Personal Loan Calculator

Use a personal loan calculator to estimate the monthly payments and total interest costs of a loan.
Last updated on Sep 9, 2022

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A personal loan calculator can determine your monthly payment and expected loan payoff date. Use this calculator to weigh how much you can afford to borrow and how long it will take to repay, based on your credit, the loan amount and repayment term.

Personal loan calculator

Personal loans from our partners

Lending Club logo
Check Rate

on LendingClub

LendingClub

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Lending Club logo

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
APR 
8.3-36.0% 

Loan amount 
$1,000 - $40,000 

Check Rate

on LendingClub

Happy Money logo
Check Rate

on Happy Money

Happy Money

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Happy Money logo

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
APR 
10.5-29.99% 

Loan amount 
$5,000 - $40,000 

Check Rate

on Happy Money

PenFed Credit Union logo
Check Rate

on PenFed Credit Union

PenFed Credit Union

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
PenFed Credit Union logo

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
APR 
7.74-17.99% 

Loan amount 
$600 - $50,000 

Check Rate

on PenFed Credit Union

Upgrade logo
Check Rate

on Upgrade

Upgrade

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Upgrade logo

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
APR 
8.24-35.97% 

Loan amount 
$1,000 - $50,000 

Check Rate

on Upgrade

Upstart logo
Check Rate

on Upstart

Upstart

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Upstart logo

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
APR 
6.5-35.99% 

Loan amount 
$1,000 - $50,000 

Check Rate

on Upstart

Lightstream logo
Check Rate

on LightStream

LightStream

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Lightstream logo

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
APR 
6.99-23.99% 

Loan amount 
$5,000 - $100,000 

Check Rate

on LightStream

How to shop for a personal loan

Once you know the loan amount, rate and repayment term you want, it’s time to shop and compare offers. Here are the steps to get a personal loan:

  1. Check your credit. Review your credit report to spot any errors and address them before you apply. You can get a free copy of your report from all three credit bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com.

  2. Pre-qualify. Most lenders let you pre-qualify to see estimated rates without affecting your credit score. During the pre-qualification process, you’ll provide basic information like employment status and annual income, as well as your reason for borrowing and requested loan amount.

  3. Compare lenders. A loan’s annual percentage rate, fees and monthly payment are usually the most important features to compare. If you have two competitive loan offers, consider other loan features like funding time, payment flexibility and special perks like unemployment protection.

See if you pre-qualify for a personal loan – without affecting your credit score
Just answer a few questions to get personalized rate estimates from multiple lenders.

How to use this personal loan calculator

  1. Choose your credit score range. For example, if your credit score is 740, you’re in the excellent range. You can check your credit score for free on NerdWallet.

  2. Choose your desired loan amount and loan term. Personal loan amounts can range from $1,000 to $100,000, and typical repayment terms are one to seven years. A longer loan term will result in lower monthly payments, but higher interest costs.

  3. Pick your loan start date. Enter your first expected payment date, which is often within 30 to 45 days after signing the loan agreement. If you’re not sure when your payment date will be, use the date that’s 30 days after you need the funds.

  4. Hit calculate to see your results. Results are based on a survey of annual percentage rates offered by lenders in NerdWallet’s personal loan marketplace. Some of those lenders appear in the results.

Understanding your personal loan calculator results

Monthly payment: This is what you can expect to pay each month, based on the loan amount, loan term and your estimated rate. Monthly payments are lower when you choose a longer loan term.

Estimated APR: Borrowers with higher credit scores typically receive lower APRs, but lenders may also take into account your debt-to-income ratio, among other factors. Most personal loans carry fixed rates, meaning your interest rate and payments won’t change over the life of the loan. APRs include origination fees, one-time fees to cover the cost of processing your loan.

Here are the estimated personal loan rates for each credit score range:

How's your credit?

Score range

Estimated APR

Excellent

720-850.

11.3%.

Good

690-719.

15.6%

Fair

630-689.

22.3%.

Bad

300-629.

25.2%.

Source: Average rates are based on aggregate, anonymized offer data from users who pre-qualified in NerdWallet’s lender marketplace from July 1, 2022, to Oct. 31, 2022. Rates are estimates only and not specific to any lender. The lowest credit scores — usually below a 500 credit score — are unlikely to qualify. Information in this table applies only to lenders with APRs below 36%.

Total repaid: This is the total amount you’ll have repaid, including interest, at the end of the loan. A borrower with a high credit score will likely pay less interest than someone with bad credit (a score below 630). The longer your loan term, the more interest you’ll pay.

Payoff date: The month you’re expected to pay the loan off if you make the same monthly payment for the life of the loan. The amortization table shows how much the loan balance will go down each month and how your payments will be split between principal and interest.

The year’s best personal loans
Shop our Best-Of Awards to compare top personal loans and decide on the right one for your project.

Other loan calculators

Debt-to-income ratio calculator: Determine your debt-to-income ratio, which is your total monthly debt payments divided by your income.

Debt consolidation calculator: Learn how debt consolidation works and calculate how much consolidating could save you.

Credit score personal loan calculator: Find out what personal loan options your credit score can get you.

Personal loan refinance calculator: Use this calculator to see whether refinancing an existing personal loan makes sense for you.

» See more of NerdWallet's loan calculators

Frequently asked questions

You can use a personal loan for almost any reason, including debt consolidation, home improvement projects or refinancing an existing loan.

The best personal loan rate is the lowest one you qualify for. Borrowers with good or excellent credit (690 or higher credit score) can expect the lowest rates. Borrowers with lower credit scores and high debt-to-income ratios often pay higher APRs.

Where to get a personal loan depends on factors including the lender’s minimum qualifications, the rates and fees it charges, and the loan amounts, terms and other features that are important to you.

Choose a lender that offers fast personal loans. Many of these lenders can fund a loan the same or next day after approval. To speed up the process, gather documents like W-2s, pay stubs and bank statements before you apply.

First, compare bad credit loans to find the one with a low APR and affordable monthly payments. To improve your chances of qualifying, consider adding a co-applicant or collateral to the loan applicaiton. Co-signed and secured loans often have softer qualifiction requirements.

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