Most borrowers start with an amount, not a rate: the equipment quote says $50,000, the expansion budget says $250,000. This page answers the amount-first question for the three most common loan sizes, with a rate-and-term grid for each. Every figure comes from the standard amortization formula — the same math behind our business loan calculator, which you should use for your exact amount, rate and term. For where the rates themselves come from, see average business loan interest rates; for the formula worked by hand, see how to calculate business loan payments.
General information, not financial advice. Grids assume a fully amortizing loan priced with an APR, monthly payments, no fees. Factor-priced products (merchant cash advances, some short-term loans) do not amortize and cannot be read off these tables.
Payments scale linearly with the amount: at a fixed rate and term, a loan twice as large costs exactly twice as much per month. So any amount can be priced from the $100,000 grid — divide a $100,000 cell by 100 to get the cost per $1,000 borrowed, then multiply by your amount in thousands. At 5-year terms, each $1,000 costs $20.28/month at 8%, $21.25 at 10%, and $22.24 at 12%. Example: $75,000 at 10% over 5 years = $2,124.70 × 0.75 = $1,593.53/month. This is also why this cluster publishes one page for three amounts instead of three pages: the intent differs, the math is a multiplier.
Cell format: monthly payment / total interest over the term.
| Rate | 3 years | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8% | $1,566.82 / $6,405.46 | $1,013.82 / $10,829.18 | $779.31 / $15,462.10 | $606.64 / $22,796.56 |
| 10% | $1,613.36 / $8,080.94 | $1,062.35 / $13,741.13 | $830.06 / $19,724.97 | $660.75 / $29,290.44 |
| 12% | $1,660.72 / $9,785.76 | $1,112.22 / $16,733.34 | $882.64 / $24,141.48 | $717.35 / $36,082.57 |
Fifty thousand is a boundary amount: it is the maximum loan under the SBA Microloan program, so at this size the cheapest route may not be a conventional term loan at all — run the microloan calculator and read the SBA microloans guide alongside this grid. Typical uses at this size are a single piece of equipment, a vehicle, or a modest fit-out — purchases with an asset behind them, which is why equipment-style pricing (the grid’s lower rows are realistic) is common here.
| Rate | 3 years | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8% | $3,133.64 / $12,810.92 | $2,027.64 / $21,658.37 | $1,558.62 / $30,924.20 | $1,213.28 / $45,593.11 |
| 10% | $3,226.72 / $16,161.87 | $2,124.70 / $27,482.27 | $1,660.12 / $39,449.95 | $1,321.51 / $58,580.88 |
| 12% | $3,321.43 / $19,571.52 | $2,224.44 / $33,466.69 | $1,765.27 / $48,282.96 | $1,434.71 / $72,165.14 |
One hundred thousand is the workhorse size — equipment packages, a serious working-capital injection, a small expansion — and it is written by every channel: banks, SBA lenders and online lenders all compete here, which makes it the most comparison-shopped amount in business lending. The comparison that matters is rarely the payment; it is the total interest column, where the spread between the best and worst cell in this grid is more than $59,000.
| Rate | 3 years | 5 years | 7 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8% | $7,834.09 / $32,027.29 | $5,069.10 / $54,145.91 | $3,896.55 / $77,310.50 | $3,033.19 / $113,982.78 |
| 10% | $8,066.80 / $40,404.68 | $5,311.76 / $68,705.67 | $4,150.30 / $98,624.86 | $3,303.77 / $146,452.21 |
| 12% | $8,303.58 / $48,928.79 | $5,561.11 / $83,666.72 | $4,413.18 / $120,707.39 | $3,586.77 / $180,412.85 |
At a quarter of a million, which channel writes the loan moves the price more than negotiation does: bank, SBA and online term loans at this size are priced, documented and collateralized very differently (the channel-comparison framing is PrimeRates’). Expect full financials, a debt-service-coverage test — what DSCR is and how yours is built — and, on SBA and bank deals, real-estate-length terms that pull the 10-year column into play. Before assuming this is the amount you can carry, the affordability calculator works the question backwards from your cash flow.
Hold the amount fixed at $100,000 and move only the rate and term: the payment swings from $1,213.28 (8%, 10 years) to $3,321.43 (12%, 3 years) — nearly a 3× spread, wider than the difference between adjacent loan sizes. Term is the lever borrowers underestimate: stretching from 5 to 10 years at 10% cuts the payment by about 38% but more than doubles the interest, from $27,482.27 to $58,580.88. And remember the grids’ assumption — these are amortizing loans priced by APR. A factor-priced quote at the same amount (“1.25×”) fixes its cost at funding regardless of how fast you repay, a different shape entirely; Switchboard’s by-amount comparison makes the same point. Price the shape, not just the size.
What is the monthly payment on a $50,000 business loan? It depends on the rate and term. At 8% over 5 years the payment is $1,013.82/month (total interest $10,829.18 — the cell cross-checks against Nav’s published $50,000 grid at $1,014 / $10,829). Across the grid above, $50,000 runs from $606.64/month (8%, 10 years) to $1,660.72 (12%, 3 years).
What is the payment on a $100,000 business loan? At the grid’s midpoint — 10% over 5 years — it is $2,124.70/month, with $27,482.27 of total interest. The full range runs from $1,213.28/month (8%, 10 years) to $3,321.43 (12%, 3 years), which is why the question only has an answer once a rate and term are attached.
What is the monthly payment on a $250,000 business loan? At 12% over 5 years, $5,561.11/month, with $83,666.72 of total interest. At 8% over 10 years it falls to $3,033.19/month — but interest climbs to $113,982.78. At this size the channel (bank, SBA or online) usually decides which part of the grid you are even eligible for.
General information, not financial advice. Sources: standard amortization formula (all grid figures computed at write time); Nav $50,000 business loan cost page (anchor cross-check); PrimeRates $250,000 channel comparison; Switchboard factor-vs-amortized comparison. Currency verified 2026-10-23.