Measure daily accrual against monthly posting clearly. Review payment impact, payoff speed, and lifetime interest. Use flexible inputs to compare realistic loan paths today.
| Loan Amount | APR | Term | Daily Basis | Daily Payment | Monthly Payment | Daily Interest | Monthly Interest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000.00 | 9.50% | 48 months | 365 | $628.02 | $628.08 | $5,144.90 | $5,147.76 |
This sample shows how a small accrual difference can change payment and total interest.
Daily accrual interest: Interest = Balance × APR × (Days in Period ÷ Day Basis)
Monthly accrual interest: Interest = Balance × (APR ÷ 12)
Principal paid: Principal = Payment - Interest
Ending balance: Ending Balance = Starting Balance + Interest - Payment
Auto payment target: The calculator solves for the payment that reduces balance to zero by the selected loan term.
Enter the loan amount, APR, and loan term.
Select the loan start date.
Choose auto payment or custom payment mode.
Add any extra monthly payment if you plan to pay more.
Enter an upfront fee if you want total borrowing cost to include it.
Choose a 365 day or 360 day basis for daily accrual.
Press the calculate button.
Review the summary table, payoff dates, and side by side schedule.
Use the CSV button for spreadsheet work and the PDF button for a printable report.
Daily interest accrual and monthly interest posting can create different loan costs. The gap may look small at first. It can still affect budgets, payoff speed, and total interest over time. This calculator helps you compare both methods with the same loan inputs. You can review payment size, interest charges, amortization flow, and final payoff timing in one place. Review side by side results before you commit.
Lenders do not always calculate interest the same way. Some loans accrue interest every day. Others apply a monthly rate to the balance. With daily accrual, the number of days between payments matters. Longer gaps can raise interest. Shorter gaps can lower it. That is important for personal loans, auto loans, lines of credit, and many credit products.
Daily accrual starts with the annual percentage rate. The calculator converts APR into a daily rate using a 365 day or 360 day basis. It then multiplies that rate by the outstanding balance and the exact days in each billing period. Each payment first covers accrued interest. The rest reduces principal. If you add extra payments, principal drops faster and future daily interest usually falls.
Monthly accrual uses a monthly periodic rate. That rate is usually APR divided by twelve. Interest is added once per month based on the remaining balance. The payment pattern feels simpler because each cycle uses the same rate. This method is common in standard amortizing loans. It is also easier to estimate by hand.
This page compares scheduled payments, total interest, total paid, payoff months, and ending dates. It also displays a side by side schedule for daily and monthly methods. You can test custom payments, extra amounts, fees, start dates, and day count basis choices. That makes the tool useful for loan planning, refinancing checks, and payment strategy reviews. It can also highlight whether faster payments meaningfully reduce interest under each method.
Use the comparison before signing a loan offer. Small rate or timing differences can change total borrowing cost. A clear loan interest comparison helps you choose a payment plan with fewer surprises.
Daily accrual uses the exact number of days between payments. Monthly accrual applies one monthly rate each cycle. That can change interest totals and sometimes the required payment.
No. The result depends on APR, day count basis, payment timing, and month lengths. Some loans show a very small gap, while others show a more noticeable difference.
Some lenders divide annual interest by 360 days, while others use 365. That choice changes the daily rate and affects total accrued interest.
Auto mode calculates the payment needed to pay the loan off by the selected term. It solves separately for daily and monthly accrual so both scenarios finish on schedule.
Yes. Choose custom payment mode and enter your planned monthly payment. The tool will then compare both accrual methods using that same payment amount.
The calculator warns you when the chosen payment does not cover accrued interest. In that case, the balance may not shrink as expected.
No. This version treats the upfront fee as a separate borrowing cost. It adds the fee to total cost but does not roll it into the loan balance.
The CSV button exports the comparison and schedule rows. The PDF button opens a print view so you can save the report as a PDF from your browser.