Mortgage Calculator - Estimate Your Monthly Mortgage Payment
Use this free Mortgage Calculator to estimate your monthly principal and interest payment, understand the total cost of your home loan, and view a complete mortgage amortization schedule. It is useful for homebuyers, homeowners and real estate investors who want to compare mortgage options before making a financial decision. Dont forget to read CFPB guide to mortgage payment calculations.
What Is a Mortgage Calculator?
A mortgage calculator is a financial tool that estimates the monthly payment required to repay a home loan over a selected period. By entering the home price, down payment, mortgage interest rate and loan term, you can calculate the amount borrowed and estimate how much of each monthly payment goes toward principal and how much goes toward interest.
This monthly mortgage calculator can also help you compare different home prices, down payments, mortgage rates and loan terms. Changing just one of these values can significantly affect both your monthly house payment and the amount of interest paid over the life of the loan.
How to Use the Mortgage Payment Calculator
- Select your currency. Choose the currency you want to use.
- Enter the home price. This is the purchase price of the property.
- Enter your down payment. This amount is deducted from the home price to determine the mortgage amount.
- Enter the annual interest rate. Use the mortgage interest rate you want to evaluate.
- Enter the loan term. For example, 15, 20 or 30 years.
- Select Calculate Mortgage. The calculator will display your estimated monthly payment, principal and interest breakdown, total interest and full amortization schedule.
Mortgage Payment Formula
For a standard fixed-rate amortizing mortgage, the monthly principal-and-interest payment is calculated using the following formula:
The loan amount equals the home price minus the down payment. The annual interest rate is converted to a monthly rate, while the loan term is converted from years to the total number of monthly payments.
Principal and Interest Explained
Your mortgage payment contains two important components: principal and interest. Principal is the portion of your payment that reduces the outstanding home loan balance. Interest is the borrowing cost charged by the lender.
During the early years of a typical fixed-rate mortgage, a larger portion of each payment may go toward interest because the outstanding loan balance is still high. As the balance decreases, the interest portion becomes smaller and more of your payment goes toward principal.
The mortgage amortization schedule above shows this change for every monthly payment.
What This Home Loan Calculator Shows
- Monthly Mortgage Payment: Estimated monthly principal and interest.
- Loan Amount: Home price minus your down payment.
- First Payment Principal: Amount reducing your mortgage balance.
- First Payment Interest: Interest charged during the first payment.
- Total Interest: Estimated interest paid over the entire mortgage term.
- Total of Payments: Principal plus total interest.
- Amortization Schedule: Complete monthly breakdown of payment, principal, interest and remaining balance.
Why Use a Mortgage Amortization Calculator?
A mortgage amortization calculator provides more information than a basic house payment estimate. It lets you see how the mortgage balance decreases over time and how much interest you may pay over the life of the loan.
This is particularly useful when comparing a shorter mortgage term with a longer term. A shorter term generally means fewer payments, while a longer term spreads repayment across more months. You can change the loan term in this calculator and immediately compare the results.
How Down Payment Affects Your Mortgage
A larger down payment reduces the amount you need to borrow. Because the mortgage principal becomes smaller, the estimated monthly principal-and-interest payment and total interest can also decrease.
Try several down payment amounts with the Mortgage Calculator to see how they change the loan amount and monthly payment.
How Mortgage Interest Rate Affects Your Payment
The mortgage interest rate can have a major effect on the total cost of borrowing. Even if the home price and loan term remain the same, changing the interest rate changes both the monthly payment and the total amount of interest.
You can therefore also use this tool as a mortgage interest calculator when comparing different loan rate scenarios.
15-Year vs. 30-Year Mortgage
A 15-year mortgage spreads repayment over fewer monthly payments, while a 30-year mortgage spreads repayment across a much longer period.
This tool can be used as both a 15-year mortgage calculator and a 30-year mortgage calculator. Simply change the Loan Term field and calculate again to compare the monthly payment and total interest.
Mortgage Calculator Related Searches
People looking for a Mortgage Calculator may use different search terms for the same calculation. This calculator is designed to satisfy the intent behind the following related searches.
Compare Mortgage Options Before Buying a Home
Buying a home is a major financial commitment. Knowing the estimated mortgage payment before purchasing a property can make it easier to evaluate affordability and compare loan options.
Try several scenarios rather than relying on only one calculation. Compare different home prices, down payment amounts, mortgage interest rates and loan terms to understand the balance between monthly affordability and long-term borrowing cost.