Mortgage Calculator
Calculate monthly mortgage payments online for free. See amortization schedule instantly.
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Monthly Payment
$2,129
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Compare Rates FreeHow to Use This Tool
Enter the Home Price
Enter the full purchase price of the home you are buying or refinancing.
Enter Down Payment and Rate
Enter your down payment amount and the current interest rate. You can find current rates from your lender or mortgage broker.
View Your Payment Breakdown
See your monthly payment, total interest paid over the loan term, and total cost of the loan. Adjust numbers to compare scenarios.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is included in the monthly payment calculation?
What is a good mortgage interest rate?
How does the loan term affect my payment?
What is the minimum down payment for a mortgage?
About Mortgage Calculator
A dual-income couple in California is staring at a 780,000 USD three-bedroom in the East Bay with 20 percent down, and the lender has quoted 6.875 percent on a 30-year fixed versus 6.25 percent on a 15-year fixed. The monthly payment difference is almost 2,100 USD and neither spouse can tell which one is actually better without running the amortization out to year 10 and comparing principal paydown. This calculator handles the full picture: principal and interest via the standard M = P * r(1+r)^n / ((1+r)^n - 1) formula, plus property tax (California averages 1.1 percent of assessed value), homeowners insurance (roughly 0.35 percent of home value in most states, higher in Florida and coastal areas), PMI if you are under 20 percent down (typically 0.5 to 1.5 percent annually on the loan balance), and HOA if applicable. The amortization schedule breaks out interest-versus-principal per month for the full term so you can see the punishing reality that in year 1 of a 30-year at 7 percent, roughly 83 percent of every payment is interest.
When to use this tool
Comparing 15-year versus 30-year on the same home
A couple evaluating a 625,000 USD loan at 6.25 percent for 15 years (payment ~5,357) versus 6.875 percent for 30 years (payment ~4,110). The 15-year saves roughly 434,000 USD in total interest but requires absorbing a 1,247 USD per month cash flow hit for a decade and a half.
Stress-testing a rate lock decision
You have a 60-day lock at 7.0 percent with a float-down option to 6.75 percent for a 0.5-point fee. Run both payments on a 450,000 USD loan to see whether the 70 USD per month savings pays back the 2,250 USD lock fee within your expected tenure of 8 years.
Modeling a 10/1 ARM versus 30-year fixed
Young professionals who plan to sell within 7 years are considering a 6.0 percent 10/1 ARM versus a 6.875 percent 30-year fixed. Compare the first 84 months of payments and principal paydown; if they sell year 7 the ARM likely wins even assuming the rate resets to the cap.
Calculating affordability with full PITI
A first-time buyer with a 110K USD household income runs PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance) to stay under the 28 percent front-end DTI Fannie Mae prefers. The calc reveals that a 525,000 USD purchase with 10 percent down pushes PITI to 3,450 USD — right at the 28 percent line for a 147,800 USD pre-tax salary.
Evaluating a recast after a large bonus payment
Making a 50,000 USD principal payment on a 425,000 USD balance at 6.5 percent. The calc shows a recast (re-amortization over remaining term) drops monthly payment by ~350 USD, versus applying it as an extra payment which keeps payment the same but shortens term by ~4 years.
How it works
- 1
Monthly payment uses the standard amortization formula
M = P * (r * (1+r)^n) / ((1+r)^n - 1), where P is loan principal, r is the monthly rate (annual APR divided by 12), and n is total number of monthly payments. This is identical to what Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and every US retail lender use for a fixed-rate conforming loan. Rates are plugged in as decimals (6.875 percent becomes 0.06875) and divided by 12 for monthly.
- 2
Amortization built one row at a time
Each month we compute interest as (remaining balance * monthly rate), subtract that from the payment to get principal paid, and reduce the balance. That loop runs for the full n months (180 for a 15-year, 360 for a 30-year). The last payment is adjusted by a cent or two to account for accumulated rounding so the ending balance hits exactly zero, matching what your servicer's final statement will show.
- 3
PITI adds tax, insurance, PMI, and HOA on top
Property tax is calculated as (home price * tax rate / 12), homeowners insurance as (home price * 0.35 percent / 12) unless you override, PMI as (loan balance * PMI rate / 12) and stops automatically once LTV hits 78 percent (the HPA-mandated automatic termination point), and HOA is added as a flat monthly amount. The total PITI is what your lender will use for DTI qualification, not just principal and interest.
Pro tips
Always compare total interest paid, not just monthly payment
A 30-year loan feels cheaper because the monthly is lower, but on a 500,000 USD loan at 6.875 percent you pay roughly 683,000 USD in interest over 30 years versus 270,000 USD over 15 years. That 413,000 USD delta is the real price of the lower payment. If you can comfortably afford the 15-year, the after-tax wealth difference at retirement is often larger than maxing out a 401k for the same period — a point most loan officers do not highlight because their commission is computed on loan size, not on your net worth.
