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Enter the amount you want the lender to provide.
Use the fixed yearly note rate, not a fee-inclusive APR unless they are identical.
% / year
Enter the full term in months; 36 means three years.
months
Keep 0 when the quote has no origination fee.
%
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Zero leaves the scheduled monthly payment unchanged.
Zero disables the annual principal payment.
Used only while an annual extra payment is active.
Zero disables the one-time principal payment.
month
Used only while a one-time lump sum is active.
MeasureCurrent estimateWhat it meansCopy
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Checks before comparing offers

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A fixed-payment loan can look affordable month to month while remaining expensive overall. The payment depends on the amount financed, the note rate, and the number of monthly installments. The amount actually received can be lower than the amount on the note when an origination fee is deducted, so the payment alone does not show the full price of borrowing.

Interest rate and annual percentage rate (APR) are related but different. The note rate drives interest in a basic amortization schedule. APR is a broader disclosure measure that can include certain fees as well as interest. Comparing one offer's note rate with another offer's APR gives a misleading result; compare the same measure across offers and read the lender's disclosures.

Term What it changes What to check
Note rate Monthly interest and the scheduled installment. Use the fixed annual rate stated for the loan, not a fee-inclusive APR.
Origination fee Net cash received, amount financed, or cash due at funding. Confirm whether the lender deducts, finances, or collects the fee upfront.
Loan term Payment size and the number of months that interest can accrue. A longer term often lowers the payment while raising total interest.
Extra principal Remaining balance, payoff month, and future interest. Check the contract for prepayment penalties and how extra money is applied.

Fee treatment matters even when two quotes advertise the same rate. A deducted fee leaves less cash in hand, a financed fee raises the balance that earns interest, and an upfront fee requires cash without changing the note balance. The useful comparison is therefore not only the scheduled payment but also net proceeds and all-in borrowing cost.

Extra payments can shorten a normal amortizing loan because more principal disappears earlier. The saving depends on timing: money added near the beginning usually avoids more future interest than the same amount added near payoff. A projection still cannot promise the lender's payoff figure because real contracts may use daily interest, different posting rules, payment holidays, late fees, or prepayment charges.

A loan estimate supports offer comparison and budgeting; it does not decide whether the debt is affordable. Leave room for insurance, taxes, other debts, income changes, and emergency expenses before committing to a payment.

How to Use This Tool:

Start from one lender quote and keep its interest rate, fee, and term together. Mixing terms from separate offers produces a payment that no lender actually quoted.

  1. Enter the Loan amount, fixed Annual interest rate, full Loan term in months, and First payment month.
  2. Enter the Origination fee and choose the lender's actual Fee treatment. Check Net proceeds to see how much cash reaches you.
  3. Open Advanced only when you intend to model extra principal. Add a monthly amount, an annual payment in its calendar month, or a one-time lump sum in a numbered loan month.
  4. Read Scheduled payment, Total interest, and All-in borrowing cost together. A smaller installment is not automatically the cheaper offer.
  5. Compare Months saved and Interest saved with the no-prepayment baseline, then confirm any prepayment terms with the lender.

Interpreting Results:

Scheduled payment is the contractual-style installment before optional extra principal. Recurring payment adds the selected monthly extra. Annual and lump-sum additions appear only in their chosen months, so they are not part of that recurring figure.

All-in borrowing cost is the most useful fee-aware comparison inside this model. It subtracts net proceeds from note payments and adds any fee paid upfront. It is a dollar total, not an APR, and it excludes charges that were not entered.

  • Check Amount financed when the fee is financed; interest accrues on that larger balance.
  • Check Net proceeds when the fee is deducted; the cash received is smaller than the requested amount.
  • Treat Payoff month as a monthly projection. Ask the lender for a dated payoff quote before sending a final payment.
  • If a lump sum is scheduled after the modeled payoff, it is not applied and should not be counted as available savings.

Technical Details:

A level-payment amortization schedule holds the monthly installment constant while the interest share falls and the principal share rises. Interest is calculated from the opening balance each month. Principal then reduces that balance before any optional extra payment is applied.

Formula Core:

For a positive annual note rate, the scheduled monthly payment follows the standard annuity equation.

M=P× r×(1+r)n (1+r)n−1

Here, M is the scheduled payment, P is the amount financed, r is the annual note-rate percentage divided by 1,200, and n is the term in months. At a 0% rate, the payment is simply the financed balance divided by the number of months.

Each schedule row uses integer cents. Monthly interest is rounded to the nearest cent before principal and the ending balance are calculated.

Ik= roundcents(Bk−1×i1200)
Fee treatment Amount financed Net proceeds Cash due at funding
Deducted Requested amount Requested amount minus fee $0
Financed Requested amount plus fee Requested amount $0
Paid upfront Requested amount Requested amount Fee amount

Extra principal is capped at the remaining balance. The annual extra is applied when the simulated payment month matches the selected calendar month, and the lump sum is applied only in its selected loan month. The baseline schedule uses the same amount, rate, term, fee treatment, and start month with all extra payments set to zero.

Check Boundary Meaning
High-rate review Rate ≥ 36% Prompts closer review; it does not change the payment formula.
Long-term review Term > 84 months Highlights a term that can accumulate interest for many years.
High-fee review Fee > 10% Highlights a large origination charge; exactly 10% is not flagged.
Supported term 1 to 360 months Whole months only.

Limitations:

This is an educational fixed-rate estimate, not a lender disclosure, credit decision, or financial recommendation.

  • Interest accrues monthly from the opening balance; daily simple interest and irregular first periods are not modeled.
  • APR is not calculated. Fees outside the entered origination fee, optional products, late charges, and taxes are excluded.
  • Payment posting, prepayment penalties, minimum-interest clauses, and lender-specific rounding can change an actual payoff.
  • The first payment month controls labels and extra-payment timing, not exact calendar-day interest.

Worked Examples:

Short loan with monthly interest

A $1,200 balance at 12% for two months produces a scheduled payment of $609.01. Cent rounding makes the final installment $609.02, for $18.03 total interest and $1,218.03 in note payments.

Financed fee at a zero note rate

A $1,000 request with a 10% financed fee creates a $1,100 balance. Over two months at 0%, the payment is $550 and interest is $0, but the all-in borrowing cost is still $100 because the fee was added to the debt.

References: