Business Loan Calculator

How to use this business loan calculator

1. Enter the loan amount and the interest rate (APR) from the lender's offer.
2. Enter the term and choose years or months.
3. Add the origination fee as a percentage, if there is one. For an SBA loan, enter the guaranty fee your lender passes on.
4. Optionally, enter your average invoice to see how many paid invoices cover each payment.
5. Read the monthly payment, total interest, total cost and effective APR, then check the year-by-year summary. Copy the summary to compare offers side by side.

How business loan payments are calculated

Most term loans, including SBA and equipment loans, use standard amortization: the same payment every month, with each payment covering that month's interest first and the rest going to principal.

At 0% APR there is no interest, so the payment is simply P ÷ n.

Worked example. $50,000 at 9% APR over 5 years: r = 0.09 ÷ 12 = 0.0075 and n = 60. The payment is $1,037.92 a month. Over 60 months you pay about $12,275.07 in interest.

Interest is front-loaded: a third of all the interest is paid in year one. That's why paying off early saves the most when you do it early, if the loan allows it without a penalty.

Effective APR with an origination fee

Add a 1% origination fee to the same loan and the lender keeps $500 at closing. You receive $49,500 but still repay $50,000 plus interest. The rate that matches $49,500 today with 60 payments of $1,037.92 is 9.43%. That's the effective APR, and it's the number to compare between lenders.

Small business loan rates in 2026

Rates depend on the lender, the loan type, your credit and how long you've been in business. These ranges come from NerdWallet's September 2026 rate table, whose bank figures are based on the Kansas City Fed's Small Business Lending Survey.

For a closer read on banks, the Kansas City Fed reported variable rates on new small business term loans of 6.7% at rural banks and 7% at urban banks in the second quarter of 2026. Origination fees vary too: NerdWallet puts conventional bank loans at 0.5% to 1% and online loans at 1% to 10%.

Here's what the rate alone does to a $50,000 loan over 5 years:

SBA loan calculator: 7(a) basics

The SBA doesn't lend the money itself. It guarantees part of a loan made by a bank or other lender, which is why lenders can offer longer terms. These figures are from sba.gov as of October 2026.

• Loan amounts: the maximum 7(a) loan is $5 million. 7(a) small loans go up to $350,000, and SBA Express loans up to $500,000.
• Terms: generally up to 10 years, up to 25 years for real estate, and longer than 10 years for equipment with a longer useful life. The 7(a) Working Capital Pilot runs up to 60 months.
• Uses: working capital, equipment and machinery, real estate, refinancing business debt, furniture and supplies, and buying a business.
• Fees: the SBA sets an upfront guaranty fee each fiscal year, which the lender may pass on to you. The annual service fee can't be charged to the borrower.
• Prepayment: loans of 15 years or more charge a penalty if you prepay 25% or more in the first three years: 5% in year one, 3% in year two, 1% in year three.

Maximum interest rates. Variable rates can't exceed the base rate plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less, plus 6% up to $250,000, plus 4.5% up to $350,000 and plus 3% above that. The SBA's maximum fixed rates for October 2026, based on a 7% prime rate, are:

At the cap, a $250,000 SBA loan over 10 years at 13% costs $3,732.77 a month and $197,932.22 in interest. A lender can charge less than the maximum, so always run your actual quote. The full rules are on the SBA 7(a) loans page.

Equipment loan calculator: matching the term to the asset

An equipment loan works the same way, but the equipment usually secures the loan. A good rule is to finish paying before the equipment wears out, so you're never paying for something you've already replaced.

Example. A landscaper finances a $30,000 mower and trailer over 4 years at 8%. The payment is $732.39 a month and total interest is $5,154.61. If the same gear lets them take on more lawns, the ROI calculator shows how fast the extra work pays the loan back.

Can your business afford the payment?

• Compare it with profit, not revenue. The payment comes out of what's left after your costs and your own pay.
• Count it in invoices. With a $2,500 average invoice, a $1,037.92 payment takes 0.4 of an invoice a month. If one slow client would leave you short, the loan is too tight.
• Watch the timing. Loan payments are due on a fixed date. Client payments often aren't. If you work on Net 30 terms, a 30-day delay can leave you covering the payment from savings.
• Compare the effective APR, not the headline rate. A $100,000 loan over 3 years at 10% with a 3% fee has an effective APR of 12.11% and costs $19,161.87 in interest and fees. The same loan at 11% with no fee costs $17,859.38.

Common business loan mistakes

• Ignoring fees. An origination or guaranty fee makes a loan more expensive than its rate suggests.
• Mixing up factor rates and APR. Merchant cash advances and some online loans quote a factor rate, which looks small but can mean a very high APR.
• Stretching the term too far. A longer term lowers the payment but raises total interest.
• Borrowing to cover slow payers. If clients pay late, fix the billing first. Clear due dates and a stated late fee cost nothing.
• Skipping the prepayment terms. Check for penalties before you plan to pay off early.

Repay faster by getting paid faster

Every invoice that's paid on time is a loan payment you don't have to cover from savings. Send invoices as soon as the work is done, with a clear due date.

The free invoice generator makes a PDF without signing up. In Onigiri, invoices go out by email, as a link or as a PDF, and show as Draft, Sent, Overdue or Paid, so you can see what's still owed. The free plan covers 3 invoices a month with unlimited clients. PRO ($12/month or $108/year) adds unlimited invoices and online card payments through your own Stripe account, with 0% Onigiri platform fee.

Frequently asked questions