Compare your current student loan with a refinance offer and see whether the switch actually saves you money after fees, not just whether the payment drops.
Student loan refinance calculator
At these numbers, refinancing costs you more overall. A longer term or a fee can wipe out a lower rate.
The new loan runs longer than what you have left, so you'd make more payments even though the total comes out lower.
Federal loans? Refinancing them with a private lender gives up federal protections for good: RAP and other income-driven plans, PSLF and other forgiveness, federal deferment and forbearance, and federal discharges. Read our refinancing guide before you apply.
Estimates only. Your servicer or lender sets your actual payment.
Get a real rate to plug in with Splash Financial
- See offers from Splash’s lending partners with a soft credit pull. Continuing to apply leads to a hard pull.
- No application fees, no origination fees and no prepayment penalties.
- Fixed terms of 5 to 20 years and variable terms of 5 to 25 years. Minimum $5,000.
- Best fit: private loans, a four-year degree, and credit of 700 or higher.
Splash Financial is a marketplace, not the lender. Your loan comes from one of its lending partners, and some are credit unions you’d need to join. Not all rates and amounts are available in every state. If you refinance federal loans through Splash, you lose federal benefits for good.
How to use it
Start with your current loan’s balance and rate, plus either the months you have left or what you pay each month. Your lender or servicer shows both in your account.
For the new loan, use a rate a lender actually offered you, not the lowest rate in an ad. Lenders that prequalify you, like Splash Financial, show a rate with a soft credit pull. Then pick the term you’d choose.
If the lender charges anything to refinance, put it under fees. Enter 0 if it charges none.
How the refinance math works
Both loans use the standard loan formula. Total interest is everything you’d pay over the life of the loan minus the balance.
Net savings is the interest left on your current loan, minus the interest on the new loan, minus fees. That’s the number that matters. The monthly payment can go down while the total goes way up.
Break-even is the first month where the interest you’ve saved covers the fees. With no fees, you’re ahead from the first month the new rate is lower. If the new loan costs more in total, there’s no break-even, and the calculator says so.
Before you refinance federal loans
Refinancing moves federal loans to a private lender for good. You give up RAP and the other income-driven plans, PSLF and other forgiveness, federal deferment and forbearance, the RAP interest waiver and $50 match, and federal discharges for death or disability.
A lower rate rarely makes up for that if your income is shaky or you work in public service. Read should you refinance your student loans before you apply.
Three examples
All three use the same private loan: $40,000 at 7.5% with 10 years left, so the current payment is $474.81 and $16,976.85 of interest is still to come. The new rates are made-up offers, not quotes.
Example: same 10 years, 5.5% rate
- New payment
- $434.11/mo
- Monthly change
- $40.70 less
- Interest on new loan
- $12,092.61
- Net savings
- $4,884.24
How we got it: a lower rate over the same term is the clean win. You pay less each month and less in total, and with no fee you’re ahead from month one.
Example: stretch to 20 years at 6.5%
- New payment
- $298.23/mo
- Monthly change
- $176.58 less
- Interest on new loan
- $31,575.02
- Net cost
- $14,598.17 more
How we got it: the rate drops a point, but doubling the term more than doubles the interest. The payment looks great and the deal is bad. Only do this if you need the breathing room, and pay extra when you can.
Example: shorten to 5 years at 5%
- New payment
- $754.85/mo
- Monthly change
- $280.04 more
- Interest on new loan
- $5,290.96
- Net savings
- $11,685.89
How we got it: with the shorter term and a lower rate (both assumed), you pay the loan off in half the time. It saves the most, but only if the bigger payment fits your budget every month.
Where to go next
Our guide to refinancing student loans covers who qualifies and how to compare lenders. If your loans are federal and you mainly want one bill, federal consolidation keeps the protections, and our consolidation calculator shows the new rate.
Not sure refinancing beats just paying extra? Run the same loan through our payoff calculator and compare.
Refinance calculator FAQ
Compare total interest, not just the monthly payment. If the new loan’s interest plus any fees comes in under the interest left on your current loan, you save. A lower payment from a longer term can cost you thousands more.
Only if you’re sure you won’t need federal protections. Refinancing federal loans with a private lender permanently gives up income-driven plans like RAP, PSLF and other forgiveness, federal deferment and forbearance, and federal discharges.
It’s the month when the interest you’ve saved covers what you paid to refinance. With no fees, you’re ahead from the first month the new rate is lower. If the new loan costs more in total, there’s no break-even.
At Splash Financial, checking your rate is a soft credit pull that doesn’t affect your credit score, and continuing to apply leads to a hard pull. Ask any other lender which kind of pull it uses before you start.
No. Federal consolidation combines federal loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan and keeps them federal. Refinancing is a new private loan that pays off old loans, federal or private. Private loans can’t go into a Direct Consolidation Loan.
Estimates only. Your servicer or lender sets your actual payment. Both loans use fixed rates and interest figured monthly. Fees are paid up front, and offers depend on your credit and income.
Sources (4)
We use primary sources: Federal Student Aid and the lender’s own pages.
- Federal Student Aid. Financial aid dictionary. studentaid.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Federal Student Aid. Federal versus private loans. studentaid.gov. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Splash Financial. Student loan refinancing. splashfinancial.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.
- Splash Financial. Disclaimers. splashfinancial.com. Accessed October 22, 2026.