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Finance

Simple Interest Calculator

Enter a principal, annual rate and term (in years, months or days) to instantly get the total simple interest, principal-plus-interest balance, and the interest broken down per year, month and day. Best for short-term notes, car loans, savings-account accrual, T-bills — anywhere interest does not compound on itself.

Term unit

Total simple interest

Principal + interest

Interest per period

  • Per year

  • Per month

  • Per day

Simple interest does not compound — each period accrues only P × r × t. Useful for short-term notes, T-bills and car loan quick estimates; long-horizon savings should use the compound-interest tool instead.

Formula

I = P × r × t A = P + I = P × (1 + r·t) P = principal, r = annual rate (decimal), t = term in years (months ÷ 12, days ÷ 365)

Frequently asked

What is the difference between simple and compound interest?

Simple interest is calculated only on the original principal, so the per-year accrual is a flat dollar amount that never changes. Compound interest adds each period’s interest back to the balance, which then earns interest in subsequent periods — the gap with simple interest grows exponentially with both time and rate. For $10,000 at 5 % over 30 years, simple interest yields $15,000 but compound yields about $33,219.

Which products actually use simple interest instead of compound?

Promissory notes, most car loans and unsecured personal loans, overdue trade receivables, late-payment penalties on insurance claims, short-term government paper (e.g. US Treasury Bills priced by discount yield), and many bank savings-account daily-accrual products use simple or near-simple interest. Long-dated mortgages, bonds, term deposits and retirement funds are nearly always compounding.

Can simple interest ever exceed 100 % of the principal?

Yes — whenever r · t > 1. For example, 10 % over 12 years gives 120 % interest, so $1,000 grows to $2,200 (principal $1,000 + interest $1,200). High r · t values usually only appear with loan-shark rates or very long terms — be cautious.

If I enter the term in months, do I have to divide the rate by 12 first?

No. The tool still expects an annual rate; entering the term in months simply triggers an internal divide-by-12 to convert months back to years. So a quoted 8 % APR for 18 months becomes I = P × 0.08 × 1.5 — no manual rate conversion needed.

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