College Cost Calculator
Project what a degree will cost by the time your child enrols, what your savings will be worth, and the monthly contribution that closes the gap.
College Cost Calculator: with the default inputs, surplus (+) or shortfall (−) is -$97,571.
All in — tuition, fees, housing and food. Published tuition and fees for 2025-26 averaged $11,950 in-state public and $45,000 private nonprofit (College Board).
Published tuition rose 2.9% at in-state public and 4.0% at private nonprofit colleges for 2025-26 (College Board).
Assumed to continue through the study years.
529 age-based portfolios de-risk as enrolment approaches, so a flat high return flatters the projection.
What is left over after the last bill, or the total you would have to find elsewhere.
- Projected total cost
- $203,962All years of study, net of the gift aid you entered.
- Cost of the first year
- $48,031
- Savings when they enrol
- $92,567
- Share of the cost your savings cover
- 52.2%
- Monthly contribution that fully funds it
- $650
- Extra you'd need each month
- $350
- Total you'll contribute
- $57,600
- Investment growth along the way
- $37,489
- Same degree at today's prices
- $120,000For comparison — how much the inflation assumption is doing.
Assumptions
- Published tuition and fees for 2025-26 — $11,950 in-state public four-year and $45,000 private nonprofit four-year — and the 2.9% and 4.0% year-on-year increases are from the College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2025 highlights. The starting cost is your input, not a hard-coded figure.
- Each academic year's bill is paid at the start of that year; the remaining balance keeps earning and monthly contributions continue through the study years.
- The return is constant. A real 529 age-based portfolio shifts toward bonds near enrolment, so the final years will compound more slowly than this projects.
- Taxes are ignored, which matches a 529 spent on qualified expenses but overstates a taxable account. Non-qualified 529 withdrawals owe income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings.
- Gift aid is a single flat percentage of cost, applied every year. Real aid is recalculated annually from income and assets and varies by institution.
- Loans, work-study, changes in residency for in-state tuition, and study beyond the years entered are not modelled.
| Academic year | Cost | Paid from savings | Unfunded | Balance at year end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $48,031 | $48,031 | $0 | $50,906 |
| 2 | $49,952 | $49,952 | $0 | $4,709 |
| 3 | $51,950 | $4,709 | $47,241 | $3,698 |
| 4 | $54,028 | $3,698 | $50,330 | $3,698 |
How this is worked out
The formula
Cost of study year k = current annual cost × (1 + college inflation)^(years until enrolment + k) × (1 − gift aid) Savings at enrolment = S × (1+r)^n + C × [ (1+r)^n − 1 ] ÷ r, r monthly, n = months until enrolment Each year's bill is drawn at the start of that academic year; the remainder keeps earning and contributions continue Shortfall = the part of any year's bill the balance cannot cover
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Cost per year today
- All in — tuition, fees, housing and food. Published tuition and fees for 2025-26 averaged $11,950 in-state public and $45,000 private nonprofit (College Board).in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 30000
- Years until enrolment
- A number.from 0 to 30 · whole numbers only · defaults to 12
- Years of study
- A number.from 1 to 10 · whole numbers only · defaults to 4
- College cost inflation
- Published tuition rose 2.9% at in-state public and 4.0% at private nonprofit colleges for 2025-26 (College Board).a percentage · from 0 to 15 · defaults to 4
- Saved so far
- A number.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 15000
- Monthly contribution
- Assumed to continue through the study years.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 300
- Return on savings
- 529 age-based portfolios de-risk as enrolment approaches, so a flat high return flatters the projection.a percentage · from -10 to 20 · defaults to 6
- Grants and scholarships(under More options)
- Gift aid only — not loans, and not work-study.a percentage · from 0 to 100 · defaults to 0
What you get back
- Surplus (+) or shortfall (−)main answer
- What is left over after the last bill, or the total you would have to find elsewhere.
- Projected total cost
- All years of study, net of the gift aid you entered.
- Cost of the first year
- Savings when they enrol
- Share of the cost your savings cover
- Monthly contribution that fully funds it
- Extra you'd need each month
- Total you'll contribute
- Investment growth along the way
- Same degree at today's prices
- For comparison — how much the inflation assumption is doing.
What this assumes
- Published tuition and fees for 2025-26 — $11,950 in-state public four-year and $45,000 private nonprofit four-year — and the 2.9% and 4.0% year-on-year increases are from the College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2025 highlights. The starting cost is your input, not a hard-coded figure.
