calculate-loan

02 Amortization and balances

Weekly vs Monthly Loan Payment Calculator

Calculator No. 02-0039 · Updated · Formula and assumptions shown below

Weekly payment $93.39
Monthly payment
$405.53
Level-payment formula, rounded to the cent
Interest saved by paying weekly
$50.40
From the formula below, to the cent
Loan amount
$20,000
Input
You enter
Loan amount ($), Interest rate (APR) (%), Loan term (years)
You get
Weekly payment ($), Monthly payment ($), Interest saved by paying weekly ($)
Rounding
2 dp

Estimate for education, not financial advice. The result follows from the numbers you enter and the formula shown. It is not a quote or an offer, and it does not include fees, taxes or insurance unless the calculator asks for them. Ask your lender for the exact figures.

This calculator compares paying a loan weekly with paying it monthly over the same term. Enter the amount, the APR and the term; you get the weekly payment, the monthly payment and how much less interest the weekly schedule pays.

Formula

Weekly: W = P × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)−52t) with i = APR ÷ 5200. Monthly: M = P × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−12t) with r = APR ÷ 1200. Interest saved = M × 12t − W × 52t.

Worked Example

$20,000 at 8% APR over 5 years.

  1. Weekly: i = 8 ÷ 5200 = 0.0015385, 260 payments, W = $93.39
  2. Monthly: r = 0.0066667, 60 payments, M = $405.53
  3. Interest saved = 405.53 × 60 − 93.39 × 260 = $50.40

Assumptions

  • The payment is rounded to the cent and totals use the rounded payment; a lender’s final payment can differ by a few cents.
  • Fixed rate; weekly interest at APR ÷ 52, monthly interest at APR ÷ 12.
  • Both schedules end at the same date; no extra payments.

How to read the result

Weekly payments repay principal a little sooner, so they save a small amount of interest. The bigger saving of a “biweekly” plan comes from paying a 13th monthly payment each year.

Limits and common mistakes

  • Some lenders apply weekly payments monthly; then there is no saving.
  • Four weekly payments are less than one monthly payment, because a year has 52 weeks, not 48.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the weekly payment on $20,000 at 8% over 5 years?

About $93.39 a week, against about $405.53 a month.

Is weekly much cheaper?

Only slightly at the same term: here about $50 of interest over five years.

Why is the weekly payment not a quarter of the monthly?

There are 52 weeks in a year, so 4.33 weekly payments make up a month.

Formula used
in p | Loan amount | $ | 20000 | 1 | 100000000
in apr | Interest rate (APR) | % | 8 | 0.01 | 100
in yrs | Loan term | years | 5 | 1 | 50
out wk | Weekly payment | $ | round(p * (apr / 5200) / (1 - (1 + apr / 5200) ^ -(yrs * 52)), 2) | 2
out mo | Monthly payment | $ | round(p * (apr / 1200) / (1 - (1 + apr / 1200) ^ -(yrs * 12)), 2) | 2
out di | Interest saved by paying weekly | $ | mo * yrs * 12 - wk * yrs * 52 | 2

Each line is one input (in, sel, list) or one result (out: label, unit, formula, decimals). How the calculators work

Method: the standard loan formula for this calculation, fixed rate and monthly compounding unless stated, rounded as each result states. Not financial advice; no lender, rate or product is recommended. See formulas and assumptions, the disclaimer or report an error.

More in this section

The whole Amortization and balances section →