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Education Loan Calculator

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Calculate your education loan EMI, total interest, and moratorium period impact. India-specific calculator for student loans from SBI, HDFC Credila, Axis Bank.

Reviewed by the thecalcu.com team Ā· Last updated 24 July 2026

šŸ‡®šŸ‡³This tool is specific to India

ten lakh rupees

ā‚¹1,00,000ā‚¹2,00,00,000
618
115
05

Monthly EMI

ā‚¹17,537
Total Interest
ā‚¹4.73 L
Total Amount Payable
ā‚¹14.73 L
Interest During Moratorium
ā‚¹90,000

This calculator computes your Monthly EMI, Total Interest, Total Amount Payable, Interest During Moratorium from the values you enter.

Inputs
Loan AmountAnnual Interest RateRepayment TenureMoratorium Period
Outputs
Monthly EMITotal InterestTotal Amount PayableInterest During Moratorium

What is a Education Loan?

The Education Loan Calculator works out your monthly EMI, total interest, and the real cost of your moratorium period for a student loan, instantly, and with the moratorium math handled automatically. Unlike a plain loan EMI calculator, this one accounts for the fact that education loans give you a period where no EMI is due but interest keeps accruing regardless, which changes the numbers meaningfully once repayment actually kicks in.

In India, education loans fund higher education for millions of students heading into engineering, medicine, law, or study abroad. Lenders, from public banks like SBI under the IBA Model Scheme to private players like HDFC Credila and Avanse, build in a moratorium so students can focus on their course before EMIs start. But that moratorium isn't free: interest accrues on the full principal throughout it and gets added to the loan balance at the end, which is what makes education loan planning genuinely different from planning a car loan or a personal loan. Compare results here with the Personal Loan EMI Calculator if you're weighing alternate funding sources for the same expense.

Who Should Use This Calculator?

Students applying for a loan, run the numbers before submitting your application, so you know roughly what EMI you'll be facing a few years from now and whether it's realistic against your expected starting salary.

Parents co-signing or funding the loan themselves, many families choose to service the interest during the moratorium specifically to stop the principal from growing, and this calculator shows exactly how much that monthly interest servicing would cost.

Working professionals already repaying an education loan, model the effect of a lump-sum prepayment; even a modest one, made early, disproportionately reduces the interest you'll pay over the remaining tenure.

Anyone comparing lenders, a rate difference of a few percentage points on a large loan compounds into a genuinely large gap in total interest over 7-8 years, and it's much easier to see that gap as a number than as an abstract rate comparison.

How to use this Education Loan calculator

  1. Enter your Loan Amount, the total sanctioned figure from your lender, or your best estimate of tuition, hostel, and related costs if you're still applying.
  2. Set the Annual Interest Rate exactly as quoted in your sanction letter, since even a small rounding here shifts the EMI noticeably on a large loan.
  3. Adjust Repayment Tenure to the number of years you'll actually be paying EMIs, once the moratorium ends.
  4. Set the Moratorium Period to your course duration plus any grace period your lender allows, for a 2-year program, that's often 2.5 years including a 6-month grace window.
  5. Read the Monthly EMI result and check whether it comfortably fits your projected post-graduation income.
  6. Review Interest During Moratorium to decide whether servicing it during your course, rather than letting it capitalize, makes sense for your cash flow.
Show formula & methodology ā†“Show less ā†‘

Formula & Methodology

The calculation runs in two stages.

Stage 1, moratorium interest capitalization:

Interest During Moratorium = P Ɨ (r Ć· 12) Ɨ M

Outstanding Principal (Pā€²) = P + Interest During Moratorium

Where P is the original loan amount, r is the annual interest rate as a decimal, and M is the moratorium duration in months.

Stage 2, EMI on the adjusted principal:

EMI = Pā€² Ɨ r_m Ɨ (1 + r_m)āæ Ć· ((1 + r_m)āæ āˆ’ 1)

Where r_m is the monthly rate (r Ć· 12) and n is the repayment tenure in months.

Worked example, ā‚¹10 lakh loan, 9% p.a., 7-year tenure, 1-year moratorium:

Stage 1: Interest During Moratorium = 10,00,000 Ɨ (0.09 Ć· 12) Ɨ 12 = ā‚¹90,000; Outstanding Principal = 10,00,000 + 90,000 = ā‚¹10,90,000

Stage 2: r_m = 0.0075, n = 84 months, (1.0075)āøā“ ā‰ˆ 1.8732

EMI = 10,90,000 Ɨ 0.0075 Ɨ 1.8732 Ć· 0.8732 ā‰ˆ ā‚¹17,537/month

Total Payable = 17,537 Ɨ 84 = ā‚¹14,73,108; Total Interest = ā‚¹14,73,108 āˆ’ 10,00,000 = ā‚¹4,73,108

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Treating the original loan amount as the EMI-calculation base is the most common error, the actual base is the principal after moratorium interest has been added, which is always higher than what was originally disbursed. Skipping this step underestimates the real EMI you'll face.

