Student Loan Payoff Calculator
Example: Current loan balance: 30000 $ · Interest rate (APR): 6.53 % · Monthly payment: 400 $
| Months to pay off | 97 |
| Total interest paid | $8,513 |
| Total amount paid | $38,513 |
Worked example
Take a $30,000 loan at 6.53% with a $400 monthly payment. It clears in about 93 months — just under eight years — and costs roughly $7,100 in interest, for about $37,100 paid in total. Raising the payment to $500 a month cuts the term to about 70 months and saves more than $1,700 in interest. The size of the monthly payment is the single biggest lever you control.
Frequently asked questions
What if my payment barely covers the interest?
If your monthly payment is less than or equal to the interest accruing each month, the balance never falls and the calculator returns zero months. This is how borrowers on very low payments can watch a balance grow. You must pay more than the monthly interest to make real progress.
What is a typical federal student loan rate?
Federal student loan interest rates are set each year by law and vary by loan type and year of disbursement. Check your servicer or studentaid.gov for the exact rate on each loan, and enter a weighted average if you are combining several.
Does paying extra early help more?
Yes, dramatically. Because interest is charged on the remaining balance, every extra dollar you pay early avoids years of future interest on that dollar. Run the tool with a higher payment to see how much faster and cheaper the payoff becomes.
Should I pay off loans or invest instead?
Compare your loan rate to the return you could realistically earn elsewhere. A high-rate private loan is usually worth attacking first, while a low-rate subsidized federal loan may be reasonable to pay slowly while you invest the difference.