- Lifetime cost of loan
- Everything you pay to borrow and repay the money: principal plus total interest plus upfront fees. It assumes a fixed rate, every scheduled payment made, and the loan kept to full term. Refinancing, selling early or prepaying changes the real figure, usually by cutting interest.
- Principal
- The amount borrowed, not counting interest or fees. It is the starting balance that each monthly payment gradually pays down. In this calculator it is the loan amount you enter; fees are treated as paid in cash at closing rather than added to the principal.
- Interest rate
- The annual percentage the lender charges on the outstanding balance, before fees. The calculator divides it by 12 and applies it to the remaining balance each month, so even a quarter-point difference changes both the monthly payment and total interest over a long term. It does not include points or fees, which the APR reflects.
- Loan term
- The number of years over which the loan is scheduled to be fully repaid. A longer term spreads the principal over more payments, lowering each one, but leaves the balance outstanding longer, so total interest rises. A shorter term does the opposite: higher payments and less interest overall.
- Upfront fees
- One-time costs paid when the loan closes, such as origination fees, discount points, appraisal and title charges. They add directly to the lifetime cost. The calculator assumes they are paid in cash; if they are financed instead, you would also pay interest on them, making the true cost higher.
- Discount points
- Optional fees paid at closing to lower the interest rate, each point equal to 1% of the loan amount. On a $300,000 loan one point is $3,000. Points raise upfront fees but reduce total interest; whether they pay off depends on how long you keep the loan compared with the break-even point.
- Monthly payment
- The fixed principal-and-interest amount due each month that repays the loan by the end of the term, calculated with the standard amortization formula. It does not include fees, taxes or insurance. Early payments are mostly interest; later payments are mostly principal.
- Total interest
- The sum of all interest paid over the full term: the monthly payment times the number of payments, minus the principal. On long loans it can approach or exceed the amount borrowed. Rate and term drive it most; this is usually the largest component of lifetime cost after principal.
- APR
- The annual percentage rate expresses the yearly cost of the loan including certain fees, not just the interest rate. It lets you compare offers with different rate and fee combinations on a like-for-like basis. This calculator shows the fee impact as a dollar total rather than converting it into an APR.
