Estimate monthly student loan payments, total interest, payoff time, and view a live amortization-style breakdown for education loans in USD or GBP.
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This tool provides student loan repayment estimates for informational purposes only. It is not financial, legal, lending, or tax advice. Actual repayment plans, rates, capitalization, fees, deferment rules, and lender or government program conditions may change your real repayment amount. Always review your official loan agreement and consult your lender, servicer, or a qualified adviser before making borrowing decisions.
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For the US market, this calculator estimates your monthly federal student loan payment in US dollars (USD), based on your balance, fixed interest rate and repayment term. Most US borrowers hold federal Direct Loans serviced on behalf of the Department of Education, repaid as a fixed amortizing loan over a set number of years.
Federal Direct Loans come in two main forms. Subsidized loans, for undergraduates with financial need, do not accrue interest while you are enrolled at least half-time or during the grace period, because the government pays it. Unsubsidized loans, available to undergraduate and graduate students regardless of need, accrue interest from the day they are disbursed, including while you study.
Federal loans carry a fixed interest rate set for the life of each loan when it is disbursed, so your rate never changes. After you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment, you get a six-month grace period before payments begin. By default you are placed on the Standard 10-year repayment plan, which pays the balance off in equal monthly installments over 120 months.
If standard payments are too high, you can switch to an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan, which caps your monthly payment at a percentage of your discretionary income and stretches the term, with any remaining balance potentially forgiven after 20 to 25 years. Your loan servicer, a company contracted by the Department of Education, processes your bills, applies payments and manages plan changes.
Suppose you owe $30,000 in unsubsidized Direct Loans at a 6% fixed rate on the Standard 10-year plan. Your monthly payment is about $333, and over the full 120 months you repay roughly $39,967 in total, of which about $9,967 is interest. Choosing an IDR plan could lower that monthly figure but typically increases total interest paid. These numbers are illustrative, not a live quote.
| Item | Typical detail |
|---|---|
| Loan type | Federal Direct (subsidized / unsubsidized) |
| Interest rate | Fixed for the life of the loan |
| Grace period | 6 months after leaving school |
| Standard term | 10 years (120 payments) |
| IDR forgiveness | After 20 - 25 years of payments |
On a subsidized loan the government pays the interest while you are in school, in your grace period or in deferment. An unsubsidized loan accrues interest the whole time, and any unpaid interest is added to your balance.
An IDR plan sets your monthly payment as a share of your discretionary income rather than a fixed amount. Payments can be lower, the term is longer, and any balance left after the plan's forgiveness period may be cancelled.
You pay your loan servicer, a company that manages billing and customer service on behalf of the US Department of Education. Your servicer also handles applications to switch repayment plans or request deferment.
Federal student loans default to a standard 10-year repayment plan with fixed monthly payments, but several income-driven plans can lower payments to a percentage of discretionary income and stretch the term to 20β25 years. The calculator works out your monthly payment, total interest and payoff date from your balance, interest rate and term.
On unsubsidized federal loans and most private loans, interest accrues while you study and during grace periods, and it can capitalize β be added to the principal β which increases the balance that future interest is charged on.
Paying more than the minimum is the simplest accelerator: extra payments go straight to principal, shortening the term and cutting total interest. If you hold several loans, targeting the highest interest rate first (the avalanche method) saves the most money. Making interest payments during school or a grace period limits capitalization.
Refinancing with a private lender can lower the rate for borrowers with strong credit, but doing so on federal loans gives up protections like income-driven plans and forgiveness β so weigh that trade-off carefully before consolidating. Use the calculator to see exactly how extra payments change your payoff date.
Enter your balance, interest rate and repayment term, and it shows your monthly payment, total interest and payoff date. You can test extra payments to see how much faster the loan clears.
Pay more than the minimum, target the highest-rate loans first, and make payments while in any grace period to limit interest capitalisation. Even small extra amounts shorten the term.
Federal loans default to a 10-year standard plan, though income-driven and extended plans can stretch payments over 20-25 years, lowering the monthly amount but raising total interest.
On unsubsidized US federal and most private loans, yes β interest builds during school and grace periods and may capitalise (be added to principal), increasing what you repay.