Student Loan Calculator

This student loan calculator answers the three questions graduates ask most: how much will I pay each month, how long until the loan is gone, and how much interest will I pay in total? It also shows how much an extra monthly payment saves. For UK borrowers there is a separate income-based mode that projects Plan 1, Plan 2, Plan 4, Plan 5 and postgraduate loans year by year until they are repaid or written off.

Three ways to use the calculator

• Monthly Payment: enter the balance, interest rate and term to get the fixed monthly payment, the total interest and a yearly schedule. Add an extra monthly amount to see how many months and how much interest you save.
• Payoff Time: enter the payment you can afford to see how long repayment takes. If the payment does not cover the monthly interest, the calculator warns you, because the balance would never go down.
• UK Plan: choose your plan and enter your balance and salary. The calculator applies the 2026/27 threshold and the plan's interest rate and write-off period, and shows what you repay, the interest added and the amount written off.

The math behind fixed payments

A standard student loan is an installment loan. The monthly payment is payment = P × r / (1 − (1 + r)^−n), where P is the balance, r is the yearly rate divided by 12, and n is the number of months. Each month, interest = balance × r, and the rest of the payment reduces the balance. Early payments are mostly interest, so money you add early saves the most.

Example: a $30,000 loan at 6.52% over 10 years costs $340.95 a month and $10,913.92 in interest. Paying $100 more each month clears it in 7 years and 2 months instead of 10 years, and cuts the interest to $7,554.74, a saving of $3,359.17. If you can only pay $400 a month, the same loan takes 8 years and 1 month.

Student loans in the United States

Federal Direct Loans have fixed rates set each year from the 10-year Treasury yield. For loans first paid out between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027, the rate is 6.52% for undergraduates, 8.07% for graduate unsubsidized loans and 9.07% for PLUS loans. The standard repayment plan spreads the loan over 10 years, which is the default in this calculator. Interest on unsubsidized loans builds up while you study and is added to the balance when repayment starts.

Federal borrowers can also choose income-driven plans that set the payment as a share of income. The rules for these plans changed in July 2026, so check the current options at studentaid.gov before you choose. Private student loans from banks work like any other installment loan, so the Monthly Payment and Payoff Time modes fit them directly.

Student loans in the United Kingdom

UK student loans are repaid through your pay, as a share of what you earn above a threshold. The amount you borrowed and the interest rate do not change the monthly payment. Figures for 2026/27:

• Plan 1: 9% of income above £26,900. Interest 4.1% from September 2026. Written off after 25 years for most borrowers.
• Plan 2 (England and Wales, courses from 2012 to 2023): 9% above £29,385. Interest from 4.1% to 6% depending on income. Written off after 30 years.
• Plan 4 (Scotland): 9% above £33,795. Interest 4.1%. Written off after 30 years.
• Plan 5 (England, courses from 2023): 9% above £25,000. Interest 4.1%. Written off after 40 years.
• Postgraduate Loan: 6% above £21,000. Interest up to 6%. Written off after 30 years.

Example: two graduates each owe £45,000 on Plan 5. The first starts on £30,000 a year and repays £37.50 a month at first. With 3% pay rises, that graduate repays £113,583 over 40 years and still has £19,497 written off. The second starts on £55,000, repays £225 a month at first, and clears the loan in 17 years after paying £65,136. The lower earner pays more in total, because interest keeps building while repayments are small. This is why making extra payments on a UK loan only makes sense if you expect to repay it in full anyway.

Thresholds and interest rates change each year. Check your plan's current figures at gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan.

Student loans in Germany (BAföG)

German students who receive BAföG get half of it as a grant and half as an interest-free loan. You repay at most €10,010, however much you received, usually at €130 a month (taken as €390 every three months), so the maximum takes about 77 monthly payments. Repayment starts five years after the end of the standard funding period, and people with low income can ask to pause it. Because there is no interest, the Payoff Time mode with a 0% rate shows how long your BAföG repayment will take.