🇦🇺 Australia

Personal Loan Calculator Australia — FY 2025-26

Calculate your personal loan repayments with secured or unsecured rates. Compare debt consolidation savings across multiple debts. See how extra repayments save interest and shorten your loan. Rates vary by lender and credit profile.

$
How much you want to borrow
%
Secured: 6-10%, Unsecured: 8-15%
years
Common terms: 1-7 years
Secured loans have lower rates but require an asset

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How to Use This Calculator

Repayment tab

Enter the loan amount, interest rate, loan term, and whether the loan is secured or unsecured. The calculator shows your monthly repayment, total repaid, total interest, effective cost of borrowing, and a comparison rate note based on the NCCP standard ($30K/5yr).

Debt Consolidation tab

Enter up to 3 existing debts with their balance, rate, and minimum monthly payment. Then enter the consolidation loan rate and term. See your current total payments vs consolidated payment, monthly saving, and total interest comparison. The calculator flags if a longer term means more total interest despite a lower rate.

Pay Off Early tab

Enter your loan balance, rate, remaining term, extra monthly payment, and whether the loan is fixed or variable rate. See when you will pay off the loan, months saved, interest saved, and a break cost warning for fixed rate loans.

Share your result

All inputs are encoded in the URL. Click Share to send your exact calculation to a partner, broker, or financial adviser.

The Formula

Monthly Repayment (Amortization):
PMT = P × r × (1 + r)n / ((1 + r)n − 1)

Where:
P = Loan amount (principal)
r = Monthly interest rate (annual rate / 12)
n = Total number of monthly payments (years × 12)

Total Interest:
Total Interest = (PMT × n) − P

Months to Pay Off with Extra Payments:
Months = −ln(1 − Pr/PMT) / ln(1 + r)
Where PMT includes the extra payment amount.

Comparison Rate:
By law (NCCP Act), the comparison rate is calculated on a $30,000 loan over 5 years, including most fees. It gives a standardised true cost for comparison.

Worked Example

$20K Unsecured, 11%, 5 Years

A typical unsecured personal loan for debt consolidation or a major purchase.

Step 1: Standard repayments

Loan amount$20,000
Interest rate11.00%
Term5 years (60 months)
Monthly repayment$434
Total repaid$26,040
Total interest$6,040

Step 2: With $100/month extra

New monthly payment$534 ($434 + $100 extra)
Paid off in~3.5 years (42 months)
Total interest~$4,240
Interest saved~$1,800
Months saved18 months

Consolidation example

Credit card$8,000 at 20%, $350/mo
Personal loan$12,000 at 11%, $350/mo
Current total$700/month
Consolidated $20K at 9%, 5yr$415/month
Monthly saving$285/month

Warning: The consolidated loan saves $285/month, but the 5-year term may mean you pay more total interest than if you aggressively paid off the credit card in 2 years at $350/month. Always compare total interest, not just monthly payment.

Australian Personal Loan Rate Snapshot (March 2026)

Typical personal loan rates by type
Loan Type Rate Range Note
Secured personal loan 6.0% – 10.0% Asset as collateral; lower risk
Unsecured personal loan 8.0% – 15.0% No collateral; higher risk premium
Debt consolidation loan 7.0% – 13.0% Specifically for combining debts
Credit card balance transfer 0% – 3.0% (promo) Promotional period 6–24 months; reverts to 15–22%
Credit card (ongoing) 15.0% – 22.0% Highest ongoing cost; pay off ASAP

Rates are indicative as at March 2026. Actual rates depend on credit score, loan amount, and lender. Sources: RateCity.com.au, Canstar.com.au, ASIC MoneySmart.

Common loan terms and total interest comparison
Term Monthly (on $20K at 11%) Total Interest
2 years $932 $2,368
3 years $654 $3,544
5 years $434 $6,040
7 years $340 $8,560

Shorter terms mean higher monthly payments but significantly less total interest. A 7-year term costs $6,192 more in interest than a 2-year term on the same loan.

Early repayment fees and break costs

Variable rate loans: Most variable rate personal loans allow extra repayments and early payoff without penalty. This is the safest option if you plan to pay off early.

Fixed rate loans: Early repayment fees (break costs) compensate the lender for lost interest. The fee is typically calculated as the difference between your contracted rate and the current market rate, applied to the remaining balance for the remaining term. Break costs can be substantial — potentially thousands of dollars — especially if market rates have dropped since you took the loan.

Tip: If you think you might pay off early, choose a variable rate loan or one that explicitly allows extra repayments. Some lenders cap extra repayments at $10,000–$20,000/year on fixed loans without penalty.

Source: ASIC MoneySmart (moneysmart.gov.au), National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.

FAQ

Most Australian lenders offer personal loans from $2,000 to $75,000, with some going up to $100,000 for secured loans. The amount you can borrow depends on your income, existing debts, credit score, and whether the loan is secured or unsecured. As a general rule, lenders want your total debt repayments (including the new loan) to be below 30–40% of your net income. A borrower earning $80K gross with no other debts could typically borrow $30K–$50K.
A personal loan is almost always better for large purchases ($5,000+) due to lower interest rates (8–15% vs 15–22% for credit cards), fixed repayment schedules (so you have a definite payoff date), and structured repayments (preventing the minimum-payment trap). Credit cards are only better if you can use a 0% promotional offer AND pay off the full amount before the promotional period ends. If there is any chance you won’t pay it off in time, the credit card will cost you significantly more.
Yes, but in both directions. Applying for a personal loan creates a hard inquiry on your credit file, which can temporarily lower your score by 5–10 points. Multiple applications in a short period look worse. Taking the loan and making all repayments on time will improve your score over time, as it demonstrates responsible credit management. Missing payments will significantly damage your score. Defaults (30+ days overdue) stay on your credit file for 5 years. Strategy: only apply to one or two lenders, make every repayment on time, and avoid applying for other credit during the loan.
Debt consolidation makes sense when: (1) You can get a lower interest rate than the weighted average of your current debts. (2) You can keep the same or shorter term — extending the term defeats the purpose. (3) You are struggling to manage multiple repayments and a single payment would be easier. (4) Your credit score is good enough to qualify for a competitive rate. It does NOT make sense if: the consolidation rate is only marginally lower, you extend the term significantly, or you continue using the credit cards after consolidating (creating new debt on top of the consolidation loan).
Personal loan interest is only tax-deductible if the loan is used for income-producing purposes. For example, if you borrow to buy shares, invest in a rental property, or fund a business, the interest is deductible. If the loan is for personal use (car, holiday, home renovations on your own home, debt consolidation of personal debts), the interest is NOT deductible. If the loan has a mixed purpose (partly investment, partly personal), you must apportion the interest accordingly. Keep clear records of how the loan funds were used.

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