🚗 Auto Loan Calculator
Estimate an equal monthly car payment, amount financed, total interest, and total loan payments from the vehicle price, down payment, annual interest rate, and whole-month loan term.
🧮 Monthly Car Payment Estimate
Select a display region and enter the proposed financing terms.
🌎 Country and display currency
The selector changes the currency display and regional guidance. It does not convert currencies or automatically apply taxes, lender compounding, or local lending rules.
The down payment must be less than the entered vehicle price.
Enter the interest rate used to calculate scheduled payments—not APR when APR includes additional credit costs.
Financial disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only and does not provide financial, tax, legal, loan, or investment advice. Actual results may vary depending on lender terms, tax rules, fees, deductions, and personal circumstances.
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📘 How the auto loan calculation works
The calculator first subtracts the down payment from the entered vehicle price. It then applies a fixed-payment amortization formula using equal monthly payments.
Amount financed
P = vehicle price − down payment
Monthly interest rate
r = annual interest rate ÷ 100 ÷ 12
Monthly payment
M = P × r ÷ [1 − (1 + r)−n]
Total and interest
Total payments = M × n
Total interest = total payments − P
At exactly 0%, monthly payment equals the amount financed divided by the number of payments. Calculations retain full precision; displayed currency is rounded to cents.
📊 Interest rate is not always APR
The scheduled-payment formula uses the annual interest rate applied to the loan balance. APR can include certain additional credit costs, so it is valuable when comparing offers but may not be the rate used to calculate monthly interest.
Use the annual interest rate stated in the loan terms for this calculator. Separately compare APR, amount financed, loan length, finance charges, fees, monthly payment, and total of payments on the disclosure provided by the lender.
🧮 Worked example: $35,000 vehicle at 6% for 60 months
This static example is generated by the same calculation function used by the interactive tool.
Inputs
- Vehicle price: $35,000.00
- Down payment: $5,000.00
- Annual interest rate: 6%
- Loan term: 60 months
Calculation and results
- Amount financed: $35,000 − $5,000 = $30,000.00
- Monthly rate: 6% ÷ 12 = 0.5%
- Estimated monthly payment: $579.98
- Estimated total loan payments: $34,799.04
- Estimated total interest: $4,799.04
The total is calculated from the unrounded monthly result, not by multiplying the displayed two-decimal payment. Actual contracts may adjust the final payment for rounding.
🌎 United States and Canada assumptions
🇺🇸 United States estimates
Select US to display USD. The estimate does not automatically include state or local sales tax, title and registration, documentation charges, optional protection products, negative equity, or other financed fees.
🇨🇦 Canadian estimates
Select CA to display CAD. The model assumes equal monthly payments and divides the entered annual interest rate by 12. Weekly, biweekly, accelerated, daily-interest, and lender-specific schedules may produce different results.
GST, HST, PST, QST, registration, dealer fees, optional products, and rolled-in balances are not added automatically.
🧾 Method, limitations, and privacy
Method: Fixed-payment amortization with equal monthly payments and a monthly rate equal to the entered annual interest rate divided by 12.
Model boundary: The result excludes taxes, fees, trade-in debt, rebates, add-ons, insurance, payment dates, and lender-specific calculation or rounding rules.
Privacy: Calculations are performed locally in your browser. This calculator does not require you to submit the entered financing values to FigureNorth.
Review status: Educational content based on published consumer-finance guidance; not individually reviewed by a lender or financial adviser.
📚 Consumer-finance sources
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Interest rate and APR
- Federal Trade Commission — Financing or leasing a car
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Financing a car
Calculation version: Auto Loan Calculator V2
Last reviewed: August 15, 2026
Maintained by: FigureNorth Editorial Team
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❓ Auto Loan Calculator FAQ
🧮 How is a monthly car payment calculated?
The calculator subtracts the down payment from the vehicle price, converts the entered annual interest rate to a monthly rate by dividing it by 12, and applies the fixed-payment amortization formula over the selected number of whole months.
📊 Should I enter the interest rate or APR?
Enter the annual interest rate used to calculate the scheduled loan payment. APR may include additional borrowing costs, so it is useful for comparing offers but may not equal the interest rate used in the monthly-payment formula.
💡 Why should I compare total interest as well as monthly payment?
A longer loan can reduce the monthly payment while increasing the total interest paid. Compare the amount financed, interest rate, number of payments, total interest, and total of payments together.
📅 Can I compare 36-, 60-, 72-, and 84-month car loans?
Yes. Enter any whole-month term from 1 to 120 months. The quick-select buttons provide several common terms, but availability and maximum terms depend on the lender and vehicle.
0️⃣ Can this calculator estimate a zero-percent auto loan?
Yes. At 0%, the amount financed is divided evenly by the number of monthly payments. Confirm whether a promotional 0% offer changes any rebate, discount, fee, or eligibility condition.
🧾 Are sales tax, registration, and dealer fees included?
No. The calculator uses only the vehicle price and down payment entered. To include taxes or financed fees in this simplified estimate, add them to the vehicle price after confirming the actual out-the-door amount.
🔄 How should I handle a trade-in?
This version has no separate trade-in field. You may combine eligible positive trade-in credit with the down payment, but first confirm the trade-in allowance, remaining loan payoff, negative equity, and local tax treatment.
🏦 Can I use this calculator to compare refinancing?
Yes. Enter the current payoff balance as the vehicle price, use zero down payment, and enter the proposed annual interest rate and remaining term. Compare fees and total remaining cost, not only the new monthly payment.
🇺🇸 Can I use this calculator for a U.S. auto loan?
Yes. Select US for USD display. State and local taxes, title and registration fees, dealer charges, optional products, lender-specific rounding, and contract terms are not calculated automatically.
🇨🇦 Can I use this calculator for a Canadian car loan?
Yes. Select CA for CAD display. The calculator assumes equal monthly payments and divides the entered annual interest rate by 12. Weekly, biweekly, accelerated, daily-interest, and lender-specific schedules may differ.
⚠️ Is this the same as a lender's final quote?
No. It is an educational planning estimate. Final payments can differ because of lender methods, payment frequency, taxes, fees, add-ons, contract dates, rounding, and other terms.