Personal Loan Calculator: Estimate Your Payments On a Loan

You can use the personal loan calculator to estimate your payments for a loan as well as the overall cost. Several factors influence your estimated payment, including the loan amount, repayment terms, and the APR. For example, the higher the APR, the more you’ll pay in interest.

If you prequalify, you can see your estimated APR before you sign for the loan. The average APR in October of 2023 was 16.66%, according to Credible prequalified data. However, prequalification is not an offer of credit, and your final rate may differ depending on your credit profile.

How to use our personal loan calculator

To use the calculator, just enter the following into the fields above:

1. The amount you want to borrow
2. What the interest rate will be
3. The length of repayment terms

Then you can see what your total payment will be, including interest, as well as your monthly payment.

Learn More: How Do Personal Loans Work?

How to get a personal loan

If you’re ready to take out a personal loan, follow these four steps:

• Research and compare lenders. Be sure to shop around and compare as many personal loan lenders as possible to find the right loan for you. Consider not only interest rates but also repayment terms, any fees charged by the lender, and eligibility requirements.
• Pick a loan option. After comparing lenders, choose the personal loan option that best suits your needs.
• Complete the application. Once you’ve picked a lender, you’ll need to fill out a full application and submit any required documentation, such as tax returns or pay stubs.
• Get your funds. If you’re approved, the lender will have you sign for the loan so the funds can be released to you. The time to fund for a personal loan is usually about one week — though some lenders will fund loans as soon as the same or next business day after approval.

Check Out: Best Fast Personal Loans

Top personal loan lenders to consider

If you’re ready to compare loan options, consider the following lenders.

Avant

Best Egg

BHG Money

Discover Personal Loans

Happy Money

LendingClub

LightStream

OneMain Financial

Reach Financial

SoFi

Splash

Universal Credit

Upstart

Upgrade

Zable

Learn More: Where Can I Get a Personal Loan?

FAQ

Here are the answers to several commonly asked questions regarding personal loans.

How do I find the right personal loan for me?

If you need a personal loan for debt consolidation, home improvements, or another purpose, you might not know where to start. To find the right loan for your needs, keep the following points in mind:

1. Always compare multiple loan options. Compare loan offers from different financial institutions — like banks, credit unions, and online lenders — to be sure you’re getting the best loan for your situation.
2. Factor fees into the total loan balance cost. Most personal loans have an origination fee, but the type of fee you should watch out for is a prepayment penalty — you don’t want to end up paying more if you choose to pay the loan off earlier.
3. Take the loan term into consideration. With a long-term personal loan, you’ll have the luxury of a lower monthly loan payment — but you’ll end up paying more in total interest payments over the life of the loan. If you choose a shorter repayment term, you’ll pay more each month, but you’ll also save more in the long run. Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of longer versus shorter terms carefully before deciding.

How do I qualify for a personal loan?

Eligibility criteria for a personal loan can vary by lender. However, there are a few common requirements you’ll likely come across, including:

• Good credit: You’ll typically need good to excellent credit to qualify for a personal loan — a good credit score is usually considered to be 700 or higher. There are also several lenders that offer personal loans for bad credit, but these loans tend to have higher interest rates compared to good credit loans.
• Verifiable income: Some lenders have a minimum income requirement while others don’t — but in either case, you’ll likely need to show proof of income.
• Low debt-to-income ratio: Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio refers to the amount you owe in monthly debt payments compared to your income. Lenders generally prefer a DTI ratio no higher than 36% for a personal loan — though some lenders might require a lower ratio than this.

Tip: If you’re struggling to get approved for a personal loan, consider applying with a cosigner. Not all lenders allow cosigners on personal loans, but some do. Even if you don’t need a cosigner to qualify, having one might get you a lower interest rate than you’d get on your own.

A cosigner can be anyone with good credit — such as a parent, other relative, or trusted friend — who is willing to share responsibility for the loan. Keep in mind that this means they’ll be on the hook if you can’t make your payments.

