How personal loan payoff works
Personal loans are unsecured, fixed-rate installment loans, usually running two to seven years. Because the rate and payment are fixed, the payoff schedule is completely predictable: interest accrues on the balance each month and the rest of your payment retires principal.
Enter the balance you still owe, your APR and the months remaining. The calculator returns the required payment, the payoff date, and the interest remaining on the loan.
Origination fees change the real cost
Many personal lenders deduct an origination fee of 1–10% from the amount disbursed. If you borrowed $15,000 with a 5% fee, you received $14,250 but owe interest on the full $15,000 — which is why the APR is higher than the quoted interest rate. Compare offers on APR, never on rate alone.
Fees are already sunk on an existing loan, so for payoff planning the balance and rate are what matter.
When paying off early is worth it
Personal loan rates typically sit between auto loans and credit cards, so they are usually the second thing to attack after card debt. If your personal loan replaced card balances, resist re-running those cards up while paying the loan down — that is the failure mode that turns consolidation into more debt.
A small number of lenders charge a prepayment penalty or use precomputed interest. Both are disclosed in your loan agreement; check before making a lump-sum payoff.
Common mistakes
Entering the original loan amount rather than the current balance, and comparing a longer term as cheaper because the monthly payment is lower. Total interest is the number to compare.