Current loan
- Outstanding balance
- Current annual interest rate
- Current monthly payment
These shared inputs establish the estimated cost of keeping the loan.
A guide to student loan refinancing estimates
Compare a student loan refinance with your current loan.
See what the Aftergrad Ledger refinance savings calculator compares, how it estimates payments and costs, and which real-world factors it leaves out.
Open the refinance savings calculator
Active Premium is required to use the calculator and view its results.
The offers are hypothetical. Results are estimates, not a lender offer, approval, or eligibility decision.
Shared current loan
- Balance
- Annual rate
- Monthly payment
Hypothetical refinance offersAnnual rate · whole-month term · one-time fee
Offer 1Required
Offer 2Optional
Estimated payment, payoff time, interest, total cost & fee break-even
What goes into the comparison
Start with one current U.S. student loan.
The balance, current annual rate, and monthly payment set the keep-current baseline. Each hypothetical offer reuses that balance with its own rate, term, and fee. Enter one required offer, then add a second hypothetical offer if you want another comparison.
Hypothetical offer 1
- Hypothetical annual rate
- Refinance term in whole months
- One-time refinance fee
The offer uses the current balance and its own rate, term, and fee.
Hypothetical offer 2
- Hypothetical annual rate
- Refinance term in whole months
- One-time refinance fee
Add this second offer to compare two hypothetical refinance terms.
Estimates shown for comparison
- Monthly payment and payoff time
- Total interest and total cost, including a refinance fee
- Estimated total-cost and interest differences
- Estimated monthly-payment savings and fee break-even timing
How the calculation works
A steady-rate estimate, month by month.
Keep the entered payment and rate steady.
The baseline holds the entered annual rate and monthly payment constant. Each month, interest accrues on the remaining balance before the payment is applied. The final payment is limited to the amount then due.
Calculate a payment for the entered term.
Each offer holds its hypothetical annual rate steady and calculates a payment to amortize the shared balance over its whole-month term. That calculated monthly payment is rounded up to cents.
One-time fee treatment
The fee is added once to total cost.
It is not added to the refinance balance, monthly payment, or schedule rows. Total interest excludes the fee, and other costs are not modeled.
A simple estimate based on monthly-payment savings.
Break-even months = one-time fee ÷ positive monthly-payment savings
If monthly-payment savings are not positive, the calculator shows no break-even. A zero fee is shown as 0 months. This estimate does not establish whether refinancing lowers total cost or suits your circumstances.
Limits and safeguards
Know what the estimate can—and cannot—show.
When the calculator shows no estimate
For a positive balance, no current-loan estimate is shown when the entered payment is at or below the estimated monthly interest, because that payment does not reduce the balance. The model also stops if payoff would exceed 1,200 months (100 years).
Factors outside this model
The comparison does not model changing rates or payments, deferments, new borrowing, loan-status changes, costs beyond the entered one-time fee, federal protections, or personal circumstances. It cannot promise savings or a particular payoff outcome.
This calculator provides educational estimates, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Review current loan terms and protections with your servicer and qualified advisers.
Ready to compare hypothetical terms?
Bring your current loan details and an offer to compare.
Use the existing calculator to enter the shared balance, rate, and payment, then add one or two hypothetical refinance offers.
Open the refinance savings calculator
Active Premium is required to use the calculator and view results.