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Student Loan Repayment Plan Comparison

Compare major federal student loan repayment plans side-by-side. Calculate monthly payments, interest totals, and forgiveness under Standard, SAVE, and IBR.

Last Updated: May 2026
Live Interactive Calculator

Loan & Income Configuration

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Federal Repayment Plans Side-by-Side

Fixed TermStandard

10-Year Standard

Fixed monthly payments calculated to satisfy the full loan balance over 120 months.

Monthly Payment$326
Total Interest$9069
Total Cost$39069
Tiered TermGraduated

10-Year Graduated

Payments start low and increase by 25% every two years, resulting in higher lifetime interest.

Starting Payment$195
Ending Payment$477
Total Cost$38477
Best IDR PlanSAVE

SAVE IDR Plan

Monthly payment capped at 7.5% discretionary income above 225% poverty guideline. Remaining interest subsidized.

Monthly Payment$101
Interest Subsidy+$37/mo
Forgiveness$5828
Income TermIBR

IBR Plan

Monthly payment capped at 10% discretionary income above 150% poverty guideline. Forgiven after 20 years.

Monthly Payment$228
Total Paid (20y)$54820
Forgiveness$0
Linguistic and Financial Note: Discretionary income for SAVE is based on 225% of the 2024 Federal Poverty Level (FPL) which totals $33,885 for your family size. Earnings under this baseline result in a $0 monthly student loan payment.
100% In-Browser Privacy Guard: SnapTool handles student loan balances, AGI inputs, family sizes, and plan projections entirely within your browser. Absolutely zero loan values or earnings metrics are transmitted to tracking systems.

How to Compare Your Repayment Plans

  1. 1

    Input Total Loan Balance

    Type in your total student loan balance and your current interest rate (APY) as detailed in your federal dashboard.

  2. 2

    Add Income & Household size

    Enter your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and select your family size. These metrics are required to calculate income-driven (SAVE / IBR) structures.

  3. 3

    Review side-by-side comparison

    Our engine solves the payments for all 4 major plans instantly, detailing monthly costs, interest burdens, interest subsidies, and projected forgiveness timelines.

The Strategic Value of Income-Driven Repayment

Managing student loan debt is a major challenge for millions of graduates. Choosing the wrong repayment plan can lead to severe budget strain or, conversely, thousands of dollars in unnecessary interest accumulation. The federal government offers several plans to align your payments with your financial capabilities. Discretionary-income-based plans (like the SAVE plan and standard Income-Driven Repayment plans) offer maximum safety nets — ensuring that if your income drops below certain thresholds, your monthly payment falls to $0 without defaulting. Our Student Loan Repayment Calculator takes the complexity out of these options by offering side-by-side transparency instantly.

How Federal Poverty Guidelines Impact Your Payments

Federal poverty guidelines are updated annually by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These indices serve as the foundation for calculating 'discretionary income' under federal student loan regulations. Under IBR guidelines, 150% of the poverty line is protected as essential living expenses. Under the SAVE plan, the protected baseline expands to 225%, shielding a larger portion of your income from monthly student debt collections.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the new SAVE student loan plan?

The SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) plan is the newest, highly favorable federal Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan. It calculates monthly payments based on 5% (undergrad loans) or 10% (grad loans) of your discretionary income above 225% of the Federal Poverty Level. Critically, it fully subsidizes unpaid monthly interest, preventing your overall loan balance from growing.

How is discretionary income calculated for student loans?

Discretionary income is calculated by taking your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) and subtracting a protected baseline percentage of the Federal Poverty Guideline for your family size. For the IBR plan, this baseline is 150% of poverty, whereas for the SAVE plan, the protection increases to 225% of poverty, resulting in much lower monthly payments.

What is the difference between Standard and Graduated plans?

The Standard 10-Year plan divides your loan balance into 120 equal, fixed monthly payments to satisfy the debt. The Graduated plan starts with lower monthly payments that increase by 20% to 30% every two years over the 10-year term. While Graduated offers temporary short-term relief, it accumulates more interest over time.

Does this calculator support private student loans?

Yes. While the SAVE and IBR plans are federal programs that do not apply to private loans, you can use the Standard 10-Year calculation block to solve for private loan amortized fixed payments and interest costs by inputting your private balance and interest rate.

Is my personal financial information secure?

Absolutely. SnapTool operates entirely client-side: all interest compounding, discretionary income deductions, and side-by-side repayment comparisons are calculated locally inside your web browser. No private salary or debt details are ever transmitted.

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