Using the loan amount, interest rate, and loan period as inputs, a loan calculator
provides you with an estimate of the monthly payments, total cost of borrowing,
and total interest. A loan calculator can help with budgeting, evaluating
various loan possibilities, and lowering interest costs. A loan calculator can
be used to determine loans for personal use, vehicles, residences, and
education.
This is only one of several free internet loan calculators available. Another
option is to use a spreadsheet tool like Google Sheets or Excel to develop your
own loan calculator with formulas like PPMT, IPMT, and PMT. To calculate loan
installments, you can also use a financial calculator or a smartphone app.
In order to use a loan calculator, you must do the following:
• Enter the total loan amount or the desired loan amount.
• Enter the loan period and choose how many years or months you want to use to
repay the loan.
• Type the interest rate into the basic loan calculator. This represents the
annual percentage rate (APR) that you will be assessed by the lender.
• The monthly payment, total interest, and total cost of the loan will be shown
when you click the calculate button on the loan calculator.
Any of these parameters can be changed to see how it affects the loan
calculation. For instance, it is evident that extending the loan period will
result in a lower monthly payment but an increase in the overall interest rate.
Alternatively, visualize how much less you would spend overall if the interest
rate were to drop while maintaining the same monthly payment.