A $12,000 loan costs about $265.78 per month over 5 years at 11.81% APR, with $3,947 paid in total interest. Your actual rate depends on your credit — the full rate and term tables are below.
Based on 11.81% APR over 5 years — the average rate for excellent credit. Adjust below for your own rate and term.
$12,000 is a common used-car figure once tax and fees are added, and it is also roughly the balance at which people stop trying to pay off credit card debt month by month and look for a fixed-term loan instead. At this size the difference between a 12% and a 20% APR is several hundred dollars a year, so shopping the rate is worth the effort.
Monthly payment for a $12,000 fixed-rate loan. Find your APR down the left, your term across the top.
| APR | 2 years | 3 years | 4 years | 5 years | 6 years | 7 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7% | $537 | $371 | $287 | $238 | $205 | $181 |
| 9% | $548 | $382 | $299 | $249 | $216 | $193 |
| 11% | $559 | $393 | $310 | $261 | $228 | $205 |
| 13% | $571 | $404 | $322 | $273 | $241 | $218 |
| 15% | $582 | $416 | $334 | $285 | $254 | $232 |
| 18% | $599 | $434 | $352 | $305 | $274 | $252 |
| 21% | $617 | $452 | $372 | $325 | $294 | $274 |
| 24% | $634 | $471 | $391 | $345 | $316 | $296 |
Fixed-rate, fully amortized, no fees. Payments rounded to the nearest dollar.
Over 5 years, using average personal loan APRs by credit band. The spread between the best and worst tier on this loan is $3,037 in interest.
| Credit tier | FICO range | Avg APR | Monthly | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 720+ | 11.81% | $266 | $3,947 |
| Good | 690-719 | 14.48% | $282 | $4,933 |
| Fair | 630-689 | 19.77% | $316 | $6,984 |
Average APRs per NerdWallet aggregated personal loan rate data.
At 11.81% APR. Every year you add to the term lowers the monthly payment and raises what you ultimately hand over.
| Term | Monthly | Total interest | Total repaid | vs. shortest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 years | $564 | $1,532 | $13,532 | — |
| 3 years | $397 | $2,309 | $14,309 | +$778 |
| 4 years | $315 | $3,115 | $15,115 | +$1,583 |
| 5 years | $266 | $3,947 | $15,947 | +$2,415 |
| 6 years | $233 | $4,806 | $16,806 | +$3,275 |
| 7 years | $211 | $5,692 | $17,692 | +$4,160 |
Change the amount, rate, and term, switch to bi-weekly payments, add an origination fee to see your true APR, and read the full month-by-month amortization schedule. Free, no sign-up, and everything runs in your browser.
Every figure on this page comes from the standard fixed-rate amortization formula used by US lenders, the same one described in CFPB guidance on shopping for a personal loan:
Worked through for $12,000 at 11.81% over 5 years: the monthly rate is 0.9842% over 60 payments, giving $265.78 per month. Multiply by 60 payments and you repay $15,947, of which $3,947 is interest.
Two things these tables deliberately exclude. First, origination fees — lenders commonly deduct 1-8% up front, so your APR is higher than the quoted interest rate and you receive less than $12,000. Second, variable rates: everything here assumes a fixed rate for the whole term, which is standard for personal loans but not for HELOCs or credit lines.
A $12,000 loan at 11.81% APR over 5 years costs $265.78 per month. Over a 3-year term the payment rises to about $397, and over 7 years it falls to roughly $211. The rate you are offered depends mainly on your credit score, so the tables above show the full range from 7% to 24% APR.
At 11.81% APR over 5 years, a $12,000 loan costs $3,947 in total interest — you repay $15,947 in all. Interest scales sharply with the term: the same loan over 7 years costs $5,692 in interest, versus $1,532 over 2 years.
Most mainstream lenders want a score above 660 for an unsecured loan of this size, and above 700 for the best pricing. The cost difference is substantial: at excellent-credit rates (11.81% APR) a $12,000 loan over 5 years costs $3,947 in interest, while at fair-credit rates (19.77% APR) it costs $6,984 — a difference of $3,037 for the same borrowed amount.
A longer term always lowers the monthly payment and always raises the total cost. Going from 2 years to 7 years on a $12,000 loan at 11.81% drops the payment from $564 to $211 per month, but increases total interest from $1,532 to $5,692. Choose the shortest term whose payment you can comfortably sustain, since almost all personal loans allow penalty-free extra payments.
