Borrow $100 to $5,000. Know every dollar first.
Northlight shows what a loan costs before you apply: the monthly payment, the total you repay and the APR, which is capped at 35.99% for every loan we work with.
- APR capped at 35.99%
- 3 to 36 months to repay
- Free to use
The price, before the paperwork
Move the slider. You see the monthly payment, the total you repay and the cost of credit at the highest APR we allow. A loan that meets our standard costs that much or less.
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One number for the monthEqual payments at a fixed rate, so the last month costs the same as the first.
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One number for the whole loanThe total you repay, with interest and fees included.
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No personal detailsThe calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to us.
What would it cost?
- Monthly payment
- $100.46
- Total repaid
- $1,205.52
- Cost of credit
- $205.52
12 monthly payments at 35.99% APR, the highest rate Northlight works with. Your lender sets the rate you are offered.
Open the full calculatorThree rules every loan here has to meet
A loan that breaks any of them does not appear on Northlight.
The APR ceiling
Interest and every fee counted. Federal law draws the same line, at 36%, for loans to military families.
The shortest term
At least three months of equal payments. Nothing falls due in one lump sum on your next payday.
What Northlight charges you
Reading, calculating and comparing here is free, and it stays free.
How to use Northlight
Set the amount and the term
From $100 to $5,000, repaid over 3 to 36 months.
Read the full price
Monthly payment, total repaid and cost of credit, shown before any form.
Check your state
Lending law changes at the state line. See the limits and the regulator where you live.
Hold every offer up to it
If a lender quotes more than the numbers here, you know to keep looking.
Start from what you need
Each page gives the cost, the rules and the cheaper options for one situation.
- Cash advanceApps, cards and lenders compared, cheapest first.
- I need money nowWhat to try in the first hour, the first day and the first week.
- Emergency loansFor the repair or the bill that cannot wait.
- Loans for bad creditWhat lenders look at when your score is low.
- Installment loansFixed payments over months, and how to read the total.
- Payday loan alternativesEight options that cost less than a payday loan.
Pick an amount
Each one shows the monthly payment at 35.99% APR over the longest term we use for that amount. Open it to see every term.
- $100$10.05 a month over 12 months
- $200$20.09 a month over 12 months
- $255$25.62 a month over 12 months
- $300$30.14 a month over 12 months
- $400$40.18 a month over 12 months
- $500$29.52 a month over 24 months
- $600$35.43 a month over 24 months
- $1,000$59.04 a month over 24 months
- $1,500$68.70 a month over 36 months
- $2,000$91.60 a month over 36 months
- $3,000$137.39 a month over 36 months
- $5,000$228.99 a month over 36 months
The rules change at the state line
Every state sets its own limits on small loans and names its own regulator. Choose yours to see what a lender may and may not do.
Why we draw the line at 35.99%
Small loans are sold in two very different ways. One kind is due in a single payment a few weeks later, for a flat fee that is easy to underestimate. The other is repaid in equal monthly payments, with the price stated as an annual percentage rate. Northlight works only with the second kind, and only when the APR, with every fee counted, is 35.99% or less.
That ceiling is not our invention. Federal law caps loans to active-duty service members and their families at 36%, and a growing number of states apply the same limit to everyone. We think a borrower who is not in uniform deserves the same protection, so we apply it to every loan on the site.
The second rule is time. Every loan here runs for at least three months. A bill that could not be paid this month is rarely easier to pay in full two weeks from now, and a longer schedule with a fixed payment is what makes a loan possible to finish.
What Northlight is
Northlight is not a lender. We do not make loans, we do not make credit decisions, and we never charge you. What we publish is the arithmetic and the law: a calculator that prices a loan before you fill in a form, the rules for each state, and plain guides to the questions people ask before they borrow.
Use the numbers as a yardstick. If a lender offers you more than the rate and terms we allow, you can see by how much, and you can walk away knowing what a better offer looks like.
Common questions
Is Northlight a lender?
No. Northlight does not make loans or credit decisions. We show what a loan costs and what the law allows, so you can judge an offer before you accept it.
What is the highest APR on Northlight?
35.99%, with interest and all fees included. Loans priced above that do not meet our standard and are not shown.
How long do I get to repay?
Between 3 and 36 months, in equal monthly payments. We do not work with loans that fall due in full within 60 days.
Does it cost anything to use Northlight?
No. The calculator, the state pages and the guides are free, and we never charge borrowers a fee.
Can I request a loan through Northlight?
Not yet. Online requests are in preparation. Until they open, the calculator and the state pages let you check any offer you receive elsewhere.
Will using the calculator affect my credit?
No. It runs in your browser, asks for no personal details and sends nothing to us or to any lender.
Know the payment before anyone asks for your details
Ten seconds with the calculator shows what a fair offer looks like.