IN DEVPaydown
Which student-loan repayment plan should you be on now? The answer, with its working.
The federal repayment menu changed in July 2026. New loans - including new consolidation loans - can only use the Repayment Assistance Plan or a tiered Standard plan, the older income-driven plans close on July 1, 2028, and forgiveness at the end of an income-driven plan is taxable again. Which of that applies to you depends on when each loan was made, what kind it is, and what you've done with it. Paydown reads the aid file you download from StudentAid.gov on your phone, sorts every loan by the rules that apply to it, asks six short questions about your income, household and public-service work, then simulates every plan you're eligible for month by month to payoff or forgiveness. Rank them by lifetime cost, monthly payment or speed. Tap a plan to see the payment worked line by line with the statute each line comes from. Trap alerts - a consolidation that forfeits a plan, a plan whose payments don't count for PSLF, the Parent PLUS window - are always free.
Everything Paydown does well.
Every plan you can still pick
RAP, IBR, tiered Standard and the plans that end in 2028 - simulated to payoff or forgiveness.
The math, shown
Each payment worked line by line, with the statute each line comes from.
Traps, caught first
Consolidations that forfeit a plan, payments that don't count for PSLF, the Parent PLUS window. Always free.
What if
A new job, marriage, a child, leaving public service - see how the best plan changes.
A repayment plan is a decision worth tens of thousands of dollars, made once, usually on a servicer's phone line. The rules are public and the arithmetic is exact, so the answer should be something you can check - computed on your own phone from your own loan file, with every line cited, for one price.
See it in action.
Simple, honest pricing.
Free - $19.99 one-time unlock, no subscription
Good to know.
Is Paydown connected to the Department of Education?
No. Paydown is an independent planning tool, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid or any servicer. It cannot see your account or change your plan - you do that with your servicer.
Where does my loan data come from?
From the My Aid Data file you download at StudentAid.gov, or from loans you enter by hand. The file is read on your phone; only the loan details are kept, and your name and contact details are skipped.
Is there a subscription?
No. Importing, the loan map, the plan menu with monthly payments and every trap alert are free. One $19.99 purchase unlocks lifetime cost, tax on forgiveness, the What-If Lab, the plan PDF and reminders. Family Sharing is included.
Is it advice?
No. Paydown applies the published rules to the figures you enter and shows its working. The results are estimates; your servicer calculates the actual payment.
Is my data private?
Completely. There is no account, no server and no analytics. Everything stays on your phone, encrypted by iOS when it's locked.
Ashvara designed and built Paydown end to end.
We build native iOS apps like this one - from first sketch to the App Store. If you have a product in mind, we can ship it.
