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Student Loan Payment Calculator
Estimate your monthly student loan payments and the total amount you'll pay, including interest.
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NerdWallet's content is fact-checked for accuracy, timeliness and relevance. It undergoes a thorough review process involving writers and editors to ensure the information is as clear and complete as possible.
Anna Helhoski is a senior writer covering economic news and trends in consumer finance at NerdWallet. She cohosts and produces Money News segments of NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. She is also an authority on student loans. She joined NerdWallet in 2014. Her work has been syndicated in news outlets nationwide including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post and USA Today. She previously covered local news in the New York metro area for the Daily Voice and New York state politics for The Legislative Gazette. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Purchase College, State University of New York.
Karen Gaudette Brewer leads the Core Personal Finance team at NerdWallet. Previously, she guided students and their families through the ins and outs of paying for college and managing student debt on the Higher Education team. Helping people navigate complex money decisions and feel more confident brings her great joy: as the daughter of an immigrant, from an early age she was the translator of financial documents and the person who called the credit card company to fix fraud.
She joined NerdWallet with 20 years of experience working in newsrooms and leading editorial teams, most recently as executive editor of HealthCentral. She launched her journalism career with The Associated Press and later worked for The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, The Seattle Times, PCC Community Markets and Allrecipes.com.
She is a graduate of the 2022 Poynter Institute Leadership Academy for Women in Media. Her writing has been honored by the Society for Features Journalism and the Society of Professional Journalists. In addition, she’s the author of two books about the Pacific Northwest.
Cecilia Clark is an editor on the loans team. She specializes in student loans and manages product reviews and roundups. Previously, she worked as a freelance writer and developed communications strategies for cybersecurity firms. Cecilia has also worked in post-secondary education, elevator operations management and sales and military nuclear command control, maintenance management and public affairs.
Eliza Haverstock is NerdWallet's higher education writer, where she covers all aspects of college affordability and student loans. Previously, she reported on billionaires and investing for Forbes in New York, and she also covered private markets for PitchBook in Seattle. Eliza got started at her college newspaper at the University of Virginia and interned for Bloomberg, where she spent a summer writing a feature story about plastic straws. She is based in Washington, D.C.
If you're considering taking out student loans, it’s important to understand what your future monthly payments could look like.
Use NerdWallet’s student loan calculator to estimate your monthly bills, interest accrual and total repayment amount for a federal or private student loan. You can also include multiple student loans with various interest rates.
How to use NerdWallet’s student loan payment calculator
You’ll get the most accurate results if you enter your loan amounts separately with their precise interest rates.
You may have a mix of federal and private loans. If you don’t know how much you owe, check your studentaid.gov account and/or contact your private student loan lender.
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 up to 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.
Interest rate (APR)
Enter the interest rate for each loan amount. Your student loan 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 student loan servicer or your private lender to find out your interest rate.
Here’s how interest works for different types of student loans:
Unsubsidized federal student loans. Interest accrues daily during your time in school. Interest does not capitalize, or get added to your principal loan balance, when you enter repayment.
Subsidized federal student loans. The government pays any interest that builds while you’re in college and during your six-month grace period, so you’re not responsible for paying any interest accrued during that time. Interest does not capitalize when you enter repayment.
Private student loans. Terms vary by lender, but generally interest builds while you’re in school, and it capitalizes when you enter repayment.
During repayment, interest will continue to accrue for all loan types. It 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 have better interest terms, but they are only available to students who demonstrate financial need on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Unsubsidized federal loans are available to all students who submit the FAFSA, regardless of their circumstance.
Understanding your student loan calculator results
Your monthly bill amount
This is an estimate of the minimum amount you must pay each month during repayment to stay in good standing on your loans.
Amount you borrowed
This is the sum of all the loan amounts you entered.
Accrued interest while in school
This is an estimate of the total interest that will accrue daily on each of your loans, while you’re enrolled in school and during the six-month grace period.
Total owed when repayment begins
This is an estimate of your total student debt when you begin repayment, typically six months after leaving school.
If you have federal loans, it's the amount you borrowed plus any interest that may have accrued while you were in school. If you have private loans, the calculator also assumes that the interest capitalizes when you enter repayment.
This figure 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.
Total you’ll pay over 10 years
This is an estimate of how much you can expect to pay over 10 years, which is the standard repayment term for most federal and private student loans.
Next steps: How to lower your student loan payments
Pay your interest during school
If you have unsubsidized or private student loans, you can lower the amount you’ll repay by making monthly interest payments while still in school. Or, you may opt for a lump sum payment of the total interest that accrued before repayment begins. Either choice will result in a smaller student loan bill.
You can pay more than your minimum each month to pay off your student loans faster. The quicker you finish paying off your debt, the more you’ll save in interest.
If you’re having trouble managing the monthly bills for your federal loans, you can extend the term to 20 or 25 years with an income-driven repayment (IDR) plan. IDR plans lower your monthly loan payments based on your earnings, but they may increase the total interest that accrues during the life of your loan. Your remaining debt is forgiven after your 20- or 25-year repayment term.
Private lenders may allow you to temporarilylower monthly bills. To permanently lower private student loan payments, you’ll need to refinance your student loans. By doing so, you replace your current loan or loans with a new, private loan — ideally at a lower interest rate. You’ll need a credit score in the high 600s and steady income (or a co-signer with these qualifications) to get the lowest advertised rates.
