What Is the Student Loan Payment Calculator?
This calculator estimates the fixed monthly payment required to fully repay a student loan over a set term. Enter your loan balance, annual interest rate, and repayment length, and it returns your monthly payment along with the total amount paid and total interest over the life of the loan. It uses the standard amortizing loan formula and applies to any fixed-rate installment loan, regardless of country.
How to Use It
Provide three inputs: the loan amount (your current outstanding balance), the annual interest rate as a percentage, and the term in years. The tool converts the annual rate to a monthly rate and the term to a number of months, then computes the level payment that pays off the balance exactly at the end of the term.
The Formula Explained
The monthly payment is $$M = \dfrac{P \cdot r}{1 - (1 + r)^{-n}}$$ where P is the principal, r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate divided by 12, expressed as a decimal), and n is the total number of monthly payments (years \(\times\) 12). If the interest rate is zero, the payment is simply the principal divided by the number of months.
Worked Example
Suppose you borrow $30,000 at 5% annual interest over 10 years. The monthly rate is \(0.05 \div 12 \approx 0.0041667\) and \(n = 120\) months. Plugging in: $$M = \frac{30{,}000 \times 0.0041667}{1 - 1.0041667^{-120}} \approx \$318.20$$ per month. Over 120 payments you pay about $38,184 total, of which roughly $8,184 is interest.
FAQ
Does this include income-driven repayment plans? No. This tool models a standard fixed-amortization plan. Income-driven plans cap payments based on earnings and follow different rules.
Can I use it for any currency? Yes — the math is currency-agnostic. Enter amounts in whatever currency your loan is denominated in.
Why does total interest seem high? Longer terms and higher rates dramatically increase total interest. Try a shorter term to see how much you can save.
