Does it cost money to refinance student loans?

By Anna Baluch | Published on October 21, 2025

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By refinancing your student loans, you may be able to save money and improve your finances. If you’re considering this strategy, you might wonder whether there are any fees involved. Fortunately, unlike mortgages and other financial products, student loans can usually be refinanced for free. Refinancing¹ your student loans may lead to savings without any upfront costs or fees².

How much does it cost to refinance student loans?

Whether it costs money to refinance student loans depends on the lender. The good news is most lenders, including reputable banks, credit unions, and online lenders won’t charge origination fees, prepayment penalties, and other fees that are commonly associated with other types of refinancing. Earnest is one example of a fee-free lender³ that can allow you to refinance your student loans without paying a dime.

Potential fees you may incur when refinancing your student loans

While the majority of lenders don’t charge fees for student loan refinancing, you might come across some that do. The most common types of costs and fees to refinance include:

• Application fees: These fees help pay for the costs to process your application and are usually owed when you apply for student loan refinancing.

• Origination fees: Origination fees are designed to compensate the lender for processing your student loan refinance.

• Late payment fees: If you don’t make a payment by your scheduled due date, some lenders charge late fees.

• Returned payment fees: Returned payment fees may apply if you try to pay your student loan but don’t have enough money in your account.

• Prepayment penalties: If you make extra payments or repay your student loan early, you might be on the hook for prepayment penalties.

• Collection costs: Collection costs may kick in if you default on your student loans and your account gets sent to collections.

Before you sign on the dotted line and move forward with a lender for a student loan refinance, make sure you read the fine print and ask yourself, “is it worth it to refinance student loans?” Familiarize yourself with all of the fees involved so you don’t face unwanted financial surprises down the road. Ideally, you’d choose a reputable lender that doesn’t charge fees, like Earnest.

Choose Earnest for a fee-free refinance

At Earnest, we process all applications and loan information online, passing the savings to you. If you refinance your student loans with us, you don’t have to worry about any fees, including application, origination, prepayment, and late fees. We make it a breeze to save money on your student loans without charging any upfront costs or hidden fees with us. Plus, we let you refinance multiple times to help you meet your financial goals as your circumstances change. To get started, check your rate in under 2 minutes, without any impact to your credit score.

About the Author

Anna Baluch

Anna Baluch is a freelance finance writer from Cleveland, OH. She enjoys writing content that helps people from all walks of life make good financial decisions. Her areas of expertise include student loans, refinancing, mortgages, personal loans, budgeting, and debt management.

Disclaimer

This blog post provides personal finance educational information, and it is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice.

1 Please note that you may lose benefits associated with your underlying federal loans, such as federal Income-driven Repayment Plans (an example of which is the SAVE plan), Economic Hardship Deferment, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, or other deferment and forbearance options, if you refinance into a private loan. If you file for bankruptcy, you may still be required to pay back this loan.

2 Choosing to refinance to a longer term may lower your monthly payment, but increase the amount of interest you may pay. Choosing to refinance to a shorter term may increase your monthly payment, but lower the amount of interest you may pay. Review your loan documentation for the total cost of your refinanced loan.

3 Earnest does not charge fees for origination, late payments, returned check, or prepayments. Florida Stamp Tax: For Florida residents, Florida documentary stamp tax is required by law, calculated as $0.35 for each $100 (or portion thereof) of the principal loan amount, the amount of which is provided in the Final Disclosure. Lender will add the stamp tax to the principal loan amount. The full amount will be paid directly to the Florida Department of Revenue. Certificate of Registration No. 78-8016373916-1.