Personal Loan Calculator
A $15,000 personal loan at 11.9% over 36 months with a 4% origination fee deducted costs $497.50 a month and $2,910 in interest, and its APR including the fee is 14.76%.
Your loan
Everything stays in your browser. The example is $15,000 over 36 months at 11.9% with a 4% fee; replace it with your offer.
Your result
You would pay $497.50 a month for 36 months. With the fee, the loan costs $3,510 and its true APR is 14.76%, against the 11.90% interest rate.
- Monthly payment
- $497.50
- Total interest
- $2,910
- Origination fee
- $600
- Cash you receive
- $14,400
- Total you repay
- $17,910
- APR including the fee
- 14.76%
Amortization schedule
| Year | Interest | Principal | Balance at year end |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,549 | $4,421 | $10,579 |
| 2 | $993 | $4,977 | $5,602 |
| 3 | $368 | $5,602 | $0 |
What banks charge on average
The Federal Reserve reports an average APR of 11.90% on 24-month personal loans at commercial banks for August 2026 (preliminary), in its G.19 release of October 7, 2026. Read 2026-10-27 at federalreserve.gov/releases/g19. The survey is quarterly, so the figure changes only a few times a year. It is an APR, so compare it with the “APR including the fee” result, not with the interest-rate input. It is a market average, not an offer: your credit, income and lender decide your rate.
How it is calculated
The monthly rate is your annual interest rate divided by 12. The payment is the standard loan formula: principal times rate, divided by one minus (1 + rate) to the power of minus the number of months. Each month, interest is the balance times the rate and the rest of the payment reduces the balance. The last payment settles what is left. Total interest is all payments minus the principal.
The APR including the fee is found with the actuarial method: the monthly rate at which the payments, discounted month by month, add up to the amount you receive, times 12. Convention used here: payments are equal and monthly, the first one is due one month after the loan starts, all months count as equal, and the fee is paid at the start. If the fee is deducted, you receive the amount minus the fee and interest accrues on the full amount. If it is added, you receive the full amount and interest accrues on the amount plus the fee. A lender's disclosed APR can differ slightly, because of exact payment dates and rounding.
- Federal Reserve G.19 Consumer Credit, current release: “Interest rates are annual percentage rates (APR) as specified by the Federal Reserve’s Regulation Z. Interest rates for new-car loans and personal loans at commercial banks are simple unweighted averages of each bank’s most common rate charged during the first calendar week of the middle month of each quarter”. Read 2026-10-27.
- 12 CFR 1026.22(a)(1), Regulation Z (CFPB), how the APR is computed: “either the actuarial method or the United States Rule method”. Read 2026-10-27.
- 12 CFR 1026.22(a)(2), Regulation Z (CFPB), accuracy tolerance: “not more than 1/8 of 1 percentage point above or below”. Read 2026-10-27.
- Regulation Z Appendix J (CFPB), monthly unit-periods: “If the unit-period is a month, there are 12 unit-periods per year”. Read 2026-10-27.
Personal loans: common questions
How much is the monthly payment on a $15,000 personal loan?
At 11.9% over 36 months with no fee, the payment is $497.50 and you pay $2,910 in interest. Your own amount, rate and term change this, so enter them above.
What is the average personal loan APR?
The Federal Reserve G.19 release reports an average APR of 11.90% for a 24-month personal loan at commercial banks in August 2026 (preliminary, release of October 7, 2026). With no fee the APR equals the interest rate, so on $10,000 over 24 months that figure gives a payment of $470.27 and $1,286 in interest. It is an APR, so compare it with the "APR including the fee" result, not with the interest-rate input. It is an average of each bank's most common rate, so your offer can be well above or below it.
How does an origination fee change the APR?
The fee is money you pay up front, so you receive less than you repay on. In the example, a 4% fee deducted from the $15,000 leaves you $14,400 and lifts the APR from 11.9% to 14.76%. Short terms feel the fee more, because it is spread over fewer payments.
Is it better to have the fee deducted or added to the loan?
Deducted, you get less cash. Added, you borrow more and pay interest on the fee. With the same 4% fee, deducting costs $3,510 in interest plus fee and adding it costs $3,626. Added, you receive the full $15,000 and the payment rises to $517.40. Which fits depends on how much cash you need.
How is the APR with the fee calculated?
It is the monthly rate that makes the payments, discounted month by month, equal the amount you actually receive, multiplied by 12. This is the actuarial method that Regulation Z allows for the APR. Lenders must disclose an APR within 1/8 of a percentage point of the exact rate on regular loans, so a lender figure can differ slightly from this one.
Compare the cost of borrowing with what money can earn: try the compound interest calculator or the extra mortgage payment calculator.
This is an educational tool, not financial or lending advice. It does not know your lender's terms, late fees or prepayment rules.