● Money & small business
Standard vs extended vs graduated student loan repayment: what each really costs
The repayment plan you pick sets two numbers at once: your monthly payment and the total interest you pay. A lower payment almost always means more interest, because the balance stays high for longer. Here is one loan repaid three ways, month by month, with interest charged on the balance each month and rounded to the cent. You can run your own balance in the student loan payoff calculator.
One loan, three plans
$48,500 at 6.05%, first payment in November 2026:
| Plan | Monthly payment | Years | Total interest | Total paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $539.67 | 10 | $16,260.12 | $64,760.12 |
| Graduated (+10% every 2 years) | $452.24 rising to $662.12 | 10 | $17,763.18 | $66,263.18 |
| Extended | $313.97 | 25 | $45,690.92 | $94,190.92 |
The extended plan lowers the payment by $225.70 a month, but it costs $29,430.80 more in interest than the standard plan: almost three times as much. The graduated plan finishes in the same 10 years as the standard one and costs $1,503.06 more, because the early payments are lower and more of the balance is left to charge interest on.
Why the first years matter
In the first 12 months, each plan pays about the same interest (between $2,834 and $2,911), because the balance barely differs yet. What differs is how much of the balance you pay off:
| Plan | Interest, year 1 | Balance paid off, year 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $2,834.37 | $3,641.67 |
| Graduated | $2,863.95 | $2,562.93 |
| Extended | $2,910.75 | $856.89 |
On the extended plan, about 77 cents of every dollar paid in the first year goes to interest.
How the graduated payments step up
With a 10% increase every two years, the five payment levels are $452.24, $497.46, $547.21, $601.93 and $662.12. The starting payment is whatever makes the loan finish on time. Your servicer sets the real steps, so treat these as an estimate. Federal rules also require every payment to cover at least the interest, and no payment to be more than three times another.
What an extra payment does
On the standard plan, any amount on top of $539.67 goes straight to the balance:
| Extra each month | Debt-free after | Total interest | Interest saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | 10 years | $16,260.12 | – |
| $50 | 8 years 11 months | $14,299.94 | $1,960.18 |
| $100 | 8 years | $12,769.37 | $3,490.75 |
| $250 | 6 years 2 months | $9,686.25 | $6,573.87 |
| $500 | 4 years 6 months | $6,932.17 | $9,327.95 |
Add a $1,500 tax refund each April to the $250 a month and the loan is gone in 5 years 3 months, with $8,056.35 of interest: $8,203.77 less than the standard plan alone. If money is tight now, a lower-payment plan with extra payments when you can afford them keeps your options open, but only the extra payments bring the interest down.
Which plans you can still choose
A 2025 federal law changed the plans for new loans. Federal loans made before July 1, 2026 can still use the standard (10-year), extended and graduated plans. Loans made on or after July 1, 2026 get a tiered standard plan instead: 10, 15, 20 or 25 years depending on how much you owe (under $25,000; $25,000 to $49,999; $50,000 to $99,999; $100,000 or more), or the new income-based Repayment Assistance Plan. Borrowing a new federal loan after that date moves all your loans to the new rules. Under the tiered plan this $48,500 loan would be on a 15-year schedule. Check your options with your servicer.
What this leaves out
- Income-driven plans (including the Repayment Assistance Plan) and forgiveness programs, where the payment depends on income.
- Interest that builds up during school, deferment or forbearance.
- Several loans at different rates: use the total and the weighted average rate, or look at each loan separately. Extra payments save the most on the highest-rate loan.
All figures come from the same month-by-month schedule, checked independently to the cent. They're a worked example, not advice.