Money tools for students and graduates
Free calculators and plain-English guides for student budgets, part-time work, student loans and your first job.
Free tools for students
Everything here is free, needs no sign-up and runs in your browser, so nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
- Student budget calculator: work out how far your loan, work and savings stretch each week or term.
- Budget helper: see where your money goes and what is left.
- Hourly to salary calculator: convert a part-time or holiday job rate into a yearly figure.
- Take-home pay calculator: see what a job pays after tax, National Insurance and student loan.
- Salary after tax tables: the take-home pay for common graduate salaries.
Guides worth reading
- Student loan repayments explained: how Plans 1, 2, 4 and 5 work, what you repay at different salaries and when loans are written off.
- How National Insurance works
- Tax codes explained: useful for a first payslip.
- How much should you have in an emergency fund?
- The 50/30/20 budget rule
- Cost of living help: support you may be able to claim.
A tip on Council Tax
Households where everyone is a full-time student do not have to pay Council Tax, but you may need to apply for the exemption if you are sent a bill. See GOV.UK: Council Tax discounts for full-time students.
For university and college staff
If you work in student money advice, careers or a students' union, you are welcome to link to or share any of these pages. They are free, have no sign-up, show figures for the 2026/27 tax year and link to official sources. We are an independent site funded by affiliate links and, in future, advertising, and we mark affiliate links where they appear. See about Sterlingsum. To suggest a change or ask a question, get in touch.
The tools give estimates for information only. They are not financial advice, and they are not a substitute for your institution's own student finance guidance.