Personal Loan Calculator

The short answer

• $10,000 at 19.47%, the average offer for good credit in October 2026, costs $368.94 a month over 36 months and $3,282 in interest.
• A 5% fee taken from the loan leaves you with $9,500 and lifts the true APR to 23.24%.
• The same loan costs $2,510 in interest at the average excellent-credit rate and $5,227 at the average bad-credit rate.
• Stretching it to 60 months cuts the payment to $262.00 but raises interest and fee to $6,220.

What a personal loan is

A personal loan is an installment loan, usually unsecured, for between about $1,000 and $50,000. You get the money in one payment, often within a few days, and repay it in equal monthly installments over two to seven years. The rate is normally fixed, so the payment never changes. Because nothing backs the loan, the lender prices it on your credit record, income and existing debts, which is why rates vary so widely from one borrower to the next.

The maths is the same as any fixed loan; our loan calculator covers that in general. This page adds the parts that matter most for personal loans: typical rates by credit score, the fee most lenders take out of the money, and a side-by-side view of common terms.

Rates by credit score

NerdWallet publishes the average APR offered to people who pre-qualified through its site in the previous 30 days. Its October 1, 2026 figures, which the calculator uses when you pick a credit score:

These are averages of offers, not promises. Two people with the same score can get very different rates because of income, debts, the loan amount and the lender. Banks that lend only to strong borrowers report lower averages: the Federal Reserve’s survey of commercial banks put the average 24-month personal loan rate at about 11.9% in August 2026.

A worked example

You repay $13,282 for $9,500 in your account. That gap of $3,782 is the real cost of the loan, and it works out to an APR of 23.24%.

The origination fee

An origination fee pays the lender for processing and underwriting the loan. Many lenders charge none; others charge from about 1% to 10% of the amount, and a few go up to about 12%. The fee usually rises as your credit score falls, so the borrowers who already pay the highest rates often pay the biggest fees too. Always ask whether a quote includes a fee, and compare offers by APR, which counts it.

The money you actually receive

The most common surprise with a personal loan is a deposit smaller than the loan. If you need an exact sum, for example to pay off a $10,000 card balance, a loan of $10,000 with a 5% fee leaves you $500 short. To receive the full amount, divide what you need by one minus the fee: $10,000 ÷ 0.95 is about $10,526. The calculator does this for you under More options.

Fee taken out or added on

Some lenders add the fee to the balance instead. You then receive the full amount but repay more, and pay interest on the fee.

All three use a 5% fee, 19.47% and 36 months. The differences are small; what matters is that you know how much will land in your account.

Why the APR is higher than the rate

The interest rate sets your payment. The annual percentage rate also counts required fees, spread over the term, so it shows the full yearly cost. The federal Truth in Lending Act requires lenders to show the APR before you sign. When a lender advertises “rates from” a low figure, check whether that is the rate or the APR, and whether you would qualify for it.

24, 36, 48 or 60 months

Going from 24 to 60 months roughly halves the payment and more than doubles the cost. Pick the shortest term whose payment you can keep up comfortably, even in a lean month.

Fees and short terms

Look at the APR column above: it falls as the term grows. That is not because longer loans are cheaper, but because the one-time fee is spread over more months. A disclosure assumes you keep the loan to the end. If you plan to repay early, a fee costs you more, in APR terms, than the disclosure shows; a no-fee loan at a slightly higher rate can then be the better deal.

Good and poor uses

• Paying off higher-rate debt. Moving card balances to a fixed loan at a lower rate saves interest and sets an end date. Our debt consolidation calculator compares your cards with one loan.
• Needed repairs or medical bills. Often cheaper than a card, but ask the provider about an interest-free payment plan first.
• Things that lose value quickly, such as vacations or gadgets. You would still be paying for them long after they are gone; saving first costs nothing.

Personal loan or credit card

The Federal Reserve put the average APR on credit cards that were charged interest at about 22% in August 2026. A personal loan for good credit can be cheaper, and its fixed payment clears the debt by a set date. For a small amount you can repay within a year or so, a 0% balance transfer card can beat both; our balance transfer calculator shows whether the transfer fee is worth it.

Pre-qualifying and soft checks

Most online lenders, and many banks and credit unions, let you see a likely rate with a soft credit check, which does not affect your score. Get three or more quotes for the same amount and term before you apply. The full application uses a hard inquiry, which can lower your score by a few points for a while. Credit scoring models usually treat several inquiries for the same kind of loan within a short window as one.

Getting a lower rate

• Check your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com and dispute errors before you apply.
• Pay card balances down: lower credit use can lift your score within a month or two.
• Lower your debt-to-income ratio; our debt-to-income calculator shows what lenders see.
• Ask about an autopay discount, often about a quarter of a percentage point.
• Consider a cosigner or a secured loan, but understand the risk they carry.

The gap is worth the effort. On $10,000 over 36 months, moving from the average fair-credit rate to the average good-credit rate saves $882 of interest.

Banks, credit unions and online lenders

Banks tend to offer the lowest rates to existing customers with strong credit. Credit unions are member-owned, often charge no origination fee, and federal credit unions are limited to an 18% APR on most loans. Online lenders approve a wider range of borrowers and fund quickly, but their fees and rates vary the most. Compare the APR, the fee, the total repaid and any late fees.

Paying it off early

Extra payments go straight to principal. Adding $100 a month to a $10,000 loan at 19.47% over 36 months clears it in 27 months and saves about $909 of interest. Most personal loans have no prepayment penalty; check yours, and ask the lender to apply extra money to principal rather than to the next payment. The fee is not refunded when you repay early.

Red flags

• A lender that asks for a fee before the loan is approved. Legitimate lenders take the fee out of the loan.
• “Guaranteed approval” with no credit check, or pressure to sign today.
• Optional credit insurance or add-ons bundled into the loan without a clear choice.
• An APR well above 36%. The Military Lending Act caps most loans to service members at 36%, and mainstream lenders rarely go above it.

Can you afford the payment?

Add the new payment to your other monthly debts and divide by your gross monthly income. Lenders get nervous above about 36% to 43%. Then look at your actual budget: after rent, food, transportation and savings, would the payment still fit in a month with a surprise bill? If not, borrow less or choose a longer term, accepting the higher cost.

Using the calculator

Enter the amount, pick your credit score band to fill in an average rate, or type your own quoted rate. Choose the term and the fee. Under More options, choose whether the fee is taken out or added on, borrow enough to receive the full amount, and try an extra monthly payment. The results compare 24, 36, 48 and 60 months, and every credit band, at the same amount and fee.

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