Mortgage Calculator the price of the house
The payment you actually make is not just the loan. This one adds property tax, insurance, HOA fees and — while the loan is above 80% of the value — mortgage insurance.
The Mortgage Calculator estimates the full monthly cost of a home loan: principal, interest, property tax, insurance and any HOA fee, plus the total interest over the term. A 300,000 loan at 6% over 30 years has a principal and interest payment of about 1,798.65 a month before tax and insurance.
How it works
Enter the loan
Add the amount, the interest rate and the term.
Add the extras
Include taxes or insurance if the payment should cover them.
Read the payment
See the monthly figure and the total interest over the term.
Answers before the viewing
Below 20% down, most lenders add mortgage insurance until the balance falls under 80% of the value. Going from 10% to 20% down usually removes that charge and lowers the payment more than the extra cash suggests.
The down payment is not the only cash you need: closing costs, taxes and moving usually add another 3–5% of the price.
A 15-year loan carries a lower rate and builds equity quickly, at the cost of a payment roughly 30–40% higher. A 30-year loan keeps the monthly figure comfortable but pays more than double the interest of the shorter term.
Choose by what the payment does to your life, then pay extra when you can.
A fixed rate never moves, which makes planning simple. A variable rate starts lower and then follows the market. If the difference between the two payments is small, the fixed rate is usually the calmer choice for a home you live in.
What a longer term really costs
A $320,000 home, 15% down, 6.4% rate. The monthly difference is modest; the lifetime difference is not.
| Term | Monthly principal + interest | Total interest | Interest as a share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 years | $3,183 | $110,000 | 40% of the loan |
| 15 years | $2,362 | $153,000 | 56% of the loan |
| 20 years | $1,989 | $205,000 | 75% of the loan |
| 30 years | $1,698 | $339,000 | 125% of the loan |
- check_circleGet a written pre-approval from a bank
- check_circleBudget for closing costs, not just the down payment
- check_circleAdd up tax, insurance and any HOA fee
- check_circleLeave room for repairs in year one
- check_circleCompare the APR, not only the interest rate
- check_circleAsk what happens if you pay early
What does PITI mean?expand_more
When does mortgage insurance stop?expand_more
Why is my bank payment different?expand_more
Should I add taxes and insurance myself?expand_more
Is a bigger down payment always better?expand_more
What Nobody Puts in the Mortgage Advert
The advertised number is an entry ticket. The real monthly cost of owning a home is a stack of smaller numbers that arrive at different times.
The escrow account
Most lenders collect property tax and insurance monthly and hold the money until the bill arrives. That is why the payment changes once a year: the estimate was slightly wrong and the account is corrected.
Interest, reversed
In year one, most of every payment is interest. By year twenty, most of it is principal. This is why paying extra early is worth much more than the same money paid late.
Furniture is a loan too
Many buyers spend their remaining cash on furniture in month one and then meet a boiler repair in month three with a credit card at 20%. Borrow less than the bank says you can.
Run the numbers twice
Once with both incomes, once with the lower one alone. Houses are bought in good years and paid for in whatever comes. When you compare offers, use the same tool for both so the input differences are the only difference — and if you are still renting, the loan calculator covers personal and car loans while BMI and calories rarely matter here, but the discount calculator is handy on a furniture sale.
Other free tools
fact_checkQuick facts
- A mortgage payment has four parts; only principal and interest come from the loan formula, which is why a quoted payment and a real payment differ.
- One percentage point on a 30-year loan of 300,000 adds about 71,000 in interest over the term, because 6% and 7% give monthly payments of about 1,799 and 1,996.
- The SI defines the kilo as exactly 1000 and the centi as exactly one hundredth, which is why conversions are exact, not approximate.menu_bookBIPM
- Since 2019 the kilogram is defined by a fixed value of the Planck constant, not by a metal cylinder in Paris.menu_bookBIPM
helpQuestions people ask
What is included in a monthly mortgage payment?expand_more
How much of a mortgage payment is interest at the start?expand_more
Should I pay off a mortgage early?expand_more
hubWhat this page is about
- SI unitsopen_in_new
The International System of Units maintained by the BIPM, with the metre, kilogram, second and their prefixes defined exactly.
library_booksOfficial sources cited on this page
Keep going with the next tool
The tools in this group that do the next piece of the same work, all switched on right now.
Switched-off tools are not listed here: only what works right now.