LendingTree Refinance Loan Calculator and Costs

A LendingTree refinance loan is a new loan arranged after comparing refinance offers through LendingTree, a loan marketplace; the exact products and offers depend on your situation and what participating providers make available. This calculator estimates a refinance loan’s monthly principal-and-interest payment and total interest from the amount, APR, and term you enter, so you can examine the arithmetic without assuming an offer or approval.

Formula

This is a standard fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan estimate. The monthly payment is the amount that, under the stated assumptions, repays the starting principal and interest over the selected number of equal monthly payments.

• Monthly payment: M = round[P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)⁻ⁿ), 2].
• Total interest: I = M × n − P.
• Monthly rate: r = APR ÷ 1,200, converting an annual percentage rate to a monthly decimal.
• Number of payments: n = years × 12.

P is the new loan principal in dollars, APR is the annual percentage rate entered as a percent, M is the rounded monthly payment in dollars, and I is the estimated total interest in dollars. The calculation assumes the same payment amount each month and rounds the payment to the nearest cent before calculating total interest.

Worked Example

Using the calculator’s defaults—$20,000 principal, 8% APR, and a five-year term:

1. Convert the APR to a monthly rate: 8 ÷ 1,200 = 0.0066667.
2. Convert the term to payments: 5 × 12 = 60 months.
3. Apply the payment formula: $20,000 × 0.0066667 ÷ [1 − (1.0066667)⁻⁶⁰] = approximately $405.53 per month after rounding.
4. Calculate interest using that rounded payment: $405.53 × 60 − $20,000 = $4,331.80.

These are formula outputs, not an offer. A lender’s schedule can differ because the final amount financed, rate, payment dates, fees, and rounding practices may differ from the inputs or assumptions here.

Assumptions

• The APR and payment remain fixed for the full term.
• Payments are made monthly, with the first payment one month after the loan begins.
• Interest compounds monthly at APR divided by 12.
• The estimate excludes fees, taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance, escrow, and any other amount not entered as principal.
• It treats every payment as equal and does not model extra payments, skipped payments, or a changing balance from additional charges.

What a LendingTree Refinance Loan Means

LendingTree is a marketplace, not the lender that necessarily funds or services a loan. A person seeking to refinance may provide information through its process and, depending on availability and eligibility, receive or compare potential offers from providers. The provider sets its own terms, underwriting process, disclosures, and final loan documents. A marketplace inquiry is not the same thing as a completed refinance or guaranteed approval.

“Refinance loan” can mean different products: a mortgage refinance replaces a home loan, an auto refinance replaces vehicle financing, and a personal-loan refinance uses a new personal loan to pay off existing debt. The calculator above covers only the basic payment arithmetic for one new fixed-rate loan. It does not determine whether a provider offers a particular product or whether a borrower qualifies.

How to Use the Estimate When Comparing Offers

Enter the amount that would actually be financed, the APR stated for the offer, and the repayment term. If fees are rolled into the new balance, include them in the loan amount only when the lender’s figures show that they are financed. Use comparable inputs for each scenario; otherwise, the payment difference may reflect a different term or principal rather than a different borrowing cost.

• Compare the same proposed amount and term when isolating the effect of APR.
• Compare total interest as well as monthly payment: extending a term can lower the scheduled payment while increasing the number of months interest accrues.
• Check whether a quoted payment includes only principal and interest or also other charges.
• Use the lender’s actual APR and itemized costs rather than a marketplace illustration or a guessed figure.

For example, a lower monthly payment by itself does not show that refinancing costs less overall. If a new loan stretches repayment over more months, the total of its payments and any upfront or financed costs matter. Conversely, this calculator cannot determine savings by itself because it does not ask for the existing loan balance, its remaining payment schedule, payoff amount, or refinancing charges. Those figures must be obtained and compared separately.

Costs, Limitations, and Common Mix-Ups

The APR input is a percentage per year, not a monthly percentage. Entering 8 means 8% annually; the formula divides it by 1,200 to obtain the monthly decimal rate. The term is in years, so a five-year input becomes 60 monthly payments. The displayed total interest uses the payment rounded to cents; real payment schedules can have a small adjustment in the final payment because of lender-specific rounding or timing.

Refinancing may involve costs that are not captured by a payment formula. Depending on the product and offer, there may be fees or other charges, and they can be paid separately or included in the new balance. Do not treat the calculator’s total interest as the full cost of a transaction: it excludes those items unless they are reflected in the amount or APR entered. Ask the provider for the written payment schedule, amount financed, APR, itemized charges, and payoff details relevant to the existing loan.

The estimate also cannot establish whether a refinance is available, whether an existing balance can be paid off with the proposed amount, or how a provider will assess an application. Those depend on details outside this formula. It does not model variable rates, irregular payment dates, daily interest, additional principal payments, or a loan that includes separate charges in the payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is LendingTree the lender for a refinance loan?
LendingTree operates as a marketplace connecting consumers with providers; a provider, rather than the marketplace itself, may make and service a loan. Check the offer and final documents to identify the responsible lender and its terms.

Does using the calculator show whether I will be approved?
No. It performs payment and interest arithmetic from the numbers entered. It does not review an application or predict a provider’s approval decision or offered terms.

Does a lower refinance payment mean I will pay less overall?
Not necessarily. A longer term can reduce the monthly payment while increasing total interest. Include applicable fees and compare the full repayment schedules, not just the monthly amounts.

Can I use this for a mortgage or auto refinance?
You can use it for a basic fixed-rate payment estimate if the loan follows the calculator’s assumptions. It does not include mortgage escrow or insurance, vehicle-specific costs, or product-specific fees.

What amount should I enter?
Use the proposed new principal shown by the provider. If charges are financed, they may be part of that balance; if paid separately, they are not included in this calculator’s total.

This result is an estimate; the lender’s disclosure gives the exact figures.

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in p | New loan amount | $ | 20000 | 1 | 100000000
in apr | Interest rate (APR) | % | 8 | 0.01 | 100
in yrs | Loan term | years | 5 | 0.0833 | 50
out pmt | Monthly payment | $ | round(p * (apr / 1200) / (1 - (1 + apr / 1200) ^ -(yrs * 12)), 2) | 2
out int | Total interest | $ | pmt * yrs * 12 - p | 2