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About the student loan calculator
Many students leave school with several loans, each with its own balance and rate. This free student loan calculator puts them together. Add each loan, pick the repayment term, and see the monthly payment, the total interest, the payoff date and the average interest rate of all your loans.
Then try an extra payment per month. The calculator puts the extra on the loan with the highest rate first, and shows how much sooner you are debt-free and how much interest you save.
It works for fixed payments over a set term — the standard 10-year plan, or a longer 15-, 20-, 25- or 30-year plan. It does not do income-driven plans (more on that below).
Features
- Several loans in one list — up to 12, each with its own balance and rate
- Monthly payment and total interest — for the whole list and for each loan
- Average rate — weighted by the balance of each loan
- Repayment term — 5 to 30 years, with 10 years as the standard
- Extra payments — buttons for common amounts; the extra goes to the highest rate first
- Payoff date and interest saved — compared with no extra payment
- Balance chart — how the total goes down year by year
- Any currency — your numbers are saved only on this device
Student loan payments on a 10-year plan
Fixed monthly payments for 10 years at an example rate of 6%:
| Balance | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $111.02 | $3,322.46 |
| $20,000 | $222.04 | $6,644.92 |
| $30,000 | $333.06 | $9,967.38 |
| $40,000 | $444.08 | $13,289.84 |
| $50,000 | $555.10 | $16,612.30 |
| $75,000 | $832.65 | $24,918.45 |
| $100,000 | $1,110.21 | $33,224.60 |
A longer term: a lower payment, but more interest
$30,000 at 6%:
| Term | Monthly payment | Total interest |
|---|---|---|
| 10 years | $333.06 | $9,967.38 |
| 15 years | $253.16 | $15,568.27 |
| 20 years | $214.93 | $21,583.04 |
| 25 years | $193.29 | $27,987.13 |
Going from 10 to 25 years lowers the payment by about $140 a month, but almost triples the interest.
Pay a little extra
$30,000 at 6% on the 10-year plan:
| Extra per month | Paid off in | Total interest | Interest saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| None | 10 years | $9,967.38 | — |
| $50 | 8 yr 4 mo | $8,163.44 | $1,803.94 |
| $100 | 7 yr 2 mo | $6,921.10 | $3,046.28 |
| $200 | 5 yr 7 mo | $5,317.35 | $4,650.03 |
Several loans and the average rate
The page opens with two loans: $15,000 at 5.5% and $10,000 at 6.5%, on the 10-year plan.
- Average rate: (15,000 × 5.5 + 10,000 × 6.5) ÷ 25,000 = 5.90%
- Monthly payment: $276.34 — each loan keeps its own payment
- Total interest: $8,160.49
- With $100 extra a month, put on the 6.5% loan first: paid off in 6 years 9 months, and $2,960.42 less interest
Paying the highest rate first (the "avalanche" method) always saves the most interest. For many debts of all kinds, see the Debt Payoff Calculator.
What this calculator does not do
- Income-driven repayment (IDR) plans set the payment from your income, your family size and government poverty tables, and the rules change. They are not included. In the USA, use the official Loan Simulator on studentaid.gov for those plans.
- Interest while you are still in school or in a grace period, and interest that is added to the balance (capitalized), are not included. Type the balance you will have when repayment starts.
- Loan forgiveness and changing (variable) rates are not included.
Frequently asked questions
How is a student loan payment calculated?
Like any fixed loan: payment = balance × r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where r is the yearly rate ÷ 12 and n is the number of months (120 for 10 years). With several loans, the payments of each loan are added up.
What is the standard repayment plan?
In the USA, the standard plan for federal student loans is a fixed payment for 10 years. It costs the least interest of the fixed plans. Longer plans lower the payment but raise the interest.
How is the average interest rate worked out?
Each rate is weighted by its balance: add up balance × rate for every loan and divide by the total balance. For US federal loans, a Direct Consolidation Loan uses this weighted average, rounded up to the next one-eighth of a percent.
Should I pay extra on my student loans?
That is your choice. The calculator shows what it saves: on $30,000 at 6%, $100 extra a month saves $3,046.28 and ends the loan almost 3 years early. Many people first keep an emergency fund and pay off higher-rate debts like credit cards.
Which loan gets the extra payment?
The one with the highest rate. When it is paid off, its payment moves to the next loan, so your total monthly payment stays the same until everything is paid.
Does this work outside the USA?
Yes, for any loan with a fixed payment over a set term. Choose your currency at the top. Some countries collect student loans through the tax system or as a share of your income — those are not covered.
Related tools
- Debt Payoff Calculator — snowball or avalanche for all your debts
- Amortization Schedule Calculator — every payment of a loan in a table
- Loan Calculator — a quick monthly payment for any loan
- Credit Card Payoff Calculator — how long a card balance takes
- 50/30/20 Budget Calculator — fit the payment into your budget
How to use it
- Type the balance and the interest rate of your first loan
- Press Add another loan for each other loan (give them names if you like)
- Choose the repayment term — 10 years is the standard
- Type an extra payment per month, or tap one of the buttons
- Read the monthly payment, the total interest, the average rate and the payoff date
- With more than one loan, the table shows the payment and interest of each loan
