Calculate personal loan financing for home improvements without touching your mortgage
Updated October 2026Built and checked by MaverickHow it's calculatedReport an error
Net loan needed
$23,750
after $5,000 contributions
Monthly repayment
$505
over 5 years
Total interest
$6,527
cost of borrowing
Total loan cost
$30,277
principal + interest
What you contribute up front, and what's left to borrow. The smaller the loan, the less interest you pay.
Shorter terms mean higher repayments but less interest. The highlighted bar is your chosen term.
The repayment at rates up to 2 points either side of yours.
Interest is the cost of having the money now instead of saving for it first.
A personal loan can pay for a smaller renovation without touching your mortgage. This works out the repayments and the total interest, with a buffer for surprises, so you can compare it with topping up the home loan.
As of 7 November 2026, the lowest personal loan rate is 5.80%, from Plenti Personal Loan, while the typical best across 68 institutions is 7.96%.
Sarah's kitchen is quoted at $20,000. She adds a 15% contingency, has $5,000 saved and borrows the rest at 10% over 5 years.
With the contingency the budget is $23,000, so she borrows $18,000: $382 a month and $4,947 of interest. For a larger amount, a home loan top-up may cost less, so compare.
Mike's bathroom is quoted at $12,000 with a 10% contingency and no savings, borrowing at 11% over 3 years.
He borrows $13,200: $432 a month and $2,357 of interest.