Student Loan Calculator

See how big your monthly payment will be and how much you'll pay in interest. Enter one student loan or multiple.
Cecilia Clark
Anna Helhoski
By Anna Helhoski and  Cecilia Clark 
Updated
Edited by Des Toups

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Use this calculator to estimate your monthly payments on a single federal student loan or private student loan, calculate the total payment on multiple student loans at different interest rates, or calculate the total interest you'll pay.

Student loan payment calculator

How to use this calculator

You’ll get the most accurate results if you enter your loan amounts separately with their precise interest rates, but you can also estimate or use the sample loan amounts and interest rate provided.

You may have a mix of federal and private loans. If you don’t know how much you owe, search for your federal loans in the National Student Loan Data System or contact your private student loan lender.

This calculator assumes you’ll be paying monthly for 10 years once repayment begins, which is the standard term for federal loans and many private loans.

Enter the total amount you borrowed for each loan. You can enter up to three loans for each year you’re in school, up to four years. It’s possible to include 12 loans total.

Click “Add another loan” to include additional loans in each year or select the next year. Select “I’m done” once you are finished adding all of your loans, then “Calculate” to get your results.

Enter the interest rate for each loan amount. Your interest rates will vary depending on whether your loans are federal or private, the year you borrowed and, in some cases, your credit score. Check with your federal loan servicer or your private lender to find out your interest rate.

Interest will accrue daily on unsubsidized federal and private loans while you’re in college. The total amount accrued will capitalize and be added to your total loan amount when repayment begins. During repayment, interest will continue to accrue and will be included as part of your monthly bill amount.

Select “Yes” if you have a subsidized federal loan or “No” if you have an unsubsidized federal loan or a private loan.

• Subsidized federal loans accrue interest while you’re in school and during your six-month grace period after leaving school, but the government pays the interest so it won’t affect the total amount you owe at repayment. To qualify for subsidized federal loans you must meet financial need requirements.

• Unsubsidized federal loans and deferred private loans will accrue interest while you’re in school and during the six-month grace period. The amount that accrues will be added to the total amount you owe when repayment begins.

Understanding your results

This is the minimum amount you must pay each month during repayment to stay current.

This is the sum of all the loan amounts you entered.

This is the total interest that accrued daily on each of the loan amounts you entered during school and the six-month grace period.

The total to repay is the amount you borrowed plus the accrued interest while you were in school that capitalizes. This is how much your total debt will be when you begin repayment, typically six months after leaving school.

This total doesn’t reflect the full amount you will pay over time. During repayment, interest will continue to accrue daily and you’ll pay for it as part of your monthly bill.

Use your results to save money

If you have unsubsidized or private student loans, you can lower your total to repay by making monthly interest payments while you’re going to school. Or, you may opt to make a lump sum payment of the total interest that accrues before repayment begins. Either method will prevent the interest that accrues from being capitalized. The result: a lower monthly bill amount.

You can submit more than your monthly minimum to pay off your loan faster. The quicker you finish paying your loans, the more you’ll save in interest. Learn how to pay off your student loans fast.

If you’re having trouble making payments on your federal loans, you can extend the term to 20 or 25 years with an income-driven repayment plan. Income-driven plans lower your monthly loan payments, but increase the total interest you’ll pay throughout the life of your loan.

Private lenders may allow you to lower monthly payment temporarily. To permanently lower monthly payments you’ll need to refinance student loans. By doing so, you replace your current loan or loans with a new, private loan at a lower interest rate. To qualify you’ll need a credit score in the high 600s and steady income, or a co-signer who does.

Student loans from our partners

Sallie Mae Undergraduate Student Loan logo
Check Rate

on Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Sallie Mae Undergraduate Student Loan logo

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Fixed APR 

4.5% - 15.49%

Min. credit score 

Mid-600's

Check Rate

on Sallie Mae

College Ave Private Student Loan logo
Check Rate

on College Ave

College Ave

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
College Ave Private Student Loan logo

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Fixed APR 

4.07% - 15.48%

Min. credit score 

Mid-600s

Check Rate

on College Ave

Ascent Private Student Loan logo
Check Rate

on Ascent

Ascent

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Ascent Private Student Loan logo

5.0

NerdWallet rating 
Fixed APR 

4.09% - 15.71%

Min. credit score 

Low-Mid 600s

Check Rate

on Ascent

Other student loan calculators

Student loan payoff calculator: Use this calculator to find your debt-free date.

Student loan repayment calculator: Use this calculator to see how extra payments can speed up repayment.

Student loan refinance calculator: Use this calculator to compare your current loan payment or multiple payments with a refinanced student loan.

Student loan consolidation calculator: Use this calculator to compare your payments under federal loan consolidation plans with your current bills.

Daily student loan interest calculator: Use this calculator to estimate the amount of interest that your loan accrues daily and between payment periods.

Student loan affordability calculator: Use this calculator to determine an affordable monthly student loan payment and how much that allows you to borrow.

Discretionary income calculator: Use this calculator to determine what you would pay under federal income-driven repayment plans.

Weighted average interest rate calculator: Use this calculator to determine the combined interest rate on all your student loans. You'll need that average to estimate your loan payments under federal loan consolidation programs or to compare student loan refinancing offers.

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