Student loan calculator

Your monthly payment once repayment starts, including the interest that builds up while you're in school and during the grace period.

How student loan interest works

On a subsidized federal loan, the government pays the interest while you're in school at least half-time and during the six-month grace period. On an unsubsidized loan, interest starts building from the day the money is paid out. It's simple interest, so it never compounds while you wait, but whatever is unpaid when repayment begins is capitalized: added to your balance. From then on you pay interest on that interest too.

Paying the interest as it builds keeps your balance where it started, and even partial payments shrink what gets capitalized. Choose "Pay it each month" above to see how much that saves.

Choosing a repayment term

The standard plan repays federal loans in level payments. For loans made before July 1, 2026 it lasts 10 years. For newer loans the term depends on how much you owe: 10 years under $25,000, 15 years up to $50,000, 20 years up to $100,000, and 25 years above that. A longer term lowers the payment but costs much more interest overall; compare them above. Income-based plans set the payment from your income instead, and their rules change often, so this calculator doesn't model them. Use the official Loan Simulator for those.

How this calculator works

Interest before repayment is the amount borrowed times the rate, divided by 12, for each month you wait (a monthly approximation of the daily interest servicers charge). Repayment is a fixed-rate schedule amortized month by month with interest rounded to the cent. The methodology page has the formulas.

Questions