How our personal loans calculator works

The personal loans calculator works out what the monthly repayments will be, and the total amount payable, based on the length of the selected loan term and the amount the user wishes to borrow.

Our results show a typical APR for each personal loan. A lender's APR is used in conjunction with a system called risk based pricing. This means that they assess each individual's circumstances and credit history before deciding what rate to offer the individual taking out the personal loan. However, if they quote a typical APR they have to give this to at least 66% of people that successfully apply for it, so by law there is a reasonable chance an applicant will get the rate advertised.

The uSwitch.com personal loans calculator takes the amount the user wishes to borrow and applies each provider's typical APR over the term requested. This calculates the monthly repayment for all loans in the market. These are then listed in the results table by the cheapest monthly repayment first. It is possible to sort by other criteria – such as company name or early settlement charge.

• If the user chooses to include Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) we will include the cost of this in the calculation, where we have the data. Not all lenders make this data available, and rather than sort the loans by APR, which excludes PPI premiums, we put these loans at the bottom of the list and state that we do not have the PPI data.
• If the user indicates they have had bad credit in the past, we will not display those lenders who we know will not lend to users with adverse credit.