Guides / How to Choose the Right Loan Tenure

How to Choose the Right Loan Tenure

1 Oct 2026

The tenure is the number of years you take to repay. It changes both your monthly burden and the total cost.

₹30 lakh at 9%

TenureEMITotal interest
10 years₹38,003₹15.6 lakh
15 years₹30,428₹24.8 lakh
20 years₹26,992₹34.8 lakh
25 years₹25,176₹45.5 lakh

Going from 10 to 25 years lowers the EMI by about ₹12,800 but costs about ₹30 lakh more in interest.

How to decide

  1. Check your budget. Keep total EMIs within about 40% of your income.
  2. Pick the shortest tenure you can handle without stress.
  3. Leave room for emergencies. A very high EMI is risky if your income dips.
  4. Plan to prepay. You can take a longer tenure for flexibility and prepay when you have spare money. See the Loan Prepayment Calculator.

Compare your own options in the EMI Calculator.

Try the EMI Calculator