- Each academic year's bill is paid at the start of that year; the remaining balance keeps earning and monthly contributions continue through the study years.
- The return is constant. A real 529 age-based portfolio shifts toward bonds near enrolment, so the final years will compound more slowly than this projects.
- Taxes are ignored, which matches a 529 spent on qualified expenses but overstates a taxable account. Non-qualified 529 withdrawals owe income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings.
- Gift aid is a single flat percentage of cost, applied every year. Real aid is recalculated annually from income and assets and varies by institution.
- Loans, work-study, changes in residency for in-state tuition, and study beyond the years entered are not modelled.
About this calculator
The hard part of saving for college is not the arithmetic, it is that the target moves. A degree that costs $30,000 a year today costs about $48,000 a year in twelve years at 4% college inflation — and you pay it four times, in four consecutive, escalating instalments. This calculator projects the real bill, grows your savings against it, and tells you the monthly contribution that closes the gap.
Getting the starting cost right
Enter the all-in figure: tuition, fees, housing and food. Sticker tuition alone badly understates it. For 2025-26 the College Board put published tuition and fees at $11,950 for in-state students at public four-year institutions and $45,000 at private nonprofit four-year institutions; housing and food typically add $12,000–$15,000 on top. If you are budgeting for a public in-state degree with housing, something around $28,000–$32,000 a year is a realistic starting figure today; a private residential college is roughly double.
Two things to keep in mind. Published price is not net price — most students at private colleges pay considerably less after institutional grants, which is what the Grants and scholarships field under More options is for. And in-state public tuition depends on residency rules that can change with a move.
The inflation assumption is doing most of the work
College costs have historically outrun general inflation, though the gap has narrowed: published tuition rose 2.9% at in-state public colleges and 4.0% at private nonprofits for 2025-26. The default here is 4%, deliberately toward the higher end. It matters enormously over an eighteen-year horizon, so change it and watch the projected total move — the warning tells you how much of your answer is the inflation assumption rather than the price.
Reading the results
- Surplus or shortfall counts every year of study, not just the first. It is easy to fund freshman year and run dry by junior year, which the year-by-year table will show you.
- Monthly contribution that fully funds it is solved directly rather than approximated: it is the deposit at which the last bill is paid with nothing to spare.
- Extra you'd need each month is the actionable number. If it is large, remember the three other levers — a cheaper school, more years of contributions, and the fact that no one has to fund 100% of the cost from savings.
Where this breaks down
Returns are constant here; a real 529 age-based portfolio de-risks as enrolment approaches, so the final years compound far more slowly than a flat rate suggests. Taxes are not modelled, which is roughly right for a 529 used on qualified expenses — growth is federally tax-free — but wrong for a taxable brokerage account. Financial aid is a single percentage, where real aid depends on a household's income and assets each year and on the specific college. Student loans, work-study, in-state tuition changes, five-year completions and graduate school are all outside the model. And a 529 has its own rules: non-qualified withdrawals face income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings, so overfunding has a real cost.
Frequently asked questions
▸How much will college cost in 18 years?
At 4% college inflation, an all-in cost of $30,000 a year today becomes roughly $61,000 a year in eighteen years, or about $258,000 for four consecutive escalating years. Change the inflation rate to see how sensitive that is — it is the single biggest assumption in the projection.
▸How much should I save each month for college?
Use the 'monthly contribution that fully funds it' output — it is solved so that the last bill is paid exactly. Starting early matters more than the amount: the same total contributed over eighteen years beats it spread over eight, because the first dollars compound the longest.
▸What college inflation rate should I use?
Something between 3% and 5%. The College Board reported published tuition rising 2.9% for in-state public and 4.0% for private nonprofit institutions in 2025-26. Long-run averages have been higher, so 4% is a reasonable middle assumption and 5% is a conservative one.
▸Should I use a 529 plan?
For money earmarked for education, usually yes — growth is federally tax-free when spent on qualified expenses, and many states add a deduction or credit for contributions. The trade-off is that non-qualified withdrawals owe income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings, so do not overfund one.
▸Does this include financial aid?
Only as the percentage you enter under More options, and only gift aid — grants and scholarships you do not repay. Loans and work-study are not aid in this sense; they are cost shifted to later or to your student's time.
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