Know Your Payment Before You Fall in Love With the House
A home is the biggest purchase most people will ever make, and the monthly mortgage payment is the number that decides whether that purchase feels comfortable or stressful. This free mortgage calculator estimates your monthly principal-and-interest payment from just four numbers — home price, down payment, interest rate, and loan term — then totals up your lifetime interest and shows a year-by-year breakdown of how your payments shift from interest-heavy to principal-heavy over time.
But a lender’s maximum and your comfortable maximum are usually very different. That’s why this page pairs the calculator with a plain-English guide to figuring out how much house you can actually afford: the classic 28/36 rule, the four numbers that set your price range, the hidden costs most buyers miss, and a worked example so you can model your own scenario in minutes.
Optional: property tax, insurance & HOA
Year-by-year amortization
| Year | Principal paid | Interest paid | Balance left |
|---|
First monthly payment: – principal + – interest. Early payments are mostly interest; that flips as the balance falls.
Estimate only — excludes points, closing costs, and PMI. Your entries are saved in this browser automatically; nothing is uploaded anywhere.
How to Use This Mortgage Calculator
- Enter the home price. Type the purchase price of the home you’re considering, or use the slider for a quick estimate.
- Set your down payment. Toggle between a dollar amount or a percentage of the home price. Putting down 20% or more is the usual benchmark — less than that typically means PMI gets added to your monthly cost.
- Enter the interest rate. Use the rate a lender quoted you, or the current average. A quarter of a point on a 30-year loan can change your payment by tens of dollars a month.
- Choose the loan term. Tap 10, 15, 20, or 30 years, or type any term from 1 to 40 years. Shorter terms mean higher payments but far less interest overall.
- Add optional extras (recommended). Expand the optional section to include annual property tax, homeowners insurance, and monthly HOA dues — this shows your true total monthly housing cost, not just principal and interest.
- Press Calculate. Instantly see your monthly payment, total interest, total cost, loan amount, and payoff date — plus a year-by-year amortization table.
What Is a Mortgage Payment?
A monthly mortgage payment has two mandatory parts — principal (the chunk that pays down what you borrowed) and interest (the lender’s fee for the loan). Together they’re called P&I. Early in a 30-year loan, most of each payment goes to interest; as years pass, the split gradually reverses until the final payments are almost all principal.
Your true housing cost is usually larger than P&I. Lenders frequently bundle three more items into one escrowed payment, known as PITI: Principal, Interest, Taxes (property tax), and Insurance (homeowners insurance). Add monthly HOA dues if the home is in a managed community, and PMI (private mortgage insurance) if your down payment is under 20%.
How Much House Can You Afford? The 28/36 Rule
Mortgage lenders traditionally use the 28/36 rule as a starting benchmark: your total housing cost (PITI) should stay under 28% of your gross monthly income, and your total monthly debt payments — housing plus car loans, student loans, credit cards — should stay under 36%.
So if your household earns $8,000 a month before taxes, the 28% line puts your housing budget at about $2,240 a month. That’s a ballpark to work within — it’s wise to stay below it rather than treat it as a target.
A pre-approval, by contrast, tells you what a lender will lend you — often up to 43–50% back-end debt ratios on some loan programs, far beyond the comfortable 36%. Treat pre-approval as an upper limit for negotiations, not a budget.
Example: What Does $100,000 of Income Buy?
A household earning $100,000 a year has gross monthly income of about $8,333. The 28% housing ceiling is roughly $2,333 a month. With 20% down and a 6.5% rate on a 30-year loan, $2,333 a month in principal and interest supports a loan of about $369,000 — roughly a $460,000 home. Add property tax, insurance, and HOA, and the comfortable price moves lower, often into the low $400,000s. Drop the rate to 5.5%, and the same income comfortably covers more home. Small inputs, big differences — model your own scenario in the calculator above.
The Formula (With a Worked Example)
M = monthly payment · P = loan principal (home price minus down payment) · r = monthly interest rate (annual rate ÷ 12) · n = total number of monthly payments (years × 12)
Worked example. A $350,000 home with a $70,000 down payment leaves a loan of P = $280,000. At 6.5% APR over 30 years: r = 0.065 ÷ 12 = 0.0054167, and n = 360. Plugging in: M = 280,000 × 0.0054167 × (1.0054167)³⁶⁰ ÷ ((1.0054167)³⁶⁰ − 1) ≈ $1,769.82 per month.
