Student Loan Payoff Calculator
See what an extra amount each week does to your payoff date, and what it saves in interest.
How to pay your student loan off faster
Three ways to send more principal. They stack, and each one updates the numbers on the right.
Paying half the monthly amount every two weeks makes 13 payments a year instead of 12. Tick this to set your own amount.
A refund or bonus put straight at the balance, once a year.
About $108 a month, because a year holds 52 weeks rather than 48. This is the number Pace frees up: what is left after bills, as one weekly figure.
Finding the extra is the hard part, not the arithmetic. Pace counts your bills first and shows what is genuinely free to spend this week, so the money you put at this balance is money you already knew you could spare.
Find your weekly numberEstimates are educational. They assume a fixed rate and a fixed payment, and they exclude fees. Pace is budgeting software, not a financial advisor.
Before you send extra at a student loan
Student loans are the one debt where paying extra is not automatically the right move, and any calculator that does not say so is being careless with your money.
If you are on an income-driven repayment plan working toward forgiveness, extra payments reduce the balance that would eventually have been forgiven. You are spending your own money to shrink someone else's write-off. The arithmetic on this page is still correct, but it is answering the wrong question for you.
If you are on a standard plan with no forgiveness in view, the maths is ordinary: extra payments cut the term and the interest, and the slider above shows by how much. Two further details worth checking with your servicer. Ask that extra payments be applied to principal, because the default is often to advance your due date instead. And with multiple loans at different rates, direct the extra at the highest rate rather than letting it spread evenly.
Frequently asked questions
- Should I pay extra on student loans if I am pursuing forgiveness?
- Usually no. On an income-driven plan aiming at forgiveness, extra payments reduce a balance that was going to be forgiven, so the money buys you nothing. Confirm your plan and your forgiveness track before sending extra.
- How do I make sure extra payments go to principal?
- Tell your servicer in writing to apply extra to principal and not to advance the due date. Many servicers default to advancing the date, which feels like progress while the balance barely moves.
- Which loan should I target first with extra payments?
- The highest interest rate, if the goal is to pay the least overall. Splitting the extra across every loan is the most common mistake and the least effective option.
- Does refinancing beat paying extra?
- Refinancing federal loans into a private loan permanently gives up income-driven plans, forbearance options and forgiveness. That is a large thing to trade for a lower rate. Paying extra keeps every option open.
- How do I pay off student loans faster?
- Pay every two weeks, add one extra payment a year, or add a set amount each week, and tell your servicer to apply the extra to principal rather than advancing your due date. Aim it at the highest-rate loan first. Check your repayment plan before doing any of it, because on an income-driven plan chasing forgiveness this can cost you money.
- Do biweekly payments help with student loans?
- They produce 13 monthly payments a year instead of 12, which shortens the loan. Confirm your servicer applies each payment on arrival rather than holding it until a full monthly amount has built up, because a held payment does nothing until it lands.
More calculators
See the full set on the calculators page.