Student Loan Calculator
Compare student loan repayment plans including Standard, Extended, Graduated, and Income-Based Repayment (IBR).
| Plan | Monthly Pmt | Total Paid | Total Interest | Term |
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Compare Standard, Extended, Graduated, and Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plans side by side to see how each affects your monthly payment and total interest over the life of a student loan.
How Student Loan Calculator Works
If you have a grace period before repayment begins, interest still accrues on the unpaid balance each month during that stretch, compounding at the monthly rate — so the balance you actually start repaying is higher than what you originally borrowed. The Standard plan then amortizes that balance over 10 years and the Extended plan over 25 years, both using the same fixed-payment formula as a typical installment loan.
The Graduated plan starts at roughly 60% of the Standard payment and steps the payment up every two years by a fixed growth factor, so payments rise over time while the loan is still fully retired within 10 years — designed for borrowers expecting rising income. The Income-Based (IBR) plan instead sets your payment at 10% of discretionary income, where discretionary income is your annual income minus 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size, spread over a 20-year term.
All four plans are calculated from the same post-grace-period balance and displayed together in a comparison table, so you can weigh a lower payment today against the extra total interest that a longer or income-based schedule typically produces.
See It In Action
Who Uses Student Loan Calculator and Why
- Comparing Standard, Extended, Graduated, and Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plans side by side for the same loan balance.
- Seeing how much a grace period before repayment begins actually adds to the balance through accrued interest.
- Estimating an IBR payment based on income, family size, and the federal poverty guideline calculation.
- Weighing a lower monthly payment now (Extended, Graduated, or IBR) against the extra total interest it costs over a longer term.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Assuming the loan balance during repayment matches the original amount borrowed — if there's a grace period, interest keeps accruing on the unpaid balance each month unless the loan is subsidized, so the balance you actually start repaying is higher than what was originally borrowed.
- Picking Extended or Graduated purely because the payment is lower without checking the total interest cost — Standard usually costs the least in total interest since it pays off fastest, while the other plans lower monthly payments at the cost of more interest over a longer term.
- Treating the IBR figure as your exact federal servicer number — this calculator uses approximated federal poverty guidelines and standard formulas, and actual federal repayment amounts can vary since poverty guidelines update annually and servicers may round or apply rules differently.
Tips for Best Results
- Use the comparison table to weigh affordability now (lower payment plans) against total cost over time (Standard), rather than picking a plan on monthly payment alone.
- If you expect rising income, look closely at how the Graduated plan's stepped-up payments compare to IBR's income-tied payment before choosing between them.
Fixing Common Problems
My starting repayment balance is higher than what I originally borrowed. — This is expected if you have a grace period before repayment begins — interest accrues on the unpaid balance during that stretch unless the loan is subsidized, so the balance grows before you make a single payment.
Terms Explained
Grace period: A stretch of time after leaving school before repayment begins, during which interest may still accrue on the unpaid balance.
Discretionary income: Annual income minus 150% of the federal poverty guideline for your family size, used as the basis for the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) payment calculation.