CLEARBORROW · UPDATED OCTOBER 23, 2026
Installment loan calculator: payments and fees
Enter a principal, fixed annual interest rate, number of months and any origination fee deducted from funding. This calculator estimates equal monthly payments, total interest and net cash received. It also compares terms and shows how each payment reduces the balance. It does not calculate the legally disclosed APR or assess approval.
DO THE MATH FIRST
A monthly payment
is only part of the story.
Try a fixed-rate installment loan example. See what you would repay, and how an upfront fee changes the cash you actually receive.
Illustration only. This is not a quote, APR calculation or approval estimate. It assumes equal monthly payments and a fixed annual interest rate; it excludes late fees, subscriptions and other charges.
Understand interest, APR and fees ↗Compare repayment terms
Same balance and rate; 12, 24 and 36 months are illustrative scenarios, not available offers.
View the monthly amortization schedule
What to enter from your offer
Use the loan balance on which interest is calculated, not just the cash you want to receive. Enter the fixed annual interest rate as a percentage: 18 means 18%, not 0.18. Use the number of monthly payments, and enter an origination fee only if it is deducted from the principal at funding.
The default $5,000, 18% and 24-month example is an illustration. It is not a rate available through ClearBorrow. Your inputs stay in the browser; this form does not request personal details or send a credit application.
Why net proceeds can change the comparison
For $5,000 over 24 months at 18%, the modeled monthly payment is $249.62 and total interest is $990.89. If a 5% fee is deducted, the amount received falls to $4,750. Payments remain based on $5,000, so modeled interest plus the deducted fee becomes $1,240.89.
That total is a dollar-cost illustration, not an APR. It excludes charges you have not entered. If fees are financed, paid separately, refundable or assessed on another basis, this particular model will not describe them correctly. Use the lender’s disclosure for the actual arrangement.
The calculation behind the result
With principal P, monthly rate r and number of payments n, the payment is P × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)−n]. The monthly rate is the annual interest percentage divided by 1,200. At 0% interest, the payment is P ÷ n. The schedule applies interest to each opening balance and uses the rest of the payment to reduce principal.
Amounts are calculated at full precision, then rounded for display. The final scheduled payment clears the remaining modeled balance. A lender using daily interest, different rounding rules or irregular dates may produce different figures.
Use the term comparison without assuming eligibility
The comparison keeps your principal, interest rate and deducted-fee percentage constant while showing 12, 24 and 36 months. Those terms are scenarios, not offers the lender must provide. A longer term usually lowers the modeled monthly payment but increases interest when the rate is positive.
Compare the cash received and total repayment as well as the payment. If two offers have different APRs, fees or dates, changing only the term cannot establish which is cheaper. Use the offer checklist to record each actual contract.
Where this tool stops
This model is for fixed-rate monthly amortization. It does not model payday lump sums, variable interest, subscriptions, tips, late charges, skipped payments, extra repayments or a specific calendar. It does not determine state availability, lender authorization, credit eligibility or whether a payment is affordable.
Use the installment-loan overview to understand the product first. If you are comparing a two-week loan with monthly payments, read the payday comparison rather than treating both as the same calculator input.
Sources and review scope
General consumer sources checked October 23, 2026. Provider overviews retain their own review dates. Examples are calculations, not market averages or available offers. Published by ClearBorrow using AI-assisted desk research; no personal borrowing test or financial-professional approval is claimed. See our editorial policy.