Quick answer: Use this personal-loan calculator to estimate a monthly repayment, total interest and total cost from the loan amount, annual interest rate, term and any optional fees you enter. It is a planning estimate, not a lender quote, an approval decision or a complete take-home-pay calculation. It does not make a lender affordability assessment.
The calculator does not ask for an ID number, bank details, login information or documents. Your inputs stay in this page and are not sent to CodeCash or a lender.
Personal loan calculator for South Africa
Enter the assumptions from a lender’s quote or your own planning scenario. If a lender gives you a rate as a monthly rate, ask for the comparable annual rate before entering it. The optional fee fields are for modelling only; use the lender’s agreement for the official fees.
Enter the loan details to see an estimate.
How the calculator works
The estimate annualises the rate into a monthly rate, calculates a regular monthly repayment over the selected term, and then adds any optional fees you entered. A zero-interest example simply divides the amount by the number of months.
For example, an assumed R50,000 loan at 20% annual interest over 24 months gives an estimated monthly repayment of about R2,544.79, estimated interest of about R11,074.96 and scheduled repayments of about R61,074.96 before any fees. This is an illustration, not an offer from a lender.
Read each input carefully
- Loan amount: Enter the principal you are comparing. If a lender deducts a fee or insurance cost, the amount you receive may be different from the amount used in the agreement.
- Annual interest rate: Enter the rate from the current written quote. Do not substitute a headline “from” rate unless you know it applies to your case.
- Term: Test more than one term. A longer term may reduce the monthly instalment while increasing the total interest.
- Fees: Enter fees only when you know what they represent. The optional fields do not decide whether a charge is lawful or whether it applies to your loan.
For a realistic budget check, compare the estimated repayment with your income after essential costs, not just with your gross salary. Include rent or housing, food, transport, utilities, insurance, school or care costs, existing debt payments and irregular expenses. The optional ratio on this page leaves out those items, so it cannot tell you whether a payment is genuinely affordable.
Why your lender’s figure may differ
A lender may use a different rate basis, fee structure, insurance cost, payment date, rounding method or agreement design. The calculator also does not decide whether you qualify. A lender can offer a different amount, rate or term, or decline an application.
Use the result to prepare questions. Compare the written offer’s amount received, interest rate, term, monthly instalment, initiation fee, monthly service fee, insurance and total amount payable. Do not compare only the monthly instalment.
Use the calculator without sharing sensitive information
Do not enter your ID number, card PIN, online-banking password, one-time password or bank login into a loan calculator. CodeCash’s calculator uses only the figures you choose to enter and does not submit them to a lender.
Try more than one scenario
Run the same amount over a shorter and longer term, then compare both the monthly payment and total cost. You can also model a range of possible rates instead of treating one advertised rate as certain. If the payment is only manageable under one optimistic assumption, treat that as a warning to pause and review the budget.
Keep a copy of the assumptions beside the lender’s quote. If the quote changes the amount, term, rate or fee structure, run the new figures again. A calculator is most useful when it makes differences visible, not when it is used to justify a borrowing decision that the budget cannot support.
Official information and related guides
The National Credit Regulator provides the National Credit Act and related regulations, as well as education about over-indebtedness and consumer credit. Read the current official information and the lender’s agreement before making a borrowing decision.
- National Credit Regulator: National Credit Act and regulations
- NCR: Education and Communication
- Personal-loan interest rates: how to compare the real cost
- Debt consolidation: compare the real cost
Frequently asked questions
Is this an official South African lender calculator?
No. It is a CodeCash estimate using the assumptions you enter. Use the lender’s current written quote for the official repayment and total cost.
Does the result show my exact take-home pay?
No. It estimates the loan repayment only. It does not include every household expense, payroll item, insurance cost or existing financial obligation.
Can the calculator tell me whether I will be approved?
No. Approval, rate, amount and term depend on the lender’s assessment and current criteria. The optional budget ratio is not an approval prediction.
What figures should I enter?
Use the amount, annual rate, term and fees shown in the lender’s current written quote. If you are planning rather than comparing an offer, label your result as an estimate and test more than one term.
Sources and update note
This calculator was prepared with reference to the National Credit Regulator’s current National Credit Act and consumer-education pages. It uses a standard amortising-loan formula for planning only. Loan rates, fees, eligibility and lender calculations can change.
Updated: 10 August 2026. This article is general information, not personal financial advice.