Check Out: How to Get a Personal Loan With a 600 Credit Score

What is the average interest rate on a personal loan?

The average personal loan interest rates received by borrowers with credit scores of at least 720 who used Credible to take out a loan in Sept. 2023, were:

• 15.79% for a 3-year loan
• 21.25% for a 5-year loan

Keep in mind that personal loan interest rates can vary based on your credit score and other factors. In general, the better your credit, the lower the rate you’ll get. Here’s a breakdown of the interest rates you can generally expect based on your credit score:

Tip: If you have poor credit and can wait to take out a loan, it could be a good idea to spend some time building your credit first. This way, you can qualify for better rates in the future.

There are several strategies that could help you improve your credit score, such as making on-time payments on all of your bills and paying down credit card balances.

Learn More: Best Personal Loans for Fair Credit

How much can I borrow?

Personal loans generally range from $600 to $100,000 or more, depending on the lender. However, the amount you’ll actually be approved for will depend on your credit as well as your income and existing debt. Keep in mind that lenders might have more stringent requirements for large loan amounts.

With Credible, you can compare your prequalified rates as well as loan amounts from multiple lenders in just two minutes.

Check Out: Low-Income Personal Loans: How and Where To Get One

How long do you have to pay off a personal loan?

You’ll generally have one to seven years to pay off a personal loan, depending on the lender. If you need a lower monthly payment, choosing a longer term to spread out your payments could be a good choice. But remember that this also means you’ll pay more in interest over time.

In general, it’s best to choose the shortest term you can afford to keep your interest charges as low as possible. Additionally, many lenders offer lower interest rates with shorter terms, which could help reduce your overall loan cost.

Learn More: Boat Loans: Calculate How Much Boat Financing Could Cost You

What are my loan repayment options?

A personal loan is a type of installment loan, which means you’ll make monthly payments in equal installments over time. Depending on the lender, you might have a variety of payment options, such as:

• Automated Clearing House (ACH) via your bank account
• Paper check, cashiers check, or money order
• Debit or credit card

If you want to avoid missing any future payments, it’s usually a good idea to sign up for autopay. Opting for automatic payments could score you a rate discount, too — typically 0.25%, depending on the lender.

Tip: Many lenders also allow you to pay off your loan early with no prepayment penalties — including each of Credible’s partner lenders. If you plan to repay your loan ahead of schedule, double-check with your lender that there won’t be any fees assessed for doing so.

What are the benefits of personal loans?

Personal loans offer several potential benefits, including:

• Variety of uses: You can use a personal loan for almost any personal expenses, such as home improvements, major purchases, and more. You could also opt to consolidate credit card debt or other kinds of debt with a personal loan, which could get you a lower interest rate and help you pay off your debt faster.
• Fixed rates: Personal loans generally have fixed interest rates — meaning your monthly payments won’t ever change.
• Long repayment terms: You could have up to seven years to pay off a personal loan, depending on the lender.

Check Out: How To Pay Off Credit Card Debt

How can I spot a personal loan scam?

Unfortunately, there are plenty of scam artists willing to take advantage of borrowers desperate for a personal loan. Here are a few warning signs of personal loan scams to watch out for:

• Demanding money upfront: You should never have to pay money before getting your loan funds. A scammer might demand that you pay strange fees or require unusual payment methods that can’t be tracked, such as a prepaid credit card.
• Using high-pressure sales tactics: Scammers will often pressure borrowers to make an instant decision — for example, they might use language like “limited-time offer” or “act now.”
• Not requiring a credit check: Personal loan lenders usually perform a credit check to determine your creditworthiness. While there are some no-credit-check personal loans (like payday loans, pawn shop loans, and car title loans), other companies promising not to check your credit are likely a scam.
• Approaching you about the loan: Some lenders advertise through the mail with preapproved loan offers. But if a loan company approaches you out of the blue with an offer, it could be a scam.
• Not having a physical address: A legitimate loan company should have a physical address that you can verify. If you can’t find location information for the lender, it could be a front for a scam.
• Not feeling comfortable with the company: Trust your instincts — if something feels off, it probably is.

