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Free Tool Arena

Automotive · Free tool

Car Affordability Calculator

Max car price you can afford based on your income. Four rules: 20%, 15%, 10%, and DTI-based.

Updated April 2026

Max car price you can afford

$51,658

Using: 15% payment rule

Max monthly payment

$975

Max loan amount

$48,658

Ownership (ins/fuel/maint)

$236/mo

How the rules compare

  • 20% rule — payment + insurance + fuel + maintenance must stay under 20% of gross income.
  • 15% rule — loan payment alone stays under 15% of gross (most common).
  • 10% rule — payment under 10% of gross (Dave Ramsey / most conservative).
  • DTI rule — all debts (car + existing) under 36% of gross (lender threshold).
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What it does

Figure out the most car you should buy on your income. Pick your rule of thumb (20% / 15% / 10% / DTI) and get max price, payment, and loan.

Runs entirely in your browser — no upload, no account, no watermark. For more tools in this category see the full tools index.

Embed this tool on your siteShow snippet

Paste this snippet into any page. Loads on-demand (lazy), no tracking scripts, and sized to most dashboards. Replace the height to fit your layout.

<iframe src="https://freetoolarena.com/embed/car-affordability-calculator" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="Car Affordability Calculator" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px;"></iframe>
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How to use it

  1. Enter income and debts.
  2. Pick an affordability rule.
  3. Read max car price.

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