Mortgage Calculator
Find your true monthly payment — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and HOA — not just the loan payment lenders advertise.
Estimate your monthly payment
How this mortgage calculator works
Your monthly mortgage payment has two parts. The first is principal and interest — the payment that actually pays off your loan. The second is everything that rides along with it: property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and HOA dues, usually collected into an escrow account. Many online calculators only show you the first part, which is why people are surprised at closing. This calculator shows the whole number.
The principal-and-interest payment comes from the standard amortization formula used by every lender in the country:
where M is the monthly payment, P is the loan amount (price minus down payment), r is the monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12), and n is the total number of payments (years × 12).
A worked example
Say you're buying a $400,000 home with $80,000 down (20%) at 6.5% for 30 years. The loan amount is $320,000. The monthly rate is 6.5% ÷ 12 = 0.5417%, and the number of payments is 360. Run that through the formula and the principal-and-interest payment is about $2,023 per month. Add typical property taxes of $3,200 a year ($267/month) and $150 in insurance and HOA, and the real monthly payment is roughly $2,440. Over 30 years, you'd pay about $408,000 in interest on top of the $320,000 you borrowed — which is why even a half-percent rate difference matters enormously.
What moves the payment most
In order of impact: the loan amount, the interest rate, and the term. A bigger down payment shrinks the loan and may eliminate private mortgage insurance (typically required below 20% down). A 15-year term raises the monthly payment but cuts total interest by more than half. And shopping just 0.25% off your rate on a $320,000 loan saves about $18,000 over 30 years. Always compare at least three lender quotes on the same day, since rates move daily.
Renting the payment, owning the equity
Each payment splits between interest and principal, and the split changes over time. In year one of the example above, roughly 85 cents of every principal-and-interest dollar goes to interest. By year 20, the majority goes to principal. Extra principal payments early in the loan therefore have an outsized effect — one extra payment per year on a 30-year loan typically shaves four to five years off the term.
Frequently asked questions
Does this calculator include PMI?
Not as a separate line. If your down payment is under 20%, lenders usually charge private mortgage insurance of roughly 0.3%–1.5% of the loan amount per year. Estimate yours and add it to the monthly insurance field to include it.
What interest rate should I enter?
Use a current quote from a lender if you have one. If you're just exploring, use the national average 30-year fixed rate, which you can find on any major financial news site — and remember your actual rate depends on credit score, down payment, and loan type.
Why is my real payment higher than the loan payment the lender advertised?
Advertised payments are usually principal and interest only. Property taxes, homeowner's insurance, PMI, and HOA dues are added on top and often collected in escrow, so your real monthly outlay can be 20–35% higher.
Is it better to put more money down or keep cash?
It depends on the rate, PMI, and what else the cash could earn. More down means a smaller payment and possibly no PMI; less down keeps reserves for repairs and emergencies. There is no universal answer — run both scenarios in the calculator and compare.
How accurate is this estimate?
The principal-and-interest math is exact — it's the same formula lenders use. Taxes and insurance are estimates you control, so the total is as accurate as those inputs. Your lender's Loan Estimate document is the authoritative number.