Use this free mortgage calculator — also known as a home loan calculator or mortgage payment calculator — to estimate your monthly payment instantly. It breaks down principal versus interest and generates a complete amortization schedule with a year-by-year chart.
How to use this calculator
Enter the home price — the full purchase price of the property.
Enter your down payment. The loan amount is the price minus this down payment, and the result panel shows your down-payment percentage.
Set the annual interest rate quoted by your lender. Even a 0.5% difference changes total interest by tens of thousands of dollars on a typical home loan.
Choose the loan term. 30 years is the most common in the US; try 15 years to compare total interest.
Read the result panel: monthly payment, total interest and total cost update live. Scroll down for the yearly amortization schedule and chart, and use Share to send a link with your exact numbers.
Formula & method
How the monthly payment is calculated
M = P × r(1 + r)^n / ((1 + r)^n − 1)
M = monthly payment · P = loan amount (price − down payment) · r = monthly interest rate (annual ÷ 12) · n = number of monthly payments (years × 12)
Example
For a $350,000 home with $70,000 down, 6.5% interest over 30 years: P = $280,000, r = 0.005417, n = 360 → monthly payment ≈ $1,769.79.
Key insights
On a typical 30-year home loan at 6.5%, total interest exceeds 100% of the amount borrowed — the amortization schedule above shows this building year by year.
In the first years of a 30-year mortgage, roughly 80–85% of each payment goes to interest, not principal. This is why the remaining balance falls so slowly at first.
Shortening a 30-year term to 15 years typically cuts total interest by more than half, in exchange for a higher monthly payment.
A 20% down payment usually avoids private mortgage insurance (PMI) and lowers both the monthly payment and the total interest paid.
One extra monthly payment per year can shorten a 30-year mortgage by roughly 4 to 6 years, because extra payments go entirely to principal.
How to interpret your result
Payment-to-income ratio
Lenders generally want your housing payment below 28% of gross monthly income (the '28% rule'). Divide the monthly payment shown by your gross monthly income to check affordability before applying.
Interest share of total cost
If total interest is close to — or above — the loan amount, you are paying more for the financing than the money itself. That is normal on 30-year terms; run the same loan at 15 years to see the difference.
Remaining balance over time
The amortization table shows how slowly the balance falls in early years. If you plan to sell within a few years, note how little principal you will actually have repaid by then.
What is not included
This is a principal-and-interest estimate. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI and HOA fees typically add 20–35% on top of the payment shown in your real monthly bill.
Frequently asked questions
Does this include taxes and insurance?
No. This estimate covers principal and interest only. Property taxes, homeowners insurance and HOA fees are added on top by your lender in the real monthly bill.
How much should my down payment be?
20% avoids private mortgage insurance (PMI) in most cases, but many loans accept 3–10% down. A larger down payment lowers both your monthly payment and total interest.
Is a 15-year or 30-year mortgage better?
A 15-year term costs much less in total interest but has higher monthly payments. A 30-year term is more flexible month to month. Try both terms above to compare.
Is this the same as a home loan calculator?
Yes. Mortgage calculator, home loan calculator and mortgage payment calculator all describe this tool: it computes the fixed monthly payment of an amortized property loan and the total interest over the term.
How do I see the amortization schedule?
The yearly amortization schedule appears automatically below the result. For each year it lists principal paid, interest paid and the remaining balance, and the chart shows the balance falling as cumulative interest grows.
Can I use it as a mortgage interest calculator?
Yes. The result panel shows total interest for the whole term, and the schedule breaks interest down year by year — useful for comparing rates or estimating the interest portion of early payments.
Related calculators
Loan Calculator — Work out the monthly payment and total interest for any fixed-rate loan.