Best Apps for Managing Student Loan Debt in 2026

Student loan debt is its own kind of challenge. Unlike credit card debt, you’re often dealing with multiple loans at different interest rates, various repayment plan options, potential forgiveness programs, and long timelines that stretch over a decade or more. Not every debt payoff app handles these complexities well.

Here’s an honest look at the tools that work best for student loan debt specifically.

What Makes Student Loan Tracking Different?

Student loans have quirks that generic debt trackers don’t always handle:

• Multiple loans from one servicer — You might have 6-10 individual loans bundled together.
• Different interest rates — Federal subsidized, unsubsidized, and private loans often have different rates.
• Income-driven repayment plans — Monthly payments can change yearly based on your income.
• Forgiveness timelines — If you’re pursuing PSLF or IDR forgiveness, tracking qualifying payments matters.
• Long payoff horizons — Standard repayment is 10 years; income-driven plans can stretch to 20-25.

App Comparison

App	Student Loan Features	Price	Platforms	Best For
YNAB	Track each loan separately, budget for payments	$14/month	iOS, Android, Web	Complete budgeting + loan tracking
Ascent	Track multiple loans, 9 payoff strategies, what-if scenarios	$29.99 lifetime	iOS only	Strategy comparison across many loans
Changed	Rounds up purchases, applies spare change to loans	Free / $3/month	iOS, Android	Automatic micro-payments
Debt Payoff Planner	Track loans, snowball/avalanche strategies	Free / $2/month	iOS, Android	Simple, affordable loan tracking
Undebt.it	8 strategies, detailed projections	Free / $12/year	Web	Strategy planning on a budget

Detailed Reviews

YNAB — Best for Complete Financial Management

YNAB (You Need A Budget) is the strongest choice if you want to manage student loans as part of your entire financial life. You can create a separate loan account for each individual student loan, set up debt payoff goals, and see exactly how your budget supports your repayment plan.

The real power is in budgeting around your loans. YNAB helps you find extra money to put toward debt by giving every dollar a job. When your income changes (which affects income-driven repayment amounts), you can adjust your budget in real time.

Strengths: Bank sync pulls in loan payments automatically, works across all platforms, excellent budgeting foundation, large community with student loan-specific advice. Weaknesses: $14/month is a significant cost, debt payoff strategies require manual setup, steep learning curve. Best for: People who want a full financial system that treats student loans as part of the bigger picture.

Ascent — Best for Strategy Comparison

When you have multiple student loans at different rates with different balances, figuring out the optimal payoff order matters. Ascent’s nine strategies let you compare approaches with your actual loan numbers. The what-if tool is especially useful — you can see how an extra $100/month changes your timeline across different strategies.

You can enter each loan individually, and the app builds a combined payoff plan that shows which loan to target first based on your chosen strategy.

Strengths: Nine strategies for comparing payoff orders, what-if scenarios, BNPL tracking if you also have buy-now-pay-later debt, one-time purchase price. Weaknesses: iOS only, no bank sync, doesn’t track forgiveness timelines or IDR plan details. Best for: iPhone users with multiple loans who want to find the fastest or cheapest payoff order.

Changed — Best for Automatic Micro-Payments

Changed takes a unique approach: it rounds up your everyday purchases and uses the spare change to make extra payments on your student loans. Connect your bank account and your loan servicer, and Changed handles the rest.

It’s not going to eliminate your debt by itself — round-ups typically add $30-60/month in extra payments. But over years of student loan repayment, that adds up. And it’s completely hands-off once set up.

Strengths: Fully automatic, connects directly to loan servicers, no effort required after setup, makes extra payments without you feeling it. Weaknesses: Small payment amounts, requires linking bank account and loan servicer, paid tier needed for multiplied round-ups, doesn’t help with strategy planning. Best for: People who want to make painless extra payments on autopilot alongside their regular repayment plan.

Debt Payoff Planner — Best Budget-Friendly Tracker

Debt Payoff Planner lets you enter all your student loans and build a snowball or avalanche payoff plan. It’s simple, affordable, and cross-platform. The free tier is functional enough to get started, and the $2/month Pro version adds what-if scenarios.

It doesn’t have student loan-specific features, but it handles the basics of tracking multiple debts at different interest rates well enough for most situations.

Strengths: Free tier works well, available on both iOS and Android, clean interface, easy to set up. Weaknesses: Only three strategies, no student loan-specific features, no forgiveness tracking. Best for: People who want a simple, affordable way to track their student loan payoff plan.

Undebt.it — Best Free Web Tool

Undebt.it supports eight payoff strategies and lets you enter all your loans for free. It’s the most feature-rich free option for comparing strategies, and the paid tier ($12/year) adds advanced projections and what-if tools.

It works in any browser, so you can access it from your phone, tablet, or computer without downloading anything.

Strengths: Eight strategies, free tier is very capable, cheapest paid option, works on any device. Weaknesses: Web-only (no push notifications), no student loan-specific features, less polished than native apps. Best for: People who want maximum strategy options at minimum cost.

What About Loan Servicer Apps?

Don’t overlook the app from your actual loan servicer. Nelnet, MOHELA, Aidvantage, and other servicers have their own apps that let you make payments, see balances, and manage repayment plans. These apps are necessary for plan management — changing your repayment plan, certifying income for IDR, or tracking PSLF qualifying payments.

Use your servicer’s app for loan management and one of the tools above for payoff planning and tracking. They complement each other.

Our Recommendation

If you’re on an income-driven plan and pursuing forgiveness: Your servicer’s tools are most important. Use YNAB to budget around your payments and build savings.

If you’re aggressively paying off loans: Ascent (iOS) or Undebt.it (any platform) gives you the best strategy comparison tools. Pair with Changed for automatic extra payments.

If you want one simple tool: Debt Payoff Planner does the job at the lowest cost on any phone.

If budget is tight: Undebt.it’s free tier plus Changed’s free round-ups cost you nothing and give you a strategy plan plus automatic extra payments.

The most important step is knowing your numbers — total balance, interest rates, and timeline. Once you can see the whole picture clearly, the right path forward usually becomes obvious. Any of these tools will help you get there.