Mortgage Calculator

A mortgage amortization calculator shows how much of your monthly mortgage payment will go toward principal and interest over the life of your loan. The loan calculator also lets you see how much you can save by prepaying some of the principal.

How to use the loan amortization calculator

With HSH.com's mortgage payment calculator, you enter the features of your mortgage: amount of the principal loan balance, the interest rate, the home loan term, and the month and year the loan begins.

Your initial display will show you the monthly mortgage payment, total interest paid, breakout of principal and interest, and your mortgage payoff date.

Most of your mortgage loan payment will go toward interest in the early years of the loan, with a growing amount going toward the loan principal as the years go by - until finally almost all of your payment goes toward principal at the end. For instance, in the first year of a 30-year, $250,000 mortgage with a fixed 5% interest rate, $12,416.24 of your payments goes toward interest, and only $3,688.41 goes towards your principal. To see this, click on "Payment chart" and mouse over any year.

Clicking on "Amortization schedule" reveals a display table of the total principal and interest paid in each year of the mortgage and your remaining principal balance at the end of each calendar year. Clicking the "+" sign next to a year reveals a month-by-month breakdown of your costs.

Calculate

Click "calculate" to get your monthly payment amount and an amortization schedule.

The effect of prepayments

Now use the mortgage payment calculator to see how prepaying some of the principal saves money over time. The calculator allows you to enter a monthly, annual, bi-weekly or one-time amount for additional principal prepayment.To do so, click "+ Prepayment options."

Let's say, for example, you want to pay an extra $50 a month. Using the $250,000 example above, enter "50" in the monthly principal prepayment field, then either hit "tab" or scroll down to click "calculate." Initial results will be displayed under "Payment details," and you can see further details in either the "Payment chart" or "Amortization schedule" tabs.

You may also target a certain loan term or monthly payment by using our mortgage prepayment calculator. Of course you'll want to consult with your financial advisor about whether it's best to prepay your mortgage or put that money toward something else, such as retirement.

HSH.com has developed a host of other free mortgage calculators to help answer your other questions, such as, "Can I qualify for a mortgage," "Will prepaying my mortgage help me save money," "How large of a down payment do I really need," "What’s the best way to pay for my refinance," and "When will my home no longer be underwater?" See all of HSH.com's mortgage calculators.

Loan amount

This is the dollar amount of the mortgage you are borrowing. (Hitting "tab" after entering information in any field will automatically update the calculations.)

Interest rate

The loan's interest rate. Along with the term, this is the key factor used by the mortgage payment calculator to determine what your monthly payment will be. To see where rates are right now, click on the "See today's average rates" link to the right of the field, where you can also find offers from our advertising partners.

Loan term

Mortgage loans come in a range of terms. Fixed rate mortgages are most often found in 30, 20, 15 and 10-year terms; Adjustable Rate Mortgages usually have total terms of 30 years, but the fixed interest rate period is much shorter than that, lasting from 1 to 10 years.

Starting month/year

To get the most accurate calculations, use the month and year in which your very first mortgage payment was due (or will be due). If you don't yet have a mortgage, the current month and year will work just fine.

Payment details

This display shows the monthly mortgage payment, total interest paid, breakout of principal and interest, and your mortgage payoff date.

Payment chart

This display shows you the total principal and interest paid in each year of the mortgage and your remaining principal balance at the end of each calendar year.

Amortization schedule

While this display table also shows you the total principal and interest paid in each year of the mortgage and your remaining principal balance at the end of each calendar year, clicking the "+" sign next to a year reveals a month-by-month breakdown of your costs.

+Prepayment options

In this optional section, you can add in a regular monthly prepayment amount, re-set the calculator to show bi-weekly payments and savings, or even do a one-time prepayment to see how it affects the cost of your home loan.

Ever wondered how two loan choices compare against one another, or how much of a difference in interest cost a quarter of a percentage point change in the loan's interest rate makes? Our loan comparison feature makes it simple to see these costs in a side-by-side presentation. In fact, you can compare up to four different loan scenarios at once!

To use the loan comparison feature, follow these simple instructions.

Step 1: Select a base loan against which you want to compare. We suggest a simple comparison: $200,000 loan amount, 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with an interest rate of 4.25%. Add these values into the calculator fields and press tab or click the "Calculate" button. The results will display on the screen.

Step 2: Click the blue "Add result to compare" button. You'll see a change show up in the "Compare results (1)" button just next to it.

Step 3: Select another set of loan terms to compare. For simplicity's sake, use the same $200,000 loan amount and 30-year fixed-rate mortgage -- but change the interest rate to 4%. Add these values into the calculator fields and press tab or click the "Calculate" button. The results will display on the screen.

Step 4: Click the blue "Add result to compare" button. You'll see a change show up in the "Compare results (2)" button just next to it.

You're now ready to compare two loans! Click the "Compare results (2)" button and you'll be presented with a side-by-side comparison of loan costs from your two choices.

To see a complete breakout of costs for each one, scroll down the screen to locate a "See Details" link. Click it to see an annual amortization schedules for the selected loan; for a month-by-month payment schedule, click the [+] next to each year.

Even after you've reviewed these two comparisons, you can use the "Return to calculator" button to add up to two more loan scenarios to compare. Click it to return to the main calculator screen.

Now, add a third scenario to review: For example, add a third 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but this time add in a $50 per month prepayment of principal. At the bottom left of the calculator display, click "+Prepayment options", then add in $50 in the "Monthly principal prepayment" field. As before, now click the blue "Add result to compare" button. You'll see a change show up in the "Compare results (3)" button just next to it.

Now click the "Compare results (3)" button and see how much a simple monthly prepayment will save you in interest cost. If you want to start all over again and clear all loan comparisons, simply click the "Reset" button that appears on the bottom of the calculator screen. If you do compare four loan scenarios, you can return to the calculator by pressing the "X" in the upper right hand corned, just next to the fourth scenario. Or, if you prefer, you can click the "Reset" button at the bottom of the comparison screen, clear out all your entries and start again. We urge you to play around with various scenarios, compare different loan types and terms and prepayment schemes to see the effects.

Note: When comparing fixed-rate versus adjustable rate programs, please know that the projected interest costs over the full term are based only on the initial interest rate. The ARM's interest rate will most certainly be different after the fixed-rate period ends, and so the actual loan costs will be different than what is presented over the full length of the loan.