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Printed August 5, 2026 · https://trycleartally.com/personal-loan-calculator
Estimates for educational purposes only — not financial advice. See https://trycleartally.com/disclaimer.
Personal Loan Calculator
Estimate your monthly payment, the total cost of the loan, and the actual cash you'll receive after an origination fee.
Reviewed by the ClearTally editorial team · Last updated July 16, 2026 · Methodology & sources
Deducted from the amount you receive, not added to the loan.
Monthly payment
$494.64
Cash you'll receive
$14,550
Origination fee
$450
Total interest paid
$2,807
Total of all payments
$17,807
Balance over time
Principal vs. interest
Amortization schedule
| Year | Payment | Principal | Interest | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $494.64 | $389.70 | $104.94 | $10,560.14 |
| 2 | $494.64 | $436.96 | $57.68 | $5,581.90 |
| 3 | $494.64 | $489.94 | $4.70 | $0.00 |
Personal Loan Worksheet
Monthly payment
$494.64
Yearly amortization summary
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Remaining balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $4,440 | $1,496 | $10,560 |
| 2 | $4,978 | $957 | $5,582 |
| 3 | $5,582 | $354 | $0 |
Calculated using the standard formulas described at https://trycleartally.com/methodology — for educational estimates only, not a quote or financial advice. Verify with your lender or financial institution before making decisions.
How it works
Your monthly payment comes from the standard loan amortization formula applied to the full loan amount and term. The catch with personal loans is the origination fee — a one-time charge many lenders deduct from your proceeds before the money reaches you. You repay (and pay interest on) the full loan amount, but walk away with less cash, which quietly raises the true cost of borrowing above the quoted rate.
Example:a $15,000 loan at 11.5% over 36 months with a 3% origination fee pays out about $14,550 in cash, with a monthly payment near $495. If you need a full $15,000 in hand, you'd have to borrow closer to $15,500 — the fee compounds the amount you finance.
Sources & further reading
FAQ
Multiply the monthly payment by the number of months, then subtract the cash you actually received. In the example above that's about $17,800 repaid for $14,550 in hand — roughly $3,250 in combined interest and fees, or about 22% on top of the cash received over three years. That all-in cost of the loan, not the headline interest rate, is the honest way to compare two offers with different rates and fees.
A one-time fee some lenders charge to process a personal loan, typically 1%–8% of the loan amount. It's usually subtracted from your loan proceeds rather than billed separately, so you receive less cash than the full loan amount but still repay — and pay interest on — the full amount. A loan's APR (as opposed to its interest rate) folds this fee in, which is why APR is the fairer comparison number.
It depends on the rate you qualify for versus what your cards charge. Personal loans usually carry lower fixed rates than credit cards and a defined payoff date, so consolidating high-rate card debt can cut interest and force a schedule. The tradeoffs: the origination fee eats into the savings, and the strategy only works if the freed-up cards don't get run back up.
Most personal loans don't charge prepayment penalties, so paying extra typically reduces your total interest — but the origination fee is sunk either way, so an early payoff doesn't claw that back. Check your agreement for a prepayment clause before counting on it.