Monthly repayment
,
Total interest
,
Total repaid
,
See your monthly repayment and the total interest over the life of any loan or mortgage.
Most loans are repaid on an amortising schedule: you pay the same fixed amount each month, but the split between interest and principal shifts over time. Early on, most of each payment covers interest because the balance is large; as the balance falls, more of each payment chips away at the principal. This is why the first years of a long loan barely dent what you owe.
Why overpaying is so powerful. Any extra you pay goes straight against the principal, which means you avoid all the future interest that balance would have generated. On a long mortgage, even a small regular overpayment can cut years off the term and save a large amount in total interest. The calculator above shows your monthly payment and total interest, so you can compare terms and overpayment amounts directly.
What moves the payment. Three things: the amount borrowed, the interest rate, and the term. A longer term lowers the monthly payment but raises the total interest you pay, sometimes dramatically. A lower rate helps on both. Always compare loans on the total cost over the full term, not just the headline monthly figure.