Finance tools and guides

An EMI — Equated Monthly Instalment — is the fixed amount you pay a lender every month until a loan is cleared. Indian banks calculate it on a reducing-balance basis: interest each month is charged only on the principal still outstanding, not on the original loan amount. The instalment stays the same throughout the tenure, but its composition shifts — in the early months most of it is interest, and as the balance falls a growing share goes to principal. By the final instalment almost the entire payment is principal.

The formula behind it is EMI = P × r × (1+r)^n ÷ ((1+r)^n − 1), where P is the principal, r is the monthly interest rate (the annual rate divided by twelve, expressed as a fraction), and n is the number of months. A ₹50 lakh home loan at 8.5% over 20 years works out to an EMI of about ₹43,391, and over those 240 months you repay roughly ₹1.04 crore in total — meaning the interest alone is around ₹54 lakh, more than the loan itself. Seeing that total interest figure before you borrow is the single most useful thing an EMI calculator does. Our Home Loan EMI Calculator and the general-purpose EMI Calculator both run this exact math in your browser and show the full breakdown.

A longer tenure lowers the monthly EMI, which is why lenders often nudge borrowers toward 25- or 30-year home loans — the instalment looks comfortable. But a longer tenure also means the principal reduces more slowly, so interest accrues on a higher balance for longer, and the total interest paid rises sharply. The same ₹50 lakh loan at 8.5% costs far more in total interest over 30 years than over 15, even though the monthly outgo is smaller. The EMI calculator lets you compare tenures side by side: drop the tenure, watch the EMI rise but the total interest fall, and decide where your own balance between monthly affordability and lifetime cost sits. Prepayment works on the same principle — any extra amount paid against the principal early in the loan removes future interest on that amount for the entire remaining tenure, which is why early prepayments save dramatically more than late ones.

On the investment side, the core idea is compound growth — returns earning further returns. A one-time lumpsum investment of ₹1 lakh at 6.5% compounded quarterly grows to about ₹1.38 lakh in five years; the same money simply left in a savings account would grow far less. A fixed deposit is the most familiar lumpsum instrument, and our FD Calculator shows the maturity value for any amount, rate, and compounding frequency.

A SIP — Systematic Investment Plan — works differently: instead of one lump sum, you invest a fixed amount every month, and each instalment compounds for however many months remain. Because you are buying at different prices over time, a SIP also averages out market volatility (rupee-cost averaging). A ₹5,000 monthly SIP earning 12% a year grows to roughly ₹11.6 lakh over ten years, of which ₹6 lakh is your own contribution and ₹5.6 lakh is growth. The power of compounding is why starting early matters so much more than investing large amounts later. Our SIP Calculator shows the invested-versus-gains split so you can see exactly how much of the maturity value the market provided.

The Public Provident Fund is a government-backed savings scheme with rules no generic calculator handles correctly. Deposits are capped at ₹1.5 lakh per financial year, the account runs for a statutory minimum of 15 years, interest is compounded annually at a rate the government notifies each quarter (7.1% as of 2025), and the entire thing is tax-free at deposit, accrual, and withdrawal — the rare EEE (exempt-exempt-exempt) status. Depositing the full ₹1.5 lakh every year for 15 years at 7.1% matures to about ₹40.68 lakh, of which ₹22.5 lakh is your deposits and the rest is tax-free interest. Our PPF Calculator models the year-by-year roll-up the way the account actually works, with the notified rate as an adjustable input so you can re-run it when the rate changes. Because PPF deposits also qualify for deduction under Section 80C, it sits at the intersection of saving and tax planning for most Indian households.

These calculators are built to be used as a set. Before taking a home loan, run the Home Loan EMI Calculator to see the monthly outgo and the total interest, then use the general EMI Calculator to compare what a shorter tenure or a different rate would cost. On the savings side, use the SIP Calculator and FD Calculator to compare a market-linked monthly investment against a guaranteed fixed deposit for the same money, and the PPF Calculator to see what a tax-free long-term commitment matures to. Every tool runs entirely in your browser — no amount you enter is uploaded or stored — and each links across to the others so you can move from one decision to the next without losing your place.

Everything here is free and needs no login. These calculators are informational and use the standard formulas Indian banks and fund houses apply; for a specific loan sanction, FD rate, or tax position, confirm the exact figures with your bank or a qualified financial adviser, since published rates and rules change.