A $5,000 loan costs about $110.74 per month over 5 years at 11.81% APR, with $1,645 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.
$5,000 is the entry point for most personal lenders — below it, borrowers are usually steered toward a credit card or a small credit-union loan instead. It is the common figure for an unexpected car repair, a vet bill, or moving costs, and because the balance is small the term matters more than the rate: stretching a $5,000 loan past three years rarely saves enough per month to justify the extra interest.
Monthly payment for a $5,000 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% | $224 | $154 | $120 | $99 | $85 | $75 |
| 9% | $228 | $159 | $124 | $104 | $90 | $80 |
| 11% | $233 | $164 | $129 | $109 | $95 | $86 |
| 13% | $238 | $168 | $134 | $114 | $100 | $91 |
| 15% | $242 | $173 | $139 | $119 | $106 | $96 |
| 18% | $250 | $181 | $147 | $127 | $114 | $105 |
| 21% | $257 | $188 | $155 | $135 | $123 | $114 |
| 24% | $264 | $196 | $163 | $144 | $132 | $123 |
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 $1,265 in interest.
| Credit tier | FICO range | Avg APR | Monthly | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 720+ | 11.81% | $111 | $1,645 |
| Good | 690-719 | 14.48% | $118 | $2,055 |
| Fair | 630-689 | 19.77% | $132 | $2,910 |
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 | $235 | $638 | $5,638 | — |
| 3 years | $166 | $962 | $5,962 | +$324 |
| 4 years | $131 | $1,298 | $6,298 | +$660 |
| 5 years | $111 | $1,645 | $6,645 | +$1,006 |
| 6 years | $97 | $2,003 | $7,003 | +$1,364 |
| 7 years | $88 | $2,372 | $7,372 | +$1,733 |
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 $5,000 at 11.81% over 5 years: the monthly rate is 0.9842% over 60 payments, giving $110.74 per month. Multiply by 60 payments and you repay $6,645, of which $1,645 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 $5,000. 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 $5,000 loan at 11.81% APR over 5 years costs $110.74 per month. Over a 3-year term the payment rises to about $166, and over 7 years it falls to roughly $88. 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 $5,000 loan costs $1,645 in total interest — you repay $6,645 in all. Interest scales sharply with the term: the same loan over 7 years costs $2,372 in interest, versus $638 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 $5,000 loan over 5 years costs $1,645 in interest, while at fair-credit rates (19.77% APR) it costs $2,910 — a difference of $1,265 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 $5,000 loan at 11.81% drops the payment from $235 to $88 per month, but increases total interest from $638 to $2,372. Choose the shortest term whose payment you can comfortably sustain, since almost all personal loans allow penalty-free extra payments.
