📊Loan Amortization Calculator
See a full payment-by-payment breakdown of how your loan balance shrinks and how much of each payment is interest versus principal. This is the clearest way to understand exactly where your money goes.
Last updated: · Reviewed by The CalcWise Team
How to use this calculator
- Enter the loan amount, annual interest rate, and term in years.
- Press Calculate to generate the amortization schedule.
- Review how each payment splits between interest and principal, and watch the balance fall to zero.
How it works
Amortization is the process of paying off a loan with regular, equal payments. Each payment is split into two parts: interest on the current balance, and principal that actually reduces what you owe.
Early in the loan, the balance is high, so most of your payment goes to interest. As the balance falls, the interest portion shrinks and more of each payment attacks the principal — which is why progress feels slow at first and accelerates later.
Reading an amortization schedule helps you see the true cost of borrowing and reveals exactly how much you would save by making extra principal payments early, when interest dominates each payment.