Loans
Amortization Calculator
See the payment, total interest, and first-month principal/interest split for a fixed-rate loan. Adjust the assumptions to test different scenarios and use the result as a planning estimate, not a promise.
Loans
Amortization Calculator
Result
How to use this calculator
Enter the loan amount, the annual interest rate, and the loan term in years. The calculator generates an amortization schedule — a month-by-month breakdown of each payment showing exactly how much goes to principal and how much goes to interest, along with the remaining balance after each payment. You can use this for a mortgage, a car loan, a personal loan, or any fixed-rate installment loan.
The key thing to look at isn't just the monthly payment — it's the schedule itself. In the early months of a long loan, most of each payment goes to interest. That ratio shifts slowly toward principal over time. On a 30-year mortgage, you may be 10 years in before more than half of each payment is reducing your actual balance.
What your result means
The total interest figure is often eye-opening. On a $350,000 mortgage at 7% over 30 years, total interest paid exceeds $487,000 — you pay back nearly $840,000 on a $350,000 loan. This isn't a mistake; it's the cost of borrowing over a long period. The amortization schedule makes this visible in a way that a monthly payment figure doesn't.
Once you see the schedule, you can also see how much each extra payment actually does. An extra $100/month toward principal in year one has far more impact than the same $100 in year 25, because the earlier extra payments have more years to reduce the interest that would have accrued on that balance.
What the math leaves out
This calculator shows the contractual payment schedule for a fixed-rate loan. It doesn't model variable-rate loans, where the rate — and therefore each period's payment allocation — changes over time. It also doesn't include taxes, insurance, or HOA payments that are often rolled into a mortgage's monthly total but aren't part of the loan principal itself.
For refinancing decisions, compare the total interest remaining on your current schedule versus the total interest on a new loan at a lower rate, then subtract the refinancing costs. The break-even point in months tells you whether the refinance makes financial sense given how long you plan to stay.
Frequently asked questions
Why do early payments go mostly to interest?
Because interest is calculated on the remaining balance, and at the start of a loan, the balance is at its highest. As you pay down principal, less of each payment is consumed by interest. This is why paying a little extra early in a loan's life has a compounding effect — each dollar of early principal reduction saves multiple dollars in future interest.
How much do I save by making one extra mortgage payment per year?
On a typical 30-year mortgage, one extra payment per year can shorten the loan by 4–5 years and save tens of thousands in interest, depending on the rate and balance. Dividing that extra payment by 12 and adding it to each monthly payment achieves the same result with less impact to cash flow in any given month.
Can I use this for a car loan or personal loan?
Yes. The amortization math is the same for any fixed-rate installment loan. Enter the loan amount, rate, and term and the schedule will show you the same principal/interest breakdown. Car loans are typically 36–72 months; personal loans are usually 12–60 months. The shorter the term, the faster the loan pays down to principal-heavy payments.