Student loan repayment calculator online in 2025: assessment of the best student loan in Canada
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A student loan refers to the funds you borrow to assist you throughout your college course with education expenses such as books, tuition, living expenses, etc.
In Canada, a student loan can be extended by the federal government, a provincial authority, or a private financial institution. The major differences are the rates, the term, and the presence or absence of the six-month grace period.
There are two main types of education financial aid in Canada: governmental grants or loans and private student loans or lines of credit.
The governmental programs could be federal and provincial, or territorial.
CSLP is designed for full and part-time students. The applicant should meet the requirements for financial need, and then they could be eligible to get up to 60% of the cost of the tuition in federal loans.
A government loan has a fixed or variable interest rate. You will have a six-month grace period when you graduate, after which you must repay the loan amount plus interest charges to the government.
CSGP provides students with the federal financial support they don't have to pay back. Students should apply for grants and demonstrate difficulties with funding. If they comply with all criteria, there is an opportunity to apply for grants for students who are disabled or have dependents.
Provincial and Territorial Student Financial Assistance is a solution for borrowers who exceed their federal benefits or are denied access to CSLP and CSGP. It may be combined with federal student aid or provided along with it. In addition, some of them have financial aid programs with no interest charges.
Borrowers apply with their province or territory of residence. The available amount is calculated when you apply.
You should choose one program in Yukon to participate in CSGP, CSLP, or Yukon grant. But you may receive the Yukon Grant combined with other financial aid.
The Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Quebec CSLP, and CSGP are unavailable. Visit student assistance and funding offices to apply to their aid programs.
The payments should often be made when your loan is issued or after a grace period, depending on the lender.
The conditions and terms of lenders who provide private loans may be more flexible than provincial and federal loans. Unlike federal student loans, private loans are usually quicker but harder to qualify.
However, Canadian student loans usually offer the lowest interest rates, and they rarely go with additional fees. Also, the repayment periods are much more extended than personal loans typically provide.
In some situations, you may have to make a combination of the two or several loans. Not only CSLP/ CSGP and Provincial or Territorial educational finance assistance (if your province of residence allows it) but also a private student loan if your governmental loans don’t cover all of your expenses.
The types of funding available through the Direct Loans Program are Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans (previously Stafford Loans), and Direct PLUS Loans for parents of dependent undergraduate students (previously Parent PLUS Loans).
Usually, there are three stages of a student loan.
It means you don't need to repay your loans, but the interest may start to accrue. Any unpaid interest will be capitalized and included in your principal balance at the time of consolidation.
Within these six months, you can:
Making repayments during your study or non-repayment period is an option to save on interest in the long run. This is because it will cut down the principal while at the same time decreasing the total interest you must cover in the future.
Register with the National Student Loans Service Center Online Services to customize your repayment, negotiate repayments amount and get payment assistance. Set up a payment schedule that could suit your current life and financial situation.
If your loan was funded directly into your bank account, you are automatically set up for pre-authorized debit. In addition, you can use online banking, cheques, or bank drafts as a payment method.
It's better to arrange direct debit and ensure you have enough money in your bank account for sufficient installments. Missing payments could hurt your credit score, and your loans could result in default and legal action.
If you default on your governmental loan by missing student loan payments for 270 days or more, your loan will be sent for collection. Private student loan debt may have other terms, but it also will end up at the collection agencies and bad credit.
Contact the NSLSC, your provincial Canada Student loan assistance office, bank, or other financial institution before you miss a payment. Some repayment options are available to manage your repayments and avoid default.
If you cannot pay back your federal loan, you can apply to access the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). With RAP, you may qualify for zero or lowered repayments. Also, there could be an opportunity to apply for RAP for students with permanent disabilities, Medical and Parental Leave, and others.
A student loan repayment calculator is an online tool designed to determine your estimated monthly payment, total payments, and interest.
You could find a Loan Repayment Estimator on the official website of the Government of Canada or other private online calculators. In addition, you may estimate provincial or territorial student loan payments using the student loan calculator at the financial aid program's site.
To calculate your potential monthly payment and total loan amount, use the Loan Repayment Estimator.
Fill out the total amount of your loan at the end of your studies.
Select a type of rate (fixed or variable interest rate).
Input the prime rate.
Choose the non-repayment period (with or without six months of no interest payments).
Enter the repayment loan term in months.
You could compare loans by filling out the same information about another repayment option.
Click the «Calculate» button and review the results.
You will see the monthly payment amount, total interest, and total amount to be paid.
For example, if you borrow $10,000 for ten years (average term) for 3% (average rate), you must pay in total $12,727.86. Therefore, the total interest within the life of a loan will be $2,727.86, and the monthly payment is $106.07 (if payable through 120 monthly payments).
You could use any other Student loan calculator, but they may not be so detailed. Provincial calculators are specified for their programs.
All tools are for informational purposes only. Your actual borrowing amount, repayment amount, total amount, and interest may differ.
Start from federal financial support programs. If you use Student Aid Estimator, you can find out the possible loan amount you may receive. It is calculated this way: the estimated education costs minus all your financial resources, including financial aid.
Using the Loan Repayment estimator, you could compare estimated monthly payments from different repayment options. Even if compared loans have the same interest rate and amounts, conditions, benefits, and loan terms may differ.
The current interest rate on the CSLP is the prime rate. The five Canadian largest banks set it in conjunction with the Bank of Canada rates. The interest rates are negotiated for a fixed-interest repayment plan when the loan is taken for the whole repayment period: prime rate + 2%. Variable-rate is fluctuating with the prime rate.
The value will increase if you choose the fixed-rate option to calculate your interest. But using the variable-rate option is unpredictable: whatever may happen within 5 or 10 years of your loan life.
Provincial and Territorial programs have their conditions and various rates. For example, residents of Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, have access to the 0% interest repayment plan.
You could choose your type and value of the interest rate to input into the calculator. The variable rate is usually prearranged for federal student loans. A student loan calculator will assist you in understanding the true cost of a loan. Change the number of payments, loan term, and variable rate for a fixed rate, and you will see that the amount of your monthly payments, total interest, and cost within the life of a loan has changed too.
A student loan calculator will have an amortization schedule or/and table of comparison for easy understanding and data visualization.
If you don't qualify for federal student loans, choose several offers from private lenders, compare using the calculator, and look at which — variable or fixed — rate and repayment term works best for your financial needs and situation. Consider additional origination fees, which calculators may also compute.
Some calculators allow you to add extra payments to evaluate the loan balance changes. It's especially helpful when you want to compare your loan options for the upcoming school year.
Pay attention that the private student loan rates aren't as affordable as governmental programs rates. It usually depends on your financial situation, credit history, or/and cosigner. A credit check is also required for private student loans. But still, they have lower interest rates than regular personal loans.
Use all the available options: grants, loans, scholarships, and repayment benefits to get affordable education funding and save money.
Depending on the interest rate and loan term, the monthly payments will be more than $500. For example, with a current prime rate of 3,7%, the monthly payments for ten years of $50,000 are $547.6.
A standard repayment term for a federal student loan is ten years, and it may vary for a private student loan. It could take between 15 and 20 years to pay off a $100,000 student loan balance or longer if you need lower monthly payments.
In Canada, if you file for bankruptcy after seven years of the last day of study, your student loan is eligible for discharge. In some rare cases, it could be allowed by the court to release the student debt after five years.