Ignoring the moratorium period entirely, or entering it as 0 when you actually have one, understates total interest significantly, even a 1-2 year moratorium on a large loan adds a meaningful chunk to the principal before repayment even starts. And comparing lenders purely on headline interest rate without factoring in processing fees, prepayment charges, or whether the rate is fixed versus floating can make a seemingly cheaper loan turn out costlier once those extras are added in.

Quick Reference

Moratorium Interest Added (ā‚¹10L @ 9%) Effective Principal
0 years ā‚¹0 ā‚¹10,00,000
1 year ā‚¹90,000 ā‚¹10,90,000
2 years ā‚¹1,88,100 ā‚¹11,88,100

For a month-by-month breakdown of how each EMI splits into principal and interest, or to compare against a home purchase loan, see the Home Loan EMI Calculator; for loans that use simple rather than compound interest, the Simple Interest Calculator applies instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

What exactly is a moratorium period on an education loan?
It's the gap between when your loan is disbursed and when EMI repayment actually begins, typically your course duration plus a 6-12 month grace period after graduation or your first job. You don't pay EMIs during this window, but interest keeps accruing on the outstanding principal the whole time. Most Indian lenders cap the moratorium at around 5 years.
How is the EMI actually worked out once the moratorium ends?
The EMI is calculated on the outstanding principal *after* the moratorium, not the original loan amount. Interest that built up during the moratorium gets added to the principal first, creating a higher effective base, and only then does the standard EMI formula apply to that adjusted number over your repayment tenure.
How does an education loan differ from a personal loan for the same purpose?
Education loans are purpose-specific and typically carry lower rates, often 7-14% p.a. versus 10-24% p.a. for personal loans. They also come with the moratorium option and qualify for Section 80E tax deduction on interest paid, neither of which a personal loan offers. Personal loans disburse immediately with no moratorium and no collateral requirement.
Is interest paid during the moratorium eligible for tax deduction?
Yes, under Section 80E, any interest paid on an education loan qualifies for deduction, whether it's paid during the moratorium or the regular repayment phase. This is available for up to 8 consecutive financial years from when repayment starts, and unusually, there's no upper cap on the amount you can deduct.
How much does a longer moratorium actually cost in extra interest?
Interest accrues on the full principal throughout the moratorium and gets capitalized, folded into the outstanding balance, at the end of it. For a ā‚¹10 lakh loan at 9%, a 1-year moratorium adds ā‚¹90,000 to the principal before EMIs even start, meaning you're paying EMIs on ā‚¹10.90 lakh instead of ā‚¹10 lakh. Compare results with the moratorium set to 0 versus 1 or 2 years to see this cost directly.
What's the maximum education loan I can get in India without collateral?
Most banks extend up to ā‚¹7.5 lakh without collateral, requiring just a co-applicant, usually a parent or guardian. Beyond that threshold, tangible security like immovable property or a government guarantee typically comes into play. Government scheme loans for premier institutions can go considerably higher with more flexible collateral norms.
Can I prepay an education loan before the tenure ends?
Yes, most lenders allow prepayment, and many waive the penalty entirely, particularly for floating-rate loans. Making even a modest lump-sum prepayment during or right after the moratorium, before interest capitalizes, meaningfully cuts your total interest burden. Check your loan agreement for any foreclosure charges, which are usually 0-2% on fixed-rate loans.
What happens to interest that builds up during the moratorium if I don't pay it?
It gets capitalized, added onto your outstanding principal, at the end of the moratorium period. Once that happens, you're effectively paying interest on interest through the rest of the repayment phase, which increases your total outgo. If you have the cash flow to service even part of that interest during your course, it's worth doing since it keeps the principal from growing.
Is a co-applicant mandatory for an education loan?
Yes, most Indian lenders require a co-applicant, typically a parent or guardian, especially for amounts above ā‚¹4 lakh. The co-applicant effectively carries repayment responsibility during the moratorium and shares it afterward. A handful of newer fintech lenders skip this requirement, but usually only once you've already secured employment.
Does a fixed or floating interest rate change how I should use this calculator?
The calculator works the same way for both, just enter the current applicable rate. A fixed rate stays constant for the loan term, giving predictable EMIs, while a floating rate tracks a benchmark like the RBI repo rate and can shift your EMI or tenure over time. Government bank loans are often floating, so it's worth rerunning the calculator whenever your bank notifies you of a rate change.
How do I decide between a shorter and longer repayment tenure?
A shorter tenure means a higher EMI but meaningfully less total interest paid over the life of the loan, while a longer tenure eases monthly cash flow at the cost of a larger interest outgo overall. Try both extremes in the calculator against your expected starting salary, if the shorter-tenure EMI comfortably fits your budget, it's almost always the cheaper path long-term.
Also known as
student loan EMIeducation loan EMIstudy loan calculatorcollege loan EMI