Loan calculator: work out your monthly instalment in rand
Enter the amount, the number of months and the annual interest rate from your quote. You see the monthly instalment, the total interest and how the balance goes down month by month.
Work out your instalment
Equal monthly instalments. Everything is calculated on your device; we store nothing.
- Total interest
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- Total to repay
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- Approximate annual cost (before fees)
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An estimate. The real cost includes initiation and monthly service fees and is set by each lender in its quote.
How does the balance go down month by month?
Repayment schedule for the calculation above.
| Month | Instalment | Interest | Capital | Balance |
|---|
How do you use the loan calculator?
- Set the amount you want to borrow, from R500 to R100 000.
- Choose the term in months.
- Type the annual interest rate from the lender’s quote. The 28% shown at the start is only an illustration.
- Read the monthly instalment, the total interest and the total to repay. The table below the calculator shows each month’s interest, capital and remaining balance.
The calculator uses equal monthly instalments, the way most instalment loans are repaid. Everything is worked out on your device; we do not store what you type.
Which interest rate should you enter?
Use the rate in your pre-agreement quote. If you are still comparing, these legal ceilings give you a sense of the range:
- Short-term loans (up to R8 000, repayable within 6 months): at most 5% a month on the first loan in a calendar year, which is 60% a year, and 3% a month on later ones, which is 36% a year.
- Unsecured personal loans: at most the Reserve Bank repo rate plus 21% a year.
Some providers publish daily rates. Century, for example, shows 0.16% a day for new clients and 0.1% a day for returning clients. Multiply a daily rate by 365 to enter it here as an annual rate.
Which fees should you add to the result?
The calculator shows interest only. A South African loan also carries two fees that the law caps:
- Initiation fee: R165 plus 10% of the amount above R1 000, never more than R1 050. For R5 000, that is R165 + R400 = R565.
- Monthly service fee: up to R60 a month. Over 6 months, that is R360.
Lenders usually add VAT to these fees, so a R60 service fee appears as R69. Credit life insurance can come on top. Add these amounts to the total interest to get close to the full cost, and then compare it with the total in the lender’s quote. Our guide loan costs explained walks through a complete example.
Frequently asked questions
Is the result exactly what I will pay?
No, it is an estimate of the interest part. Your actual cost also includes the initiation fee, the monthly service fee and any credit life insurance, and the lender confirms the figures in its quote.
Why is the default rate 28%?
It is only a starting point for the example. Replace it with the rate in your quote, or with the legal ceiling for your type of loan if you are still comparing.
How do I convert a daily rate into an annual rate?
Multiply it by 365. A rate of 0.1% a day is 36.5% a year, and 0.16% a day is 58.4% a year.
Can I use the calculator for a payday loan?
Yes, set the term to 1 month. For a loan of a few days, the lender’s own calculator is more precise, because it counts interest per day.
Do you save what I enter?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent to us or to any lender.