NerdWallet ratingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula for student loan products takes into account more than 50 data points across multiple categories, including repayment options, customer service, lender transparency, loan eligibility and underwriting criteria.
Fixed APR
3.47-17.99%
College Ave Student Loans products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply. (1)All rates include the auto-pay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation. (2)As certified by your school and less any other financial aid you might receive. Minimum $1,000. (3)This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Flat Repayment Option with an 8-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 7.78% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 54 monthly payments of $25 while in school, followed by 96 monthly payments of $176.21 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $18,266.38. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary. Information advertised valid as of 2/3/2025. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of the Flat Repayment Option with the shortest available loan term.
Variable APR
4.54-17.99%
College Ave Student Loans products are made available through Firstrust Bank, member FDIC, First Citizens Community Bank, member FDIC, or M.Y. Safra Bank, FSB, member FDIC. All loans are subject to individual approval and adherence to underwriting guidelines. Program restrictions, other terms, and conditions apply. (1)All rates include the auto-pay discount. The 0.25% auto-pay interest rate reduction applies as long as a valid bank account is designated for required monthly payments. If a payment is returned, you will lose this benefit. Variable rates may increase after consummation. (2)As certified by your school and less any other financial aid you might receive. Minimum $1,000. (3)This informational repayment example uses typical loan terms for a freshman borrower who selects the Flat Repayment Option with an 8-year repayment term, has a $10,000 loan that is disbursed in one disbursement and a 7.78% fixed Annual Percentage Rate (“APR”): 54 monthly payments of $25 while in school, followed by 96 monthly payments of $176.21 while in the repayment period, for a total amount of payments of $18,266.38. Loans will never have a full principal and interest monthly payment of less than $50. Your actual rates and repayment terms may vary. Information advertised valid as of 2/3/2025. Variable interest rates may increase after consummation. Approved interest rate will depend on creditworthiness of the applicant(s), lowest advertised rates only available to the most creditworthy applicants and require selection of the Flat Repayment Option with the shortest available loan term.
NerdWallet ratingNerdWallet's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The scoring formula for student loan products takes into account more than 50 data points across multiple categories, including repayment options, customer service, lender transparency, loan eligibility and underwriting criteria.
Fixed APR
3.49-15.49%
Lowest rates shown include the auto debit. Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment. Advertised APRs are valid as of 1/27/2025. Loan amounts: For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website will be subject to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time. Examples of typical costs for a $10,000 Smart Option Student Loan with the most common fixed rate, fixed repayment option, 6-month separation period, and two disbursements: For a borrower with no prior loans and a 4-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.28% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $182.67 and one payment of $121.71, for a Total Loan Cost of $23,134.44. For a borrower with $20,000 in prior loans and a 2-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.78% fixed APR, 27 payments of $25.00, 179 payments of $132.53 and one payment of $40.35 for a total loan cost of $24,438.22. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment amount may receive a loan term that is less than 10 years. A variable APR may increase over the life of the loan. A fixed APR will not.
Variable APR
4.54-14.71%
Lowest rates shown include the auto debit. Advertised APRs for undergraduate students assume a $10,000 loan to a student who attends school for 4 years and has no prior Sallie Mae-serviced loans. Interest rates for variable rate loans may increase or decrease over the life of the loan based on changes to the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) rounded up to the nearest one-eighth of one percent. Advertised variable rates are the starting range of rates and may vary outside of that range over the life of the loan. Interest is charged starting when funds are sent to the school. With the Fixed and Deferred Repayment Options, the interest rate is higher than with the Interest Repayment Option and Unpaid Interest is added to the loan’s Current Principal at the end of the grace/separation period. To receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate discount, the borrower or cosigner must enroll in auto debit through Sallie Mae. The discount applies only during active repayment for as long as the Current Amount Due or Designated Amount is successfully withdrawn from the authorized bank account each month. It may be suspended during forbearance or deferment. Advertised APRs are valid as of 1/27/2025. Loan amounts: For applications submitted directly to Sallie Mae, loan amount cannot exceed the cost of attendance less financial aid received, as certified by the school. Applications submitted to Sallie Mae through a partner website will be subject to a lower maximum loan request amount. Miscellaneous personal expenses (such as a laptop) may be included in the cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time. Examples of typical costs for a $10,000 Smart Option Student Loan with the most common fixed rate, fixed repayment option, 6-month separation period, and two disbursements: For a borrower with no prior loans and a 4-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.28% fixed APR, 51 payments of $25.00, 119 payments of $182.67 and one payment of $121.71, for a Total Loan Cost of $23,134.44. For a borrower with $20,000 in prior loans and a 2-year in-school period, it works out to a 10.78% fixed APR, 27 payments of $25.00, 179 payments of $132.53 and one payment of $40.35 for a total loan cost of $24,438.22. Loans that are subject to a $50 minimum principal and interest payment amount may receive a loan term that is less than 10 years. A variable APR may increase over the life of the loan. A fixed APR will not.
Credible lets you check with multiple student loan lenders to get rates with no impact to your credit score. Visit their website to take the next steps.
Discretionary income calculator. Use this calculator to determine what you would pay under federal income-driven repayment (IDR) plans, which cap your monthly payments at a set portion of your monthly “discretionary income.”
Weighted average interest rate calculator. 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.
