. Neither the maximum principal nor the available term means a lender offers it. Do not change an input solely to force a preferred result.
If an estimate seems unexpectedly low, check months versus years, the annual percentage and the amount financed first. If it seems high, make sure a fee has not been counted in both the interest input and fee field. Retain the actual written disclosure so you can compare the same assumptions.
Use scenarios without turning them into an affordability verdict
Change one input at a time. First compare terms at the same principal and interest to isolate duration. Then compare interest inputs at the same term. Finally enter the actual fee treatment if the model supports it. Changing several figures together makes it harder to explain which difference drives the result.
The 12-, 24- and 36-month comparison is a set of scenarios. A provider may offer different terms or different rates by term. The table does not check income, existing debts or timing of essential expenses. Take any candidate payment into your own budget and pay-cycle calendar before deciding whether it is workable.
For example, a modeled $100 payment does not establish affordability if only $80 remains after essentials. A positive monthly margin also needs a date check: funds arriving after the debit cannot cover it unless money has already been set aside. Read the payment-schedule guide alongside the calculation.
Know when a different calculation is necessary
Use the actual lender schedule for weekly or biweekly payments, variable rates, a balloon balance or calendar-specific daily interest. This tool does not model additional payments, skipped installments, an existing account’s exact payoff quote or fees financed into a changing balance. A numerical answer is not useful if it describes the wrong agreement.
A credit card or other revolving line also needs different assumptions about purchases, minimum payments and future borrowing. A purchase-financing plan may have its own promotional rules. Start by identifying the product with the consumer-loan guide rather than forcing every credit arrangement into a fixed monthly model.
When the model and lender’s figures differ, ask which interest method, dates, fees and rounding rules apply. Keep both sets of assumptions visible. The purpose of the estimate is to help you ask and compare, not to replace the contract.
Using this as a consumer loan calculator
The consumer-loan label covers more than the fixed monthly loan modeled here. Before entering figures, confirm that the balance is repaid through equal monthly amortization at a fixed contract interest rate. A revolving credit line, a changing rate, a single payday payment or a purchase with a special deferred-interest condition needs a different calculation.
For a car or home loan, a principal-and-interest estimate can also leave out other important costs. Do not describe this result as the complete ownership or housing payment. Use the agreement and a purpose-specific calculator for taxes, insurance, balloon amounts or other features this tool does not model.
The product-selection guide at consumer loans helps establish which structure you are comparing. This page keeps one transparent model rather than showing a new calculator for every search phrase.
Compare two offers that deliver the same $1,900
A fair deposit comparison can require different principal amounts. In these original hypothetical scenarios, Offer A has $2,000 principal, 18% fixed annual interest, twelve monthly payments and a 5% fee deducted at funding. Offer B has $1,900 principal, 24% fixed annual interest, twelve monthly payments and no fee. Both supply $1,900 of usable cash.
| Model input or output | Offer A | Offer B |
|---|---|---|
| Principal | $2,000 | $1,900 |
| Contract annual interest | 18% | 24% |
| Deducted fee | $100 (5%) | $0 |
| Net cash received | $1,900 | $1,900 |
| Monthly payment | $183.36 | $179.66 |
| Total repayment | $2,200.32 | $2,155.96 |
| Repayment less net cash received | $300.32 | $255.96 |
In this model, the lower contract interest rate does not produce the lower dollar cost. Offer B costs $44.36 less for the same usable money and has a displayed payment $3.70 lower. This is not a market quote, a calculated APR or a rule that a no-fee product always wins. Different terms or charges can reverse the result.
To reproduce A, enter 2000, 18, 12 and 5 in principal, annual interest, months and deducted-fee percent. To reproduce B, enter 1900, 24, 12 and 0. Keep the two results in an offer worksheet before changing more inputs. Totals use unrounded installments.
A comparison log makes the estimate reviewable
| Save for each scenario | Reason |
|---|---|
| Date and creditor/product name | A later offer can change or concern a different product |
| Input values and fee treatment | The output is meaningful only with those assumptions |
| Actual disclosed APR | The tool does not solve the legal APR for the agreement |
| First due date and frequency | Monthly amortization does not establish the calendar |
| Net proceeds and total payments | They show what arrives and what must leave |
| Unmodeled items | Record extra, late, optional or product-specific costs separately |
If the lender’s payment differs, compare the amount financed, interest rate, fee method and timing before assuming either figure is wrong. Ask for the actual schedule and explanation. An irregular first period, daily accrual or another contract feature can change the result.
A saved estimate still does not determine affordability. Put the actual payment beside essentials and existing debts on each date. A mathematically correct model cannot confirm approval, state availability or money that has not arrived.
Sources and review scope
General consumer sources checked October 23, 2026. Provider overviews retain their own review dates. Examples are calculations, not market averages or available offers. Published by ClearBorrow using AI-assisted desk research; no personal borrowing test or financial-professional approval is claimed. See our editorial policy.