Buying & Finance · Free tool
Free Car Payment Calculator
Enter the price, your down payment, the APR and the term to see the monthly payment, the total interest and how the balance falls year by year.
- Free to use
- No signup
- Runs in your browser
The car
State plus local. Leave at 0 to see the payment before tax.
The loan
Or use the average used-car APR for a credit tier
Estimated monthly payment
$401
For 60 months at 7.5% APR.
- Amount financed
- $20,000
- Sales tax
- $0
- Total interest
- $4,046
- Total of payments
- $24,046
- Total cost of the car
- $29,046
- Principal$20,000
- Interest$4,046
Credit tier rates are Experian averages for used-car loans, Q2 2026. Your own rate will differ.
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Balance left |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $3,425 | $1,384 | $16,575 |
| Year 2 | $3,691 | $1,118 | $12,884 |
| Year 3 | $3,978 | $831 | $8,906 |
| Year 4 | $4,287 | $523 | $4,619 |
| Year 5 | $4,619 | $190 | $0 |
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 36 months | $622 | $2,396 |
| 48 months | $484 | $3,212 |
| 60 months | $401 | $4,046 |
| 72 months | $346 | $4,898 |
| 84 months | $307 | $5,768 |
An estimate from the figures you enter, not a quote. Read the disclaimer. Updated .
02Your result
What your car payment result means
The monthly figure is the one a dealer will quote. The other two decide whether the loan is a good one.
- 01
Monthly payment
The fixed amount due every month for the whole term. It covers the loan only, so insurance, fuel and maintenance come on top of it.
- 02
Total interest
What borrowing costs you over the life of the loan. Two loans with the same payment can differ by thousands of dollars here.
- 03
Balance by year
What you still owe at the end of each year. If that is more than the car is worth, you would have to add cash to sell it or trade it in.
What to do next
Check the price against your income
The 20/4/10 rule turns your income into a ceiling for the payment and the price.
Affordability calculatorAdd the tax and fees
See the full out-the-door price before you agree a number with the dealer.
Out-the-door calculatorCompare loan rates
See the average APR for your credit tier, and why a pre-approval gives the dealer a number to beat.
Used car loan rates
03How it works
The car payment formula
A car loan is an amortized loan: every payment is the same size, and each one pays that month’s interest first and the balance second.
M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n)
With a 0% APR the formula reduces to M = P ÷ n.
P = price + tax + fees − down payment − trade-in. Total interest = M × n − P
Total interest is everything you pay back, less what you borrowed.
What each term means
- M
- The monthly payment.
- P
- The amount financed: the price plus tax and fees, less your down payment and trade-in.
- r
- The monthly interest rate: the APR divided by 12, written as a decimal. 7.5% APR is 0.00625 a month.
- n
- The number of monthly payments, which is the term in months.
What the tool assumes
- A fixed interest rate for the whole term.
- One payment a month, starting a month after the loan begins.
- No fees are added to the loan beyond the ones you enter.
- Sales tax is charged on the price, less the trade-in when that box is ticked.
- No extra payments and no early payoff.
04Worked example
Car payment example: a $25,000 car over 60 months
A $25,000 car with $5,000 down, financed at 7.5% APR for five years, before tax and fees.
- 01
Find the amount financed
$25,000 price − $5,000 down payment
$20,000
- 02
Convert the APR to a monthly rate
7.5% ÷ 12 months
0.00625
- 03
Count the payments
5 years × 12 months
60
- 04
Apply the formula
$20,000 × 0.00625 ÷ (1 − 1.00625^−60)
$400.76
- 05
Add up every payment
$400.76 × 60 months
$24,046
- 06
Subtract what you borrowed
$24,046 − $20,000
$4,046
Monthly payment
$401
Over five years the loan costs $4,046 in interest, so the $25,000 car costs $29,046 in all.
Try your own numbers05Background
How car loan payments work
A car loan charges interest on what you still owe. In the first month you owe the most, so most of that payment is interest. As the balance falls, the interest share shrinks and more of each payment goes to the car itself. That is why the balance drops slowly at first and quickly at the end.
The term changes the result more than most buyers expect. The table takes the average used-car loan in the United States, $27,852 at 11.19% APR, and changes nothing but the length.
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 36 months | $914 | $5,064 |
| 48 months | $722 | $6,824 |
| 60 months | $608 | $8,641 |
| 72 months | $533 | $10,513 |
| 84 months | $480 | $12,441 |
A longer loan lowers the payment and raises the total you pay, a trade-off the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau spells out in its auto loan guidance. It also keeps the balance above the car’s value for longer. See how to set a budget for a way to choose the term first and the car second.
06When to use it
When to use a car payment calculator
Run the numbers before the conversation with a seller starts, not during it.
Before you visit a dealer
Know the payment for the price you plan to offer, so a quoted figure cannot surprise you.
To compare two loan offers
Enter each offer’s APR and term and compare the total interest, not only the payment.
To choose a term
See what each extra year saves per month and what it adds in interest.
To test a bigger down payment
Find out how much each extra $1,000 down takes off the payment and the interest.
Mistakes to avoid.
- Shopping by monthly payment alone. A longer term can make almost any price look affordable.
- Leaving out sales tax, registration and dealer fees, which are usually financed along with the car.
- Entering the interest rate from an advertisement when your own credit tier will be quoted a different one.
- Forgetting that the payment is only part of the cost of running the car.
07Related guides and tools
Keep going from here.
Guides that go with this tool
Related tools
08Questions
Car Payment Calculator: your questions.
How is a car payment calculated?
A car payment comes from three numbers: the amount financed, the monthly interest rate and the number of payments. The formula is M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where r is the APR divided by 12 and n is the term in months.
What is the monthly payment on a $25,000 car?
With $5,000 down, a 60-month term and a 7.5% APR, the payment on a $25,000 car is about $401 a month before tax and fees. A different rate, term or down payment changes it, so enter your own figures in the calculator.
Does the calculator include sales tax and fees?
Yes, if you enter them. Add your state and local sales tax rate and your title, registration and dealer fees, and the calculator adds them to the amount financed.
Is a longer car loan better?
A longer loan has a lower monthly payment and a higher total cost. On the average used-car loan of $27,852 at 11.19% APR, an 84-month term costs $7,377 more in interest than a 36-month term.
What APR should I enter?
Use the rate from a lender’s pre-approval if you have one. If not, the calculator offers Experian’s average used-car APR for each credit tier, from 6.29% for super prime to 21.62% for deep subprime in Q2 2026.
09Estimates and sources
Read this before you rely on it.
Built and checked by CarTipsMentor Team. Last updated . How we check our work.
Sources
- [1]Experian, Auto Loan Rates and Financing for 2026 (Q2 2026 data)
- [2]Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Auto loan answers: key terms
- [3]Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is the difference between a loan interest rate and the APR?