What Is the Student Loan Calculator?
This calculator estimates the fixed monthly payment on a student loan along with the total amount you will repay over the life of the loan and the total interest you will pay. It uses the standard fully-amortizing loan formula, the same math used for most installment loans. It applies to any fixed-rate student loan regardless of country — just enter your loan amount, annual interest rate (APR) and term in years.
How to Use It
Enter three values: the loan amount (the principal you borrowed), the annual interest rate as a percentage, and the loan term in years. The calculator converts the APR into a monthly rate and the term into months, then returns your monthly payment, total of all payments, and the total interest portion.
The Formula Explained
The monthly payment is $$M = \frac{P \cdot r (1+r)^n}{(1+r)^n - 1}$$ where \(P\) is the principal, \(r = APR/12\) is the monthly interest rate, and \(n = \text{years} \times 12\) is the number of payments. Total paid is \(M \times n\) and total interest is \(M \times n - P\). If the interest rate is 0%, the payment simply becomes \(P / n\).
Worked Example
Suppose you borrow $20,000 at 5% APR over 10 years. The monthly rate is \(0.05/12 \approx 0.0041667\) and \(n = 120\) months. Plugging into the formula gives a monthly payment of about $212.13. Over 120 months you repay roughly $25,455.79, of which about $5,455.79 is interest.
FAQ
Does this include capitalized interest? No. It assumes a fixed principal with no fees or capitalization during a deferment period.
Can I use it for any currency? Yes — the math is currency-neutral; the dollar sign is just for display.
What if my rate is variable? This tool assumes a fixed rate. For variable-rate loans, run it again with different rates to see a range.
