Finance Calculator

Quickly estimate loan payments, future value, present value, or required interest rate — built for U.S. dollars and APR.

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Loan Payment Future Value Present Value Interest Rate

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Compounding MonthlyBi-weekly (26/yr)Weekly (52/yr)Annually

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Total interest

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Shows first 24 payments by default.

#	Date	Payment	Principal	Interest	Balance
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Trust & transparency

• Uses standard amortization and time-value-of-money formulas.
• Dollar outputs are rounded to cents; APR is annual percentage rate.
• Real-time updates are local in your browser (no data sent anywhere).

In my years of teaching basic finance courses, I’ve seen students get overwhelmed by the computation of the time value of money. The truth is, a finance calculator simplifies this into working with a handful of different core elements. You’ll primarily deal with four: the Present Value (PV), or what an amount is worth today; its Future Value (FV), or what it grows to; the Interest Rate (I/Y); and the Number of Periods (N). A fifth element, the Periodic Payment (PMT), is included for annuities and loans but is not a required input for every single money calculation—you only use it when a series of payments is involved. Mastering these few keys unlocks most of what these powerful tools can do.

Your Money’s Universal Tool

When clients ask me which tool is most crucial, I tell them it’s the Finance Calculator. To think of its role, it helps to see it as the equivalent of the steam engine in the industrial age. That single invention was eventually used to power a wide variety of things like steamboat, railway locomotives, factories, and road vehicles. In the same way, this calculator is the foundation for most other Financial Calculators you rely on.

Here’s the matter of fact: there can be no Mortgage Calculator, Credit Card Calculator, or Auto Loan Calculator without the core concept of the time value of money first being explained and operationalized by the Finance Calculator. The engine under the hood is always the same. In truth, our Investment Calculator is simply a rebranding of the Finance Calculator; everything underneath the hood is essentially identical. That’s the true Importance of mastering this one Calculator—it’s the versatile power unit for all your financial planning.

Master Your Loans in Minutes

Using our loan calculator is straightforward: by entering a few pieces of information, it can be a great tool to get a quick glance at the monthly payment for loans like Mortgage, Auto, or Personal. To get started, you’ll input just a few key details. Let’s break down what each one means for your budget.

First, the Loan amount. This tool can help you fine tune your number. It could help with scenarios like: Compare the payment on a mortgage refinance if you include or do not include closing costs. See how much that extra $1,000 will increase your payment on a short-term loan. Or, Set a maximum amount before you start haggling with the salesperson at a car dealership.

Next, the Loan term in years or months. Is debt freedom more important to you, or does your monthly payment amount matter more? Picking different terms could help in various situations. You might want to Pay your mortgage balance off faster to enjoy living in a debt-free home, or Reduce payments on a new car if you have upcoming financial milestones such as planning a wedding or paying college tuition. You could also Pick a debt consolidation loan term that clears out pesky credit card balances without breaking your monthly budget. Remember, The shortest term for most installment loans is one year and is only offered by a few lenders. This calculator automatically shows you the number of months based on your entry.

Then, the Interest rate per year. Check our lender page to get an idea of the rates available for your loan and enter it here. The rate range for auto and personal loans can vary significantly. For example, an excellent credit borrower may qualify for a rate below 8 percent on a three-year loan, while a fair-credit borrower could be charged almost 20 percent for the same term. Lenders typically charge higher rates for longer repayment, meaning you pay more in total interest.

The results show your Total interest paid. This is where you find out how much you’ll pay. The logic is simple: The sooner the debt is paid off and the lower your rate, the less interest you will pay.

To see the nuts and bolts, open up the Amortization schedule or try our amortization calculator. Pay attention to when interest is charged—You pay more interest at the beginning of the loan than at the end. Knowing the payoff date is useful if you are budgeting for a major purchase and need extra room.

Finally, use the Add extra payments feature. This is useful if you already have a loan and want to pay it off more quickly. Experiment with this feature to see how a few extra payments will affect your payoff date. You have three options: Monthly, Yearly, or a One-time payment to see what effect it has on your loan balance. You need to pick the date you will make the payments and click.

A few scenarios when this could come in handy: You got a raise and can afford to pay more every month. You want to apply your tax refund every year to the loan to get rid of a debt quicker. You received an unexpected cash windfall such as an inheritance and want to use a portion of it to pay down a large balance.

Mastering Your Finance Calculator

The Heart of Finance: Understanding TVM

Let’s get straight to the point. Suppose someone owes you $500. Would you rather get this money repaid as one payment right away, or would you take it spread out over a year in four installment payments? Honestly, you’d probably want all the money right away. That gut feeling is the basis of the concept that economists call the time value of money, or TVM.

