Loan Term Calculator
How long will it take to clear the loan?
Term math runs locally — private and instantYour payment breakdown appears here
Fill in the loan details and press Calculate — the monthly payment, total interest and schedule will render right on this page, with nothing sent to any server.
How to use
Given the amount, the rate and the payment you plan to make, this calculator returns the number of months — and years — needed to clear the loan. It is the reverse of the payment formula and the answer to "what if I pay this much?"
How to use
- Enter the loan amount, APR and the monthly payment you want to make.
- Press Calculate to see the term in months and years.
Example
Borrow $20,000 at 6%. Paying $450 a month clears it in about 51 months (just over 4 years) and you pay about $2,400 of interest. Paying $400 a month stretches it to about 58 months and pushes interest to about $3,200 — an extra $50 a month saves roughly $250.
Formula
n = −ln(1 − r·P/PMT) / ln(1+r) months, rounded up. If the payment does not cover the monthly interest, the formula returns no real answer — the loan never clears.
The payment floor
Every loan has a floor: the payment must exceed the monthly interest or the balance grows forever. At 6% on $20,000 that floor is $100 a month. Paying exactly the floor means paying forever.
Use it with the payment tool
Run this tool with your budgeted payment to see how long the loan runs, then decide whether the term is acceptable or the payment needs to rise.
Round up the result
The formula returns a fractional month count. Lenders schedule whole months, so round the term up and expect the final payment to be slightly smaller than the regular one as the last balance is cleared.
FAQ
Payment too low?
If it does not cover the monthly interest, the loan never clears — the calculator flags it. Raise the payment.
How much does an extra $50 save?
On a 5-year, $20,000 loan at 6%, roughly 7 months off the term and about $250 of interest.
Does the payment include fees?
No — this models the principal-and-interest payment only. Fees change the effective rate; see the APR tool.
Is this the same as the by-payment tool?
They are inverses: that one fixes the term and finds the amount; this one fixes the payment and finds the term.
Reviewed by the LoanMath editorial team