Education loan calculator

See your real EMI and total interest, accounting for staged disbursement and the moratorium period.

Last reviewed: August 2026 · Figures are estimates for general planning only — see the explanation below for this calculator's specific assumptions.

Total sanctioned loan (₹)

Course duration

4 years

Interest rate

9% p.a.

Compounding frequency

Moratorium period (after course ends)

During the moratorium

Repayment period (after moratorium)

10 years

Loan disbursed: ₹10,00,000 (48%)Interest: ₹10,85,974 (52%)

borrowing ₹10,00,000 for a course lasting 4 years, the loan is fully disbursed by the end of the course. Across the course and moratorium, about ₹0 was paid out of pocket, leaving a loan balance of ₹13,72,253 when repayment begins. The EMI works out to about ₹17,383 per month, for a total interest cost of about ₹10,85,974 over the life of the loan. See how this compares to a regular loan with no moratorium period

Why this is different from most education loan calculators

Most calculators just ask for the loan amount, interest rate, and tenure — as if the whole loan lands in your account on day one. Real education loans don’t work that way: the bank pays the money out in instalments as your course progresses, so the part paid out in your first year has been earning interest much longer than the part paid out in your final year, by the time you start repaying. This calculator tracks each instalment separately, so the numbers reflect how the loan actually grows — not a simplified average.

The three phases of an education loan

1. Disbursement — the loan is paid out once a year through your course, not all at once. 2. Moratorium — the "no EMI required" period covering your course plus a grace period after it, during which you can pay nothing (interest keeps adding to the loan), pay just the interest each month (the loan amount itself stays the same), or pay the full EMI from the start (interest and some principal both, so the loan is already shrinking before official repayment even begins). 3. Repayment — once the moratorium ends, you start paying a regular EMI that covers both principal and interest, just like an ordinary loan.

What this simplifies

Disbursement is assumed to be equal yearly instalments — some banks disburse by semester or on a custom schedule, which this doesn’t model. During the moratorium, this only covers "pay nothing" or "pay interest only," not arbitrary partial payments, since those vary too much to generalize into one calculator. Processing fees are left out entirely, as a minor one-time cost that doesn’t change the shape of the repayment profile shown here.

A note on "pay the full EMI" and compounding frequency

If you choose to pay the full EMI from the start, the compounding frequency setting above doesn’t apply — an EMI is a monthly payment that settles that month’s interest in full every time, so there’s never any unpaid interest left to compound. That option is calculated as its own straightforward monthly amortization instead.

Frequently asked questions

Why does paying interest during my course lower my final EMI?

Because interest that’s paid immediately never gets added to your loan balance — so it never compounds into a bigger balance you have to repay later. Choosing "pay nothing" lets that interest quietly stack onto your loan, so by the time EMI starts, you owe more than you originally borrowed, and your EMI reflects that larger amount.

What does "interest added to the loan" (capitalized interest) mean?

It means interest that wasn’t paid, so the bank adds it to your loan balance instead — from that point on, you’re paying interest on that interest too, not just on your original loan amount. It’s a completely normal, common part of how education loans work, not a penalty.

Why does it matter that the loan is disbursed gradually, not all at once?

Because the part of the loan disbursed in your first year accrues interest for much longer than the part disbursed in your final year, by the time you start repaying. A calculator that assumes the whole loan was disbursed on day one will overstate how much interest you’ve built up — or misrepresent your actual repayment profile either way.

Which moratorium payment option should I choose?

Paying the full EMI from the start costs the least overall, since it pays down both interest and principal before official repayment even begins — but it also means the highest monthly outflow while you’re still studying. Interest-only sits in the middle: it stops interest from compounding into a bigger loan, at a lower monthly cost than a full EMI. "Pay nothing" is the lowest monthly burden during your studies, but the most expensive option overall, and it’s still a completely standard, common choice — most lenders default to it.

What does "pay the full EMI from the start" mean?

It means paying the same EMI you’d eventually pay anyway (calculated on the full sanctioned loan amount), starting as soon as the first instalment is disbursed, rather than waiting for the moratorium to end. Each payment covers that month’s interest first, and whatever is left over reduces the loan balance — so by the time official repayment begins, a meaningful part of the loan may already be paid off.

Common questions answered

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