π Federal Repayment Plan Comparison
Every federal plan, one honest side-by-side.
Cheapest plan total cost
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice.
Borrow $35,000 at 6 percent and the Standard plan costs $388.57 a month, $46,629 total over 10 years. The Extended plan drops the payment to about $225 but the total balloons past $67,000 over 25 years. Income-driven might ask only $263 a month at a $55,000 income, with forgiveness possible at the end. Same loan, wildly different lives.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your federal loan balance, rate, income, and family size. The calculator estimates all four major plan families side by side: Standard, Graduated, Extended, and income-driven.
Enter the combined balance of your federal loans and the weighted average rate.
Enter income and family size. These only affect the income-driven estimate, via discretionary income.
Compare monthly payment against total cost. The cheapest monthly is almost never the cheapest total.
The Plans, Precisely
Standard is the default and the cheapest total for anyone who can afford it. Graduated suits new graduates expecting raises: payments start low and step up. Extended is for large balances that need breathing room, at brutal total cost. IDR ties payments to income and opens the door to forgiveness, modeled in our forgiveness estimator.
Worked Example
$35,000 at 6 percent, $55,000 income, family of one. Standard: $388.57/month, $46,629 total. Extended (25 years): about $225/month, roughly $67,500 total, nearly $21,000 more interest for the lower payment. IDR: discretionary income = 55,000 - 1.5 x $15,650 = $31,525; 10 percent yearly = $3,152.50, or about $263/month. The IDR payment barely covers the $175 monthly interest, so the balance shrinks slowly and forgiveness at year 20 or 25 does the heavy lifting.
The Total-Cost Ranking
| Plan | Monthly (example) | Total paid | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $389 | $46,629 | Anyone who can afford it |
| Graduated | $185 rising to $370 | ~$48,000 | Expecting fast raises |
| Extended | $225 | ~$67,500 | Need low payments, big balance |
| Income-driven | $263 | Varies, forgiveness possible | Lower income, PSLF track |
The standard plan wins on total cost in every scenario where you can make the payment. Extended is the most expensive way to borrow patience: 15 extra years of interest. IDR is the wildcard: cheapest monthly now, with a forgiveness lottery ticket at the end, but the most total interest if your income rises and you pay it off conventionally.
Choosing: A Decision Tree
Can you afford the Standard payment without hardship? Take it. Expecting your income to double in five years? Graduated bridges the gap. Balance over $30,000 and payments crushing you? Extended or IDR for breathing room. Working toward PSLF? IDR is mandatory anyway, since only IDR and Standard payments count and Standard would pay the loan off before forgiveness. Chasing IDR forgiveness without PSLF? Compare the 20-year total against aggressive payoff with our student loan calculator before committing to two decades of payments.
Consolidation: When It Helps
A federal Direct Consolidation Loan merges multiple loans into one payment and one rate (weighted average rounded up). It does not lower your rate, a common misconception, but it can open up IDR plans and PSLF for older FFEL loans, and it extends terms to 30 years for very large balances. Consolidate for simplicity and program access, never for a rate deal. Private refinancing is the opposite trade: possibly a lower rate, but you permanently leave the federal system and its protections.
Which IDR Plan Actually Survives
The IDR menu has been a construction zone. The SAVE plan, the most generous version with its interest subsidy and lower payment formula, was blocked by federal courts in 2024 and its future is uncertain; borrowers enrolled in SAVE have been parked in interest-free forbearance while litigation plays out. PAYE and ICR remain but are closed to new enrollments for many borrowers. Income-Based Repayment (IBR), created by Congress rather than regulation, is the sturdiest option: courts cannot easily kill a statute.
Practical guidance: if you are already on SAVE, stay put in the forbearance and do not consolidate away from it hastily; the $0 months still count toward PSLF and IDR forgiveness under current guidance. New borrowers needing IDR should look at IBR first for its legal durability. Recertify income annually no matter the plan; missed recertification capitalizes interest and spikes payments. And keep every servicer letter: as the legal rules shift, your paper trail is your protection.
Pick the Plan, Then Protect It
Repayment plans are only as durable as their legal footing, so choose the plan that survives court challenges and fits your forgiveness horizon: IBR for legal durability, PAYE-era terms if grandfathered, SAVE only while its forbearance holds. Recertify income every year without fail, keep servicer correspondence forever, and model the tax on any forgiven balance. The borrowers who win at this game are not the ones with the cleverest plan; they are the ones whose paperwork never lapses.
Estimates for planning only, not financial advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the federal student loan repayment plans?
Four families: Standard (fixed, 10 years), Graduated (rising payments, 10 years), Extended (fixed, 25 years, requires $30,000+ balance), and income-driven plans like IBR and PAYE (payments from income, 20-25 years, forgiveness possible). Standard is the default. Your choice also affects forgiveness eligibility: only IDR payments count toward the 20-25 year IDR discharge, and only IDR or Standard payments count for PSLF.
Which repayment plan is cheapest overall?
Standard, almost always. Ten years of higher payments means far less interest than 25 years of lower ones. On $35,000 at 6 percent, Standard totals about $46,600 versus roughly $67,500 for Extended. Only IDR with forgiveness can beat Standard's total, and only for lower-income borrowers.
How is income-driven payment calculated?
Roughly 10 percent of discretionary income divided by 12, where discretionary income is your AGI minus 150 percent of the poverty line for your family size ($15,650 for one person in recent tables). At $55,000 income, family of one: (55,000 - 23,475) x 0.10 / 12 = about $263/month.
What is the graduated repayment plan?
Payments start low, around interest-only, and increase every two years over a 10-year term, ending roughly double the starting amount. It suits borrowers expecting strong income growth. Total cost runs slightly above Standard since early payments barely touch principal. The risk is the back-loaded schedule: if the expected raises do not materialize, the later payments can become unaffordable with no easy way back down.
Who qualifies for the extended repayment plan?
Borrowers with more than $30,000 in federal loans. It stretches payments over 25 years, cutting the monthly bill substantially but adding years of interest. It is breathing room at a steep price, best as a temporary bridge rather than a permanent plan.
Can I switch repayment plans later?
Yes, federal borrowers can change plans, usually once a year or when circumstances change, through their servicer or studentaid.gov. Many borrowers start on IDR or Graduated and switch to Standard as income grows. Unpaid interest may capitalize when you switch, so check before moving.
Do all plans count toward PSLF?
No. Only payments under income-driven plans or the 10-year Standard plan count toward the 120 PSLF payments. Graduated and Extended payments do not count. This is why PSLF seekers must be on IDR: Standard would pay the loan off before forgiveness.
Is the SAVE plan still available?
SAVE has been blocked by court orders since 2024, with enrolled borrowers in forbearance. Its future is uncertain. IBR and PAYE remain the established income-driven options; verify current availability on studentaid.gov before planning around any specific plan. IBR has an edge in durability since Congress created it by statute, while SAVE rested on regulation that courts could strike.
Should I consolidate my federal loans?
Consolidate for simplicity, a single payment, or to make old FFEL loans eligible for IDR and PSLF. Do not expect a lower rate: consolidation uses the weighted average rounded up. It can also reset PSLF progress in some cases, so check the rules before consolidating loans already earning credit.
What happens if my income rises on IDR?
Your payment rises with recertification each year, capped at the 10-year Standard amount on most plans. High earners often pay the loan off before forgiveness, making IDR an expensive detour. Re-run the comparison yearly; switch to Standard when the math flips.