Loan Repayment Calculator
Work out your monthly payment on a personal loan or consumer credit agreement — and see how paying a little extra each month saves interest.
Your scheduled monthly payment
€193.33
You'll pay €193.33 per month for 5 years. Over the life of the loan you'll pay €1,599.68 in interest on top of the €10,000.00 you borrowed.
Balance and interest over time
Year-by-year breakdown
| Year | Payments | Interest | Principal | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €2,319.94 | €551.90 | €1,768.03 | €8,231.97 |
| 2 | €2,319.94 | €442.86 | €1,877.08 | €6,354.89 |
| 3 | €2,319.94 | €327.08 | €1,992.85 | €4,362.03 |
| 4 | €2,319.94 | €204.17 | €2,115.77 | €2,246.27 |
| 5 | €2,319.94 | €73.67 | €2,246.27 | €0.00 |
Formula
A standard amortising loan is calculated as
M = P × r(1+r)n / ((1+r)n − 1),
where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly rate
(annual rate divided by 12), and n is the term in months. When the rate
is zero, monthly payment is simply M = P / n.
Each month, interest is charged on the remaining balance and the rest of the payment
reduces the principal — so early payments are mostly interest, and later payments are
mostly principal.
When this calculator helps
Use this calculator whenever you are considering a personal loan or a consumer credit agreement and want to know the true monthly repayment before you commit. It converts the amount you borrow, the interest rate, and the term into a single monthly figure, and shows the total you will repay across the whole agreement.
It is most valuable at the comparison stage. When lenders across the euro area quote different rates and terms, running each one reveals which loan actually costs less over its lifetime rather than which simply has the lower monthly payment. That distinction matters in the EU, where consumer credit is advertised with a standardised APRC precisely so that offers can be compared on equal terms across borders and providers.
How to read your result
Three figures come back: the monthly payment, the total repaid, and the total interest. The monthly payment is what leaves your account each month; the total repaid is every instalment added together; the total interest is that total minus the amount borrowed — the real price of the credit.
Rate and term work against one another. A longer term reduces the monthly payment, which can be tempting, but you make more payments and accumulate more interest, so the overall cost climbs. A shorter term costs more each month yet considerably less in total. Let the total interest figure steer your decision rather than the headline monthly payment alone.
A worked example
Suppose you borrow €10,000 over 5 years at an APRC of 6%. The monthly repayment comes to roughly €193, you would repay around €11,600 in total, and the interest works out to about €1,600. Extend the same loan to 7 years and the monthly payment eases to around €146 — gentler each month, but you would repay closer to €12,250, paying several hundred euros more in interest for the longer term.
Common mistakes to avoid
Across the euro area the costliest loan mistakes come from focusing on the wrong figure or overlooking what the rate does not cover.
- Comparing monthly payments instead of total cost — a lower monthly figure often just hides a longer term and more interest overall.
- Comparing a bare borrowing rate against an APRC — the APRC includes mandatory fees, so always compare like with like.
- Ignoring arrangement fees, payment protection insurance, and other charges that this calculator does not fold into the principal.
- Stretching the term to lower the monthly payment, without noticing how much extra interest accrues over the life of the agreement.
How APRC and EU pre-contract information work
Under the EU Consumer Credit Directive, lenders must quote an Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC), a single standardised figure that bundles the interest rate together with mandatory fees so you can compare offers across providers and member states on a level footing. Because it captures the total cost of credit, the APRC is the fairest number to enter here as your working rate.
Before you sign, the lender must also give you standardised pre-contract information — historically the SECCI form for general consumer credit, and the ESIS for mortgage-related credit — setting out the APRC, the total amount repayable, the number and size of instalments, and your right to withdraw and to repay early. Read that document alongside this estimate: the calculator applies the rate as a flat periodic charge to the balance, so for credit with large upfront fees the true cost can differ slightly, and national implementations of the Directive vary.
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Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between APRC and the interest rate I enter here?▾
APRC (Annual Percentage Rate of Charge) is the standardised rate under the EU Consumer Credit Directive — it bundles the interest rate with mandatory fees so consumers can compare offers across lenders and member states. The rate this calculator uses is a flat periodic interest rate applied to the balance each month. For a fee-free loan the two match closely; for a loan with arrangement fees the APRC will be higher. Use the lender's stated APRC as a working figure unless you know the true periodic rate.
Can I make extra payments to pay off the loan sooner?▾
Yes — that's what the 'Extra monthly payment' field models. Under the EU Consumer Credit Directive you have a statutory right to early repayment at any time, but the lender may claim 'fair and objectively justified' compensation — capped at 1% of the amount repaid early when there's more than a year left on the loan, 0.5% otherwise. National implementations vary; check your agreement.
Does this calculator account for fees or insurance?▾
No. Enter just the principal you're borrowing and the headline interest rate. Arrangement fees, payment protection insurance, and other charges should be assessed separately when comparing offers.
Why do EU loan rates vary so much between countries?▾
National central-bank rates, banking-sector competitiveness, regulatory frameworks, and credit-bureau infrastructure all differ across member states. A personal-loan rate that's competitive in Germany may be high in France or low in Bulgaria. This calculator is region-neutral — enter your local advertised rate.
What if I miss a payment?▾
Missed payments trigger fees and damage your credit standing in your country's credit registry. If you're struggling, EU consumer-credit law requires lenders to handle financial difficulty fairly — contact the lender first, then a national debt-advice service. This calculator does not model missed payments.