Personal Loan Calculator

A personal loan is an unsecured, fixed-rate installment loan offered by US banks, credit unions, and online lenders such as SoFi, LightStream, Discover, Marcus, Upstart, Best Egg, and LendingClub. Borrowers commonly use them for debt consolidation (rolling up high-APR credit cards into a single fixed payment), home repair, medical bills, weddings, or large one-off purchases. Terms typically run 12 to 84 months, with rates locked at origination so payments never change.

The monthly payment uses the standard fixed amortization formula M = P(r/12) / (1 - (1 + r/12)^-n), where P is the principal, r is the annual rate, and n is the term in months. Example: a $15,000 loan at 11.5% APR for 36 months produces a monthly payment of about $495 and roughly $2,820 in total interest, for a total cost near $17,820. Origination fees (1-8% with some lenders, 0% with SoFi/Marcus) are deducted from the disbursement: a 5% fee on $15,000 means you receive $14,250 in cash but still owe and repay the full $15,000. A quick effective-APR adjustment is effective_APR ≈ APR + (2 × fee% / term_years), so a 5% fee on a 3-year loan effectively adds about 3.3% to your true borrowing cost.