Personal Loan Refinance Calculator
Use a personal loan refinance calculator to see your savings on a refinanced personal loan. Plus, learn how to refinance your loan.
Current loan
- Pay $0.00 more each month
- Spend $0.00 more over the lifetime of the loan
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When to refinance your personal loan
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The best time to refinance a personal loan is when you’re offered a lower annual percentage rate (APR). A lower rate can save you money by reducing the monthly payment and the total interest. Use NerdWallet's calculator to see how much a lower APR will save you in monthly payments and overall interest.
How to use this calculator
Enter the outstanding balance of your existing loan. You can typically borrow between $1,000 to $100,000 through a personal loan. The calculator assumes your new loan will be equal to your outstanding balance.
Add your current monthly payment. Enter the amount you currently pay toward your loan each month.
Add your current interest rate. Most personal loan interest rates are between 6% and 36%. The loan’s interest rate is often the same as its annual percentage rate. However, some personal loans have an upfront charge called an origination fee that’s included in the APR, as well.
Enter the new loan term. The loan term you choose will also affect your payments and interest. A refinanced loan with a longer term will reduce your monthly payment but may cost more in total interest. A shorter term could lower your interest costs but increase your monthly payments. Personal loan terms typically range from two to seven years.
Add the new loan’s interest rate. You’ll typically want to refinance only if the new loan’s interest rate is lower than your current rate.
How to read your results
Review the "difference" column to estimate changes you may see with a refinanced loan.
Monthly payment: How much lower or higher your monthly payment will be if you refinance at the rate and term you’ve selected.
Total interest: How much you’ll save or how much more you’ll spend in total interest on the refinanced loan.
Total payments: The total amount of savings or extra cost you'll take on with a refinanced loan.
» MORE: Compare personal loan rates
Reasons to refinance a personal loan
Here's when to consider refinancing a personal loan:
You've built your credit score: If you’ve been making on-time payments toward your existing personal loan and other debts over a few months or years, your credit may be in better shape than it was when you originally applied. Credit scores are a major factor in determining APRs, and the lowest rates go to those with good or excellent credit (mid-600s and higher).
Your income is higher or debt is lower: A lender may also offer a better rate if you’ve bumped up your income or paid down debt to lower your debt-to-income ratio. Lenders typically like this number to be below 40%, but lower is better.
You want smaller monthly payments. Refinancing could lower your monthly payments. But be cautious about choosing a new loan with a longer term. Your payments may be lower, but you could end up paying more interest overall.
You can lower your debt payoff timeline: Refinancing a loan to one with a shorter term may increase your monthly payment, but it could save you on total interest and get you out of debt faster.
If your goal is to pay off your personal loan faster, you could make higher monthly payments instead of refinancing. Check with your lender to verify that they allow principal-only payments so the extra money goes toward reducing your balance instead of interest.
Lenders that let you refinance a personal loan
Lenders’ refinancing policies vary — some will only refinance loans from another lender, while others will refinance their own personal loans.
Here are lenders with the best rates and their refinance policies:
Lender | Refinances loans | Est. APR |
|---|---|---|
From Upgrade or another lender. | 7.99% - 35.99%. | |
Only from other lenders. | 6.49% - 25.29%. | |
Only from other lenders. | 8.99% - 35.49%. | |
Only from other lenders. | 7.99% - 24.99%. | |
From Wells Fargo or another lender. | 7.49% - 23.74%. | |
From Best Egg or another lender. | 6.99% - 35.99%. |
» MORE: Best personal loan lenders
How to refinance a personal loan
Take these steps to refinance a personal loan:
Identify a lender. Check if your current lender allows refinancing or if you'll need another lender to refinance your current loan.
Pre-qualify for a new personal loan. Pre-qualify with multiple lenders to see the rates and terms on a new loan. Pre-qualifying only requires a soft credit check, so it doesn’t affect your credit score. Compare new loan offers to your current loan.
Complete a new loan application. Once you've identified the best pre-qualified offer, you can submit a formal loan application online or in person. You may be asked to provide documents to verify your details and income. The lender will run a hard credit check at this time, which can cause your credit score to dip a few points.
If approved, you’ll pay off your existing loan with the funds from the new loan and close the old account. The new lender will typically expect your first payment 30 days after your loan is issued.
» More for UK readers: How to refinance a personal loan