Student Loan Calculator
Monthly payment · Plan comparison · Extra payments · Payoff date
🎓 Enter your loan balance, rate, and plan to see your monthly payment, total interest, and payoff date.
What This Student Loan Calculator Shows
A student loan calculator estimates what you will pay each month, how much interest the loan will cost in total, and when you will be debt free. Enter the balance, the interest rate, and a repayment plan, and the results update instantly.
This tool goes further than a basic payment estimate. It adds interest that builds up during school or the grace period, compares the standard, graduated, and extended federal plans side by side, shows how much an extra monthly payment saves, and checks the payment against your expected salary. A yearly schedule and balance chart show exactly how the debt shrinks over time.
It works for federal Direct Loans, Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS loans, and fixed rate private student loans. For several loans with different rates, run each one separately or enter the combined balance with a weighted average rate.
Student Loan Payment Formula
Standard and custom term payment
Total interest
Interest before repayment
Federal servicers calculate interest daily using a simple daily rate, so actual payments can differ from these monthly estimates by a few cents. The calculator rounds only the figures it displays.
Student Loan Payments by Balance
Monthly payment and total interest on a 10 year standard plan.
| Balance | Rate | Monthly | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | 6.39% | $112.99 | $3,559 |
| $30,000 | 6.39% | $338.97 | $10,676 |
| $30,000 | 7.94% | $363.03 | $13,564 |
| $30,000 | 8.94% | $379.05 | $15,486 |
| $50,000 | 6.39% | $564.95 | $17,793 |
| $100,000 | 7.94% | $1,210.11 | $45,213 |
2025 to 2026 federal Direct Loan rates
- Undergraduate Direct Loans: 6.39% fixed
- Graduate Direct Unsubsidized: 7.94% fixed
- Grad PLUS and Parent PLUS: 8.94% fixed
How to Use the Calculator: Worked Example
- Enter the balance and rate. Use the total from your loan servicer or the National Student Loan Data System. Our example graduate owes $30,000 at 6.39%.
- Add months until repayment. Federal loans give a 6 month grace period after you leave school. On unsubsidized loans the calculator adds the interest from those months to the balance.
- Pick a plan. Standard spreads equal payments over 10 years. Graduated starts lower and rises every 2 years. Extended stretches payments up to 25 years.
- Try an extra payment. Even a small amount each month shortens the loan.
- Enter your salary. The calculator shows the payment as a share of gross monthly income.
Results for the example
With 6 months of grace on an unsubsidized loan, $958.50 of interest builds up, so repayment begins on $30,958.50. The standard payment is $349.80 for 120 months. On a $55,000 salary that is about 7.6 percent of gross monthly pay of $4,583.
Without the grace period interest, the payment would be $338.97 and total interest $10,676. On the extended 25 year plan the payment falls to about $200.50, but total interest rises to about $30,151, nearly three times as much. Adding $100 a month to the standard plan clears the $30,000 loan in 86 payments instead of 120 and saves about $3,280 in interest.
Federal Repayment Plans Compared
Standard plan
Fixed payments for up to 10 years. It has the highest monthly payment of the fixed plans but the lowest total interest, and it is the default plan for most federal borrowers.
Graduated plan
Payments start low and increase every 2 years, finishing within 10 years. It suits borrowers who expect their income to rise. The calculator models five steps that each rise by 25 percent, which is an estimate; your servicer sets the actual schedule.
Extended plan
Fixed or graduated payments for up to 25 years. Federal rules generally require more than $30,000 in outstanding Direct Loans (or FFEL loans) to qualify.
Income driven plans
Income driven plans base the payment on income and family size, with any remaining balance forgiven after a set period. Federal law enacted in July 2025 changes the income driven options available to many borrowers, with new rules phasing in from July 1, 2026. Because payments depend on income and the rules are changing, this calculator does not estimate them. Use the official Loan Simulator on studentaid.gov for an exact figure.
How Much Student Loan Payment Is Affordable?
A common rule of thumb is to keep total student loan payments at or below about 10 percent of gross income, and to borrow no more in total than your expected first year salary. The calculator uses these bands as a guide:
- Manageable: payment is 10 percent of gross monthly income or less.
- Tight: 10 to 15 percent. Budget carefully and avoid adding other debt.
- Heavy: more than 15 percent. Consider a longer plan, an income driven plan, or extra income.
These bands are practical guidelines chosen for this tool, not an official lending standard. Rent, other debts, and local living costs matter as much as the percentage.
Student loan interest deduction
In the United States you may be able to deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest paid each year, subject to income limits set by the IRS. The deduction lowers taxable income, not the loan balance, so it is not included in these results.
Ways to Pay Off Student Loans Faster
- Pay extra each month. Tell your servicer to apply the extra to principal on the current balance, not to future due dates.
- Target the highest rate first. When you have several loans, extra money on the highest rate loan saves the most interest.
- Use autopay. Federal servicers usually offer a 0.25 percentage point rate reduction for automatic payments.
- Put windfalls toward principal. Tax refunds and bonuses applied to the balance cut interest for the rest of the loan.
- Pay interest during school. Small payments while in school stop unsubsidized interest from growing the balance.
Common Mistakes When Estimating Payments
- Ignoring grace period interest. Unsubsidized loans grow while you are in school, so the starting balance is often higher than the amount borrowed.
- Comparing monthly payments only. A lower payment over a longer term almost always costs more in total.
- Forgetting origination fees. Federal fees are taken from each disbursement, so you repay more than you received.
- Averaging rates incorrectly. A combined rate must be weighted by each loan's balance.
For other debts, the loan calculator handles any fixed rate loan, and the debt payoff calculator plans payoff across several balances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & References
- Federal Student Aid, U.S. Department of Education, Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Student Loans. https://studentaid.gov/understand-aid/types/loans/interest-rates
- Federal Student Aid, Repayment Plans. https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/repayment/plans
- Federal Student Aid, Loan Simulator. https://studentaid.gov/loan-simulator/
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Student Loans. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/consumer-tools/student-loans/
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic No. 456, Student Loan Interest Deduction. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc456
This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Results are estimates based on the information entered. Reference data reviewed: 2026.