Free Tool — Borrowing · Created September 18, 2026
Loan Payment Calculator
What any loan actually costs per month, what the interest adds up to, and whether the payment fits the salary — no email required.
Enter a balance, a rate and a term. The calculator returns the monthly payment, the total interest, and — if you fill in an expected salary — what share of a paycheck the payment consumes.
Warning: Fixed-rate, fully amortizing loan with equal monthly payments and interest compounding monthly. Federal Direct rates shown are for loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027[1]; a loan disbursed in an earlier year carries a different fixed rate. Origination fees (1.057% on Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans, 4.228% on PLUS) are deducted at disbursement and are not modeled here — you repay the full amount borrowed, not the smaller amount you received.[1] Income-driven plans do not work this way; their payment is a share of discretionary income, not a level amortized payment.
How to Read Your Numbers
Three things move this math more than anything else.
- The term, not the rate: stretching a loan from 10 years to 20 drops the monthly payment but can roughly double the interest. A lower payment is not a cheaper loan.
- The salary line: the last box is the one that matters most. A payment under about 10 percent of gross monthly pay is generally manageable; well above that and every other goal gets postponed.
- Extra payments: on a fixed-rate loan, anything above the required payment goes to principal after accrued interest is covered, so it shortens the term rather than lowering the bill.
Setting It Up for a Federal Student Loan
For the standard federal repayment plan, use a term of 10 years and the rate that matches when the loan was disbursed. The average balance entering default at the start of 2026 was about $23,500, which is the figure the calculator loads by default.[2]
Two federal specifics the calculator does not model. First, enrolling in automatic payments currently reduces the rate by 1 percent rather than the long-standing 0.25 percent, for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2028 — borrowers not already enrolled have until September 30, 2026 to sign up.[3] To see what that is worth, run the calculator twice and subtract. Second, the reduction stops if the loan moves into forbearance or deferment, or if automatic payments are cancelled.[3]
A borrower already in default cannot simply switch on automatic payments to get the lower rate: default costs you the ability to choose a repayment plan, so the loan has to come out of default first.[4] Our guide to student loan repayment covers standard, income-driven and forgiveness options side by side, and student loans for teens explains what a student can and cannot sign for before turning 18.
If you are still in the saving stage rather than the borrowing stage, the college savings calculator works the same problem from the other end.
References & Resources
- U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Student Loans. Fixed rates for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2026 and before July 1, 2027: 6.52% undergraduate, 8.07% graduate Direct Unsubsidized, 9.07% Direct PLUS; Perkins 5%. Loan fees: 1.057% subsidized/unsubsidized, 4.228% PLUS. See the rates
- EducationData.org. National Student Loan Default Rate. Average balance entering default at the start of 2026: $23,500. Page last updated August 23, 2026. See the data
- U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Larger Temporary Interest Rate Reduction for Borrowers Enrolled in Auto Pay. Reduction rises from 0.25% to 1% on July 1, 2026 for Direct Loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2012; available through June 30, 2028; enrollment deadline 11:59 p.m. ET September 30, 2026. FFEL, HEAL and Perkins loans are not eligible. Read the announcement
- U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Student Loan Delinquency and Default. Direct and FFEL loans are in default after 270 days of missed scheduled payments; consequences include acceleration, loss of deferment and forbearance eligibility, and loss of the ability to choose a repayment plan. Read the guidance
- Federal Loan Simulator — the Department of Education's own tool, which models income-driven plans this calculator does not.