Total paid over 30 years ≈ $637,135 — meaning about $357,135 in interest on a $280,000 loan. That’s why shopping for the lowest rate and considering a 15-year term can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Tips for Getting an Accurate Estimate
- Use a rate you can actually get. National averages are a starting point, but your credit score and loan type change the real number — get a real quote before you budget tightly.
- Don’t forget property tax. Tax rates vary enormously by county. Look up your area’s effective rate rather than guessing.
- Check insurance costs for your zip code. Coastal and storm-prone areas can carry premiums several times the national average.
- Budget under 20% down? Price in PMI. It typically runs 0.5–1.5% of the loan per year and can take years to drop off.
- Compare 15 vs. 30 years side by side. A 15-year loan at the same balance can cost roughly half the total interest — at the price of a much higher monthly payment.
- Consider making extra principal payments. Even one extra payment a year can shave years off the loan and tens of thousands in interest.
- Re-run the numbers whenever rates move. A drop of 0.5% can be worth refinancing for many borrowers.
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What an Extra $100 a Month Really Does
Extra payments go straight to principal, and since interest is charged on the remaining balance, every extra dollar shrinks your future interest too. On a $300,000 loan at 6.5% over 30 years — base payment $1,896.20 a month, $382,633 of interest in total — the effect is dramatic:
| Extra per month | Loan paid off in | Total interest | Interest saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0 | 30 years | $382,633 | — |
| $100 | 26 years | $321,639 | $60,995 |
| $200 | 23 years 1 month | $279,185 | $103,449 |
An extra $100 a month wipes four years off the loan and saves nearly $61,000. Two details make it work: tell your servicer to apply the extra to principal only, and start early — extra payments punch hardest when your balance, and therefore your interest charges, are at their largest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a mortgage payment calculated?
With the standard amortization formula: M = P × r(1+r)ⁿ ÷ ((1+r)ⁿ − 1), where P is the loan amount, r is the monthly interest rate, and n is the total number of monthly payments. Enter your numbers above and the calculator applies it instantly.
What is included in a monthly mortgage payment?
At minimum, principal and interest (P&I). Most homeowners also pay property tax and homeowners insurance through an escrow account — together called PITI — plus HOA dues if applicable and PMI if the down payment is under 20%.
How much is a mortgage payment on a $350,000 house?
It depends on your down payment, rate, and term. With $70,000 down (20%), 6.5% interest, and a 30-year term, the payment is about $1,770 per month in principal and interest — before taxes, insurance, and HOA.
Is it better to get a 15-year or 30-year mortgage?
A 15-year loan has higher monthly payments but dramatically less total interest — often roughly half. A 30-year loan is easier to afford month to month and frees cash for investing or emergencies. Many borrowers choose 30 years and make extra principal payments.
Why is most of my early payment going to interest?
Interest is charged on the outstanding balance, so when the balance is at its highest (early in the loan), the interest portion is highest too. As the balance drops, more of each payment goes to principal. This pattern is called amortization.
Does this calculator include property taxes and insurance?
Yes — expand the optional extras section and enter your annual rates. The calculator adds them to show your total monthly housing cost alongside the core principal-and-interest payment.
How much house can I afford on my income?
A useful starting point is the 28/36 rule: keep total housing costs under 28% of gross monthly income and all debts under 36%. Run your target home price through the calculator above and compare the payment against those limits.
What is the difference between a mortgage pre-approval and a budget?
A pre-approval tells you what a lender will lend you — often well beyond what is comfortable. Your budget is what you can afford while still saving and sleeping at night. Use the 28/36 rule to set the budget; use the pre-approval only as a negotiation ceiling.
What is PMI, and when does it go away?
PMI (private mortgage insurance) is a monthly fee added when your down payment is under 20% on a conventional loan. It protects the lender, not you, and typically costs 0.5–1.5% of the loan per year. You can request removal once your balance reaches 80% of the home value, and it must be cancelled automatically at 78% if payments are current.
Is one extra payment a year as good as paying extra every month?
Almost — monthly wins by a small margin. On a $300,000 loan at 6.5%, one extra payment a year ($1,896) clears the loan in 24 years 4 months and saves about $83,985. The same money as $158 extra per month finishes in 24 years 2 months and saves about $87,256, because the principal drops sooner each month.
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Learn more in our detailed guide: How to Calculate Mortgage Payment.