Student Loan Calculator
Monthly payment and interest on a student loan.
Student loan math runs locally — no login, no data collectionYour payment breakdown appears here
Fill in the loan details and press Calculate — the monthly payment, total interest and schedule will render right on this page, with nothing sent to any server.
How to use
Student loans use the same amortizing math as any fixed loan, but the terms are long — 10 to 30 years — which makes the interest bill enormous if you stretch them. This calculator shows the standard monthly payment and the lifetime interest for your balance and rate.
How to use
- Enter your current balance, the interest rate and the term in years.
- Press Calculate to see the standard payment and total interest.
- Try 10 vs 20 years to see how much the term costs.
Example
A $25,000 balance at 4.5% over 10 years: the payment is about $259 and total interest about $6,100. Stretched to 20 years the payment drops to $158 but interest balloons to about $13,000 — the longer term costs you roughly $6,900 extra.
Formula
The standard PMT formula PMT = P·r·(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n − 1) with the monthly rate and month count. This is the fixed 10-year standard payment, not an income-driven plan.
Federal vs private rates
Federal undergraduate loans carry fixed rates set each July — recent cohorts have been around 4-6% — while private loans can be fixed or variable and often run higher. Federal loans also offer income-driven repayment and forgiveness programs that this calculator does not model.
Standard plan context
The standard 10-year plan is the default for federal loans. Income-driven plans recalculate the payment from your income and may extend the term; this tool gives you the baseline fixed payment to compare against.
Paying extra matters more than on a car loan
Because the term is long, an extra $50 a month on a student loan saves real money. On the $25,000 example, $50 extra clears the 10-year loan in about 8 years and saves roughly $1,100.
FAQ
Are student rates fixed?
Federal loans are fixed; private loans can be fixed or variable. Recent federal undergraduate rates have hovered around 4-6%.
Standard vs income-driven?
This shows the standard fixed payment. Income-driven plans tie the payment to your income and may forgive the remainder later.
Is a longer term ever smart?
It lowers the payment for cash-flow reasons but roughly doubles the interest — usually only worth it for short-term relief.
What is the quick payment version?
This page is the student loan payment calculator — the monthly number is the first result shown.
Reviewed by the LoanMath editorial team