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Student Loan Calculator

Calculate your monthly student loan payment, total interest, and total repayment cost.

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About the Student Loan Calculator

Calculate your monthly student loan payment, total interest paid, and total repayment cost over the life of the loan.

How the Student Loan Calculator works

This calculator uses standard fixed-rate amortization — the same math lenders use for federal and most private student loans. Each monthly payment stays the same for the life of the loan, but the mix shifts over time: early payments go mostly toward interest, and later payments go mostly toward principal, even though the payment amount itself never changes. A longer loan term lowers your monthly payment but increases the total interest you pay, since the balance takes longer to pay down and accrues interest for more months. A shorter term raises the monthly payment but reduces total interest paid. Comparing a few different term lengths here can help you see that trade-off in real numbers before committing to a repayment plan.

How to use the Student Loan Calculator

  1. Enter your total loan amount (the principal you borrowed or plan to borrow).
  2. Enter the annual interest rate on the loan, as a percentage.
  3. Enter the loan term in years — how long you'll take to pay it off.
  4. Press Calculate to see your fixed monthly payment, total interest paid, and total amount repaid, plus a principal-vs-interest breakdown.

Tips for the Student Loan Calculator

  • Try a shorter loan term to see how much total interest you'd save in exchange for a higher monthly payment.
  • This calculates a standard fixed-rate loan; it doesn't model income-driven repayment plans, deferment, or variable interest rates that change over time.
  • Extra payments toward principal aren't reflected here — making them would reduce your total interest and payoff time beyond what's shown.

Formula used by the Student Loan Calculator

Monthly Payment = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ [(1+r)ⁿ − 1] where P = loan amount, r = monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12), n = number of monthly payments (years × 12)

Example: Student Loan Calculator

A $25,000 student loan at 5.5% over 10 years

  • Loan amount: $25,000
  • Annual rate: 5.5% (illustrative)
  • Term: 10 years

Result: Monthly payment ≈ $271.32; total interest ≈ $7,557.88

With a monthly rate of 5.5% ÷ 12 over 120 payments, the amortization formula gives a fixed payment of about $271.32, totaling roughly $32,557.88 repaid over the loan.

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