Personal Loan Refinance Calculator

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.

Personal loan refinance calculator

Use this calculator to see how much a lower APR will save in monthly payments and overall interest.

How to read your results

Monthly savings: This is how much extra room you’ll have each month in your budget if you refinance at the rate and term you’ve selected.

Interest savings: This is how much you’ll save in total interest on the loan.

Your current and refinanced loan: These are snapshots of the loans' monthly payments, the total interest you’ll pay over each loan’s term and the amount you’ll have spent by the time you pay off the loan.

A refinanced loan that offers a lower rate with a longer term may reduce your monthly payment but will also cost more in total interest. A higher rate and a shorter term will lower your interest costs but increase your monthly payments.

To see both the payment and interest lowered, calculate a lower APR and the same term or a term that isn’t much longer.

» MORE: Best personal loan rates

Reasons to refinance a personal loan

Consider refinancing a personal loan if your financial situation has improved in these two ways:

Credit score has improved: If you’ve been making on-time payments toward your existing personal loan and other lines of credit 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 (690 or higher).

Higher income, less debt: A lender may also offer a better rate if you’ve bumped up your income or paid down other debts to lower your debt-to-income ratio. Lenders typically like this number to be below 40%, but lower is better.

Lenders that let you refinance a personal loan

Lenders’ refinancing policies vary — some will refinance only their own personal loans, while others will only refinance loans from another lender.

Here are lenders with the best rates and their refinance policies:

How to refinance a personal loan

Here are steps to take when you're considering refinancing 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 with the rate, term and monthly payments on your existing loan.

Complete a new loan application. Once you've identified a new lender, you can submit a formal 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, which can cause your credit score to dip a few points.

If approved, you can pay off your existing loan with the funds from the new loan and close the account. The new lender will typically expect your first payment 30 days after your loan is issued.