United States · published rates only

Student Loan Refinance Cost: Protect Federal Benefits and Compare Total Repayment

Before refinancing a federal loan

Refinancing a federal student loan with a private lender pays off the federal loan. The new private loan is not eligible for federal income-driven repayment or Public Service Loan Forgiveness. You may also lose federal deferment, forbearance and discharge options. Private lender hardship and discharge terms vary.

If you might use any of those benefits, check your loan type and options with Federal Student Aid before comparing private offers. See the federal benefits checklist and the difference between federal consolidation and private refinancing.

Compare your remaining payments with a written refinance offer using the same balance. Look at total repayment and fees first, then monthly payment, fixed or variable APR, term, and eligibility. A lower monthly bill can cost more over a longer term.

Compare total repaymentExplore published lender terms

Of the 22 lender rows here, 19 publish a rate our checker could read, and 24 products publish both ends of the range. 6 products advertise a “from” rate with no top of range at all.

Where both ends are published, the gap between the interest at the bottom and at the top of one lender's own range is $9,658 at the median, on $30,000 over 10 years.

Compare the full cost of each offer

  1. Record the current balance, APR, remaining term and expected remaining payments. For federal loans, account for any repayment or forgiveness path you may qualify for.
  2. For each private quote, record the actual APR, fixed or variable rate, repayment term, origination or other fees, autopay conditions and borrower eligibility. An advertised minimum APR is not your offer.
  3. Compare total repayment, including applicable fees, against the current path. Use the monthly payment to test affordability, not as the only measure of cost. Variable-rate projections cannot show future rate changes.

How to use this

  1. Find the lender in the list and read the ceiling column, not the advertised floor.
  2. Put your real balance and term into the calculator. Published minimums and the term change the answer more than the lender does.
  3. Read what the advertised rate leaves out before you treat any figure as a quote.

Where the advertised rate is furthest from the top of the range

Navy Federal Credit Union Fixed4.20% to 11.80% APR — $6,791 in interest at the floor, $21,234 at the ceiling, on $30,000 over 10 yearsCollege Ave Fixed6.99% to 13.99% APR — $11,781 in interest at the floor, $25,874 at the ceiling, on $30,000 over 10 yearsCredible Variable3.62% to 10.99% APR — $5,802 in interest at the floor, $19,570 at the ceiling, on $30,000 over 10 yearsNavy Federal Credit Union Fixeda range 7.60 points wide: the advertised 4.20% and the published top of 11.80%Credible Variablea range 7.37 points wide: the advertised 3.62% and the published top of 10.99%Splash Financial Fixeda range 7.25 points wide: the advertised 3.99% and the published top of 11.24%

Autopay and the “from” rate

16 of the computable products state that the published range already includes an autopay discount, so a borrower who does not enrol pays above the printed top. 6 products publish only a starting rate, which is why every table here shows the top of the range and the interest it produces, not the number on the banner.

What this is not

This is not a review site and it is not a lead form. Nothing here is rated, scored or recommended; there are no stars or badges, and we have not borrowed from any of these lenders. Every table is ordered by one computed number and the formula is published in full. No lender has paid to appear here. It is not free of bias either: the editor chose which lenders to hold and which number to sort by, and both choices are written down on the method page so you can disagree with them. Nothing on this site is financial advice.

Questions answered

The ranges above are for private refinancing. These 29 pages cover the rest: the federal rules that changed on July 1, 2026, and what a federal borrower gives up by refinancing with a private lender. The answers come from Federal Student Aid, the Education Department, the CFPB, the IRS, and lenders' own published terms.

Federal or private, and how much you can borrow

Interest, repayment plans, and your monthly budget

When payments get hard

Forgiveness, discharge, bankruptcy, and taxes

Cosigning and refinancing

Start here

Written by Kaz (pen name). Figures are copied from the sources' published pages on the dates shown. We have not used these products. Corrections: contact form.