Learn More: Auto Loans for All Credit Types

What is the difference between a personal loan and a payday loan?

If you need to borrow money quickly, you might come across a few loan options — including personal loans and payday loans. Here’s how the two differ:

• Personal loans are offered by online lenders, banks, and credit unions. With a personal loan, you might be able to borrow $600 up to $100,000 or more, depending on the lender. Because these loans are unsecured and are riskier for lenders, you’ll typically need good to excellent credit as well as verifiable income to qualify.
• Payday loans are small, short-term loans provided by payday lenders that usually range from $50 to $1,000. These loans generally don’t require a credit check, which might make them appealing if you’re struggling to get approved by other lenders. But payday loans often come with high rates and fees — as much as 300% to 500% APR. Because of this, they can be extremely expensive and should only be used as a last resort.

Watch out for predatory lenders! Many payday loans can be considered predatory — meaning they come with terms that are unfair or abusive toward borrowers, such as extremely high rates and fees. Predatory lending often targets borrowers with bad credit who are desperate for a loan, but anyone could end up being a victim if they’re not careful.

If you have poor or fair credit, remember that you have options. There are several lenders that offer personal loans for bad credit — while these loans tend to have higher interest rates compared to good credit loans, they’ll likely be much less expensive than a predatory payday loan. You could also consider applying with a creditworthy cosigner to improve your approval chances.

Secured vs. unsecured loans: What is the difference?

There are two kinds of personal loans available, including

• Secured personal loans: While most personal loans are unsecured, some lenders offer secured loans that require collateral — for example, a vehicle or jewelry. Because these loans are less risky for lenders, they tend to come with lower interest rates compared to unsecured loans. You might also have an easier time qualifying for a secured loan if you have poor or fair credit. Just keep in mind that if you can’t keep up with your payments, you risk losing your property.
• Unsecured personal loans: Unlike secured loans, unsecured loans don’t require collateral. These loans are riskier for lenders, so you’ll typically need good to excellent credit to qualify. However, while missing payments will damage your credit, it won’t lead to the loss of your property.

Which is better: a personal loan, credit card, line of credit, or home equity loan?

While taking out a personal loan could be a good option in some circumstances, it isn’t the right move for everyone. Here’s how a few other options compare to personal loans so you can decide which is best for your situation:

• Credit card: This is a type of revolving credit that lets you repeatedly draw on and pay off your credit line. This could be helpful if you’re not sure how much you need to borrow, or if you need to cover recurring expenses. Additionally, some cards come with a 0% APR introductory period, meaning you could avoid paying interest if you can repay your balance before this period ends. However, if you can’t pay off your card in time, you could get stuck with some hefty interest charges — and credit cards usually have higher interest rates than personal loans.
• Personal lines of credit: This is another kind of revolving credit. If you’re considering a personal line of credit vs. a personal loan, keep in mind that personal lines of credit tend to have lower rates than credit cards but higher rates than personal loans. Additionally, a line of credit might come with additional fees depending on the lender, such as annual fees, late fees, or overdraft fees.
• Home equity loan: If you’re a homeowner, you might be able to tap into the equity of your home with a home equity loan. Because this type of loans is secured by your house, you’ll likely get a lower interest rate on a home equity loan vs. a personal loan. But keep in mind that you risk losing your home if you can’t make your payments.
• HELOC: Another option to access your home’s equity is with a home equity line of credit (HELOC). Unlike a home equity loan that provides a lump-sum payment, a HELOC gives you access to a revolving credit line similar to a credit card. A HELOC often comes with a lower rate than a personal loan because it’s secured by your house — but this also means you could lose your home if you can’t keep up with your payments.

If you decide to get a personal loan, remember to consider as many lenders as you can to find the right loan for you. Credible makes this easy — you can compare your prequalified rates from multiple lenders in two minutes.

Keep Reading: How Debt Consolidation Loans Can Help Your Credit Score