Personal Loan Calculator
Your monthly payment — and how much you'll actually receive once the origination fee is deducted.
Your loan
This is the amount you're repaying, before any origination fee is deducted.
Common range is 1-8%, deducted upfront by many personal loan lenders.
Monthly Payment
$495/mo
Fixed for the full loan term
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Last updated: August 6, 2026 · Reviewed by the DoCalc team
What Is a Personal Loan?
A personal loan is typically an unsecured, fixed-rate loan — no house or car backing it as collateral — repaid in equal monthly installments over a set term, commonly 1 to 7 years. Because there's no collateral, lenders lean more heavily on credit score and income to set the rate, and many charge a one-time origination fee deducted from the loan before it's disbursed. This calculator shows both numbers that matter: the payment you'll owe every month, and the actual cash you'll receive after that fee.
The Formula
The payment M is calculated on the full loan amount P — the origination fee doesn't reduce what you owe, only what you actually receive. This is a common source of confusion: borrowers sometimes expect to receive the full loan amount and are surprised when a fee is subtracted at disbursement, even though their monthly payment is based on the full amount borrowed.
Worked Example
A $15,000 loan at 11.5% over 36 months, with a 5% origination fee:
The borrower receives $14,250 in cash but repays based on the full $15,000 — effectively, the origination fee raises the loan's true cost above its advertised interest rate. This is exactly the kind of gap the APR Calculator is built to quantify precisely.
Personal Loans vs. Other Loan Types
| Factor | Personal loan | Auto loan / mortgage |
|---|---|---|
| Collateral | Usually none (unsecured) | The vehicle or home itself |
| Typical rate | Higher | Lower |
| Typical term | 1-7 years | 3-30 years |
| Common origination fee | 1-8%, common | Less common, often smaller |
Who Should Use This Calculator
Use it if you're comparing personal loan offers and want to see both the monthly payment and the real cash you'll receive after fees — two offers with the same rate but different fees aren't equivalent once you account for what actually lands in your account.
Skip the fee field if your lender doesn't charge an origination fee — set it to 0% and the disbursed amount will simply equal the loan amount.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
The most common mistake is comparing personal loan offers by interest rate alone, missing that origination fees vary widely between lenders (from 0% to 8%+) and meaningfully change how much cash actually reaches you. A second mistake, if using a personal loan for debt consolidation, is not confirming the new loan's rate is genuinely lower than the weighted average rate of the debt being paid off — otherwise consolidation can extend the payoff timeline without actually saving money.
Worth knowing: if you need a specific amount of cash in hand (say, exactly $15,000 for a project), you may need to borrow more than that to cover the origination fee — divide your target cash amount by (1 − fee%) to find the loan amount that nets you the right disbursed total.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a personal loan?
A personal loan is typically an unsecured, fixed-rate loan (no collateral required) used for purposes like debt consolidation, home improvement, or a major purchase, repaid in fixed monthly installments over a set term, usually 1-7 years.
What is an origination fee?
An origination fee is a one-time charge, often 1-8% of the loan amount, that many personal loan lenders deduct from the loan before disbursing it. You still repay the full loan amount — the fee only reduces how much cash you actually receive upfront.
Why is my disbursed amount less than my loan amount?
If your lender charges an origination fee, it's typically subtracted from the loan before the funds reach your account, even though your monthly payments are calculated on the full loan amount, not the reduced disbursed amount.
Are personal loan rates higher than mortgage rates?
Generally yes, since personal loans are usually unsecured (no collateral backing the loan), which makes them riskier for lenders than a mortgage or auto loan secured by the property or vehicle.
What credit score do I need for a personal loan?
It varies by lender, but scores of 670+ typically qualify for the most competitive rates. Lower scores can still qualify, usually at meaningfully higher interest rates.
Is a personal loan good for debt consolidation?
It can be, if the personal loan's rate is meaningfully lower than the rate on the debt you're consolidating (commonly credit cards) — the fixed term also forces a clear payoff date, unlike revolving credit card debt with no fixed end date.
Conclusion
A personal loan's real cost lives in two numbers most offers highlight separately: the rate that sets your payment, and the fee that shrinks what you actually receive. Checking both before signing is the only way to compare offers fairly.