Here’s the simple truth: a dollar in hand today is worth more than a dollar promised at some future time. Think about what you could immediately do with it—you could have it invested to earn interest, used to pay off part of a loan, or even spent on a lavish dream vacation. The delay in the payment absolutely costs you something. This core idea is why we have interest payments.

How the Math Actually Works in Your Hands

A good example is your savings account. When money is deposited, the bank pays a small price for the privilege of using your funds; you receive small dividends. This is also why the bank will pay more for keeping the money in long and for committing it there for fixed periods. This increased value in money at the end of a period of collecting interest is called future value in finance.

Here is how it works. Let’s say $100—which we’ll call the Present Value (PV)—is invested at an Interest Rate (I/Y) of 10% per year. How much will there be in one year? The answer is $110, which is the Future Value (FV). So, $110 is equal to the original principal of $100 plus $10 in interest.

In general, investing for one period at an interest rate r will grow to (1 + r) per dollar invested. In our example, r is 10%, so your money grows by a factor of 1 + 0.10 = 1.10. Therefore, $100 × 1.10 = $110.

But what happens if you leave that $110 in the account? However, if that money is kept in the savings account further, what will be the resulting FV after two years, assuming the interest rate remains the same? In the second year, you earn interest on the new total: $110 × 0.10 = $11. Add that to get $110 + $11 = $121. That $121 is the future value of $100 in two years at 10%.

This process reveals the money structure of that $121 FV. The first part is the first $100 original principal, or its Present Value (PV). The second part is the $10 in interest earned in the first year. The third part is the other $10 interest earned in the second year. The fourth part is $1, which is interest earned in the second year on the interest paid in the first year: ($10 × 0.10 = $1). That last dollar is “interest on interest,” or compounding, and it’s the magic your finance calculator handles instantly.

Seeing It Backwards: From Future to Present

The flip side is just as crucial. Also, the PV in finance is what the FV will be worth given a discount rate. A discount rate carries the same meaning as interest rate except applied inversely with respect to time (backward rather than forward). So, in the example, the PV of an FV of $121 with a 10% discount rate after 2 compounding periods (N) is $100. This is how you figure out what a future sum of money is worth to you today.

Unlocking Financial Power with Your Calculator

Why It’s a Lifeline in Finance Class

Let me tell you, for any business student, trying to navigate finance courses without a handy financial calculator is an immensely difficult task. Back when I was teaching, the goal was never to have students do everything by hand; it was their understanding of financial concepts that mattered most. That’s why professors generally allow students to use financial calculators, even during exams. The real ability is knowing how to apply these concepts using the handy calculating tools that were invented for this exact purpose. While most basic financial calculations can technically be done by hand, the modern solution is a web-based financial calculator. It can serve as a good tool during lectures or homework, and because it is web-based, it is never out of reach as long as a smartphone is nearby. The inclusion of a graph and a schedule—two things often missing from physical calculators—makes the results visually helpful for learning purposes, turning abstract numbers into something you can truly see and understand.

The “PMT” Key: Your Bridge to Real-World Cash Flows

This leads perfectly into one of the most practical functions: PMT, or periodic payment. Think of it as any regular inflow or outflow amount that occurs at each period of a financial stream. Take, for instance, a rental property. An Investor might wonder: what is a recurring cash flow of $1,000 per month for 10 years really worth? Otherwise, they have no conclusive evidence that suggests they should invest so much money into that rental property. As another example, consider the evaluation of a business that generates $100 in income every year. Or, what about the complex payment scenario involving a down payment of $30,000 and a monthly mortgage of $1,000? For all these questions, the underlying payment formula gets complex quickly. It’s best left in the hands of our Finance Calculator, which is built to help evaluate these situations with the inclusion of the PMT function. One crucial tip from experience: Do not forget to choose the correct input for whether payments are made at the beginning or end of compounding periods. That single choice has large ramifications on the final amount of interest incurred over time.

The Magic Formula: FV = PV (1 + r)^n

This simple formula Future Value = Present Value × (1 + interest rate)^periods powers every financial decision. It calculates how money grows over time.

Smart Case Study: Sarah’s Student Loan Tune-Up

• Situation: Sarah had a $15,000 student loan at 7% interest for 10 years. Her standard monthly payment was $174.
• Action: Using the loan calculator, she experimented with adding an extra $50 monthly payment.
• Mathematical Insight: The amortization schedule showed her paying more interest at the beginning. The extra payments reduced the principal balance faster, drastically cutting compound interest.
• Result: She paid off the loan 3.5 years early and saved over $2,300 in total interest paid.
• Takeaway: A small, consistent extra payment harnesses the formula’s power in reverse, saving significant time and money.

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