PMI is not forever, but it also does not disappear quietly
Under the Homeowners Protection Act, PMI is automatically terminated when the original amortization schedule says you hit 78 percent LTV — not when you think you do. If you want it dropped earlier at 80 percent LTV based on the original purchase price, you have to request it in writing and may need an appraisal. If property values rise and you want it dropped based on current market value (LTV dropped via appreciation), servicers typically require 2 years of seasoning and a BPO or appraisal. Track this manually; servicers do not proactively offer to remove it early.
Property tax estimates in the calc are not your assessment
Your quoted 1.1 percent effective tax rate is a county average. Your actual bill depends on the assessed value (which may lag market value by 1 to 3 years in caps states like California under Prop 13, or jump to market in non-cap states like Texas on transfer), plus local levies like school bonds, Mello-Roos, or special assessment districts that can add 0.5 to 1.5 percent on top of the base rate. Pull the actual tax history from the county assessor before budgeting — the public record is almost always more accurate than a listing portal estimate.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose a 15-year or 30-year mortgage?
The 15-year has a lower rate (typically 50 to 75 basis points below 30-year) and saves hundreds of thousands in interest, but the monthly payment is 40 to 50 percent higher. The right answer depends on cash flow resilience and opportunity cost: if the extra monthly outlay would prevent you from maxing a 401k match, filling a Roth IRA, or keeping a six-month emergency fund, the 30-year plus aggressive tax-advantaged investing usually wins. If you are already maxing all tax-advantaged accounts and the 15-year payment still leaves comfortable margin, the guaranteed after-tax return of paying down mortgage debt is attractive. This is not tax or financial advice; your CPA or fee-only financial planner should model it against your specific marginal rate and investment assumptions.
How much should I put down to avoid PMI?
On a conventional conforming loan, 20 percent down eliminates PMI entirely at origination. Anything between 10 and 19.99 percent triggers PMI at 0.3 to 1.5 percent of the loan balance annually depending on credit score, LTV, and loan purpose. FHA loans have a separate MIP structure that can last the life of the loan on current vintages. If you put 15 percent down, plan on PMI for roughly 7 to 10 years of a 30-year loan under normal amortization, or less if you make extra principal payments that get you to 80 percent LTV faster. Sometimes the math favors putting 10 percent down and investing the difference — run the scenarios before locking in.
What is the difference between interest rate and APR?
The interest rate is what accrues on your principal balance each month. The APR includes the interest rate plus most lender fees (origination, points, and some third-party fees) amortized over the loan term, expressed as an annualized percentage. For a 30-year loan, a quoted 6.875 percent rate with 1 point and standard closing costs might carry a 7.05 percent APR. APR is the closer apples-to-apples comparison between lenders because it captures the cost of points and fees, but it assumes you hold the loan to term, so for loans you expect to refinance or pay off early the raw rate plus explicit fees is often more useful.
How does making extra principal payments affect the loan?
Extra principal reduces the balance immediately, which means next month's interest charge is smaller, and every future payment applies more to principal and less to interest. On a 400,000 USD loan at 6.875 percent for 30 years, adding 200 USD per month to principal pays the loan off in roughly 24 years instead of 30 and saves about 132,000 USD in interest. Confirm with your servicer that extra payments are applied to principal and not held as prepaid interest; most servicers default correctly, but manually checking the next statement avoids surprises. Also check for any prepayment penalty in your note — rare on conforming loans but occasionally present on jumbo or non-QM products.
Are the property tax and insurance estimates accurate for my area?
They are rough national averages and should be replaced with local data before making a real purchase decision. Property tax effective rates range from roughly 0.3 percent in Hawaii and Alabama to over 2 percent in New Jersey, Illinois, and parts of Texas, with wide variation at the school district level. Homeowners insurance averages around 0.35 percent of home value but can exceed 1 percent in hurricane-prone Florida, tornado-alley states, or wildfire-risk California counties. For any real offer, pull the actual tax history from the county assessor's parcel record and get three insurance quotes — the numbers will differ from the defaults here, sometimes by thousands per year.
Honest limitations
- · Fixed-rate assumption only; ARMs, interest-only, and balloon loans need scenario-by-scenario modeling outside the standard amortization formula.
- · PMI rates vary by credit score and LTV (0.3 percent to 1.5 percent annually); the default assumption is a midpoint that may not match your Loan Estimate.
- · Does not model tax deductibility of mortgage interest; post-2017 TCJA, only interest on the first 750K USD of mortgage debt is deductible for new loans, and only if you itemize.
A home purchase is the biggest financial commitment most households ever make, and the mortgage math does not live in isolation. The loan-calculator handles non-mortgage debts (auto, personal, student) that factor into your DTI ratio during underwriting. The compound-interest-calculator shows what the down payment alternative — investing the cash instead — might have grown to, a useful comparison for rent-versus-buy analysis. The paycheck-calculator gives you the post-tax income that lenders actually use for DTI. The retirement-calculator is where you check that aggressive mortgage payoff does not come at the cost of underfunding your 401k.
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