United States · USD · Core Mortgage Tools
Mortgage Calculator
Estimate principal and interest for a fixed-rate US home loan.
Published mortgage reference: Freddie Mac PMMS, 2026-10-22 — 30-year 7.32%, 15-year 6.68%. These are dated conventional national averages, not your lender’s quote. Enter the applicable offered rate below.
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Your estimate
Press Calculate estimate after entering your figures.
Educational estimate, not financial advice. Disclaimer · Methodology · Corrections.
How this estimate works
Loan = price × (1 − down payment %). Monthly P&I uses the standard amortizing payment formula; at 0% interest it is loan ÷ number of months.
Assumptions and limits
- Mortgage payments use a fixed monthly rate and monthly payments. Interest rate is separate from APR.
- Estimates do not establish lender approval. Taxes, insurance and fees change over time.
- This payment excludes property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA dues. Use the PITI calculator to budget those items.
References and further reading
Read the payment before comparing offers
The headline result is principal and interest on the financed balance. Principal repays the amount borrowed; interest pays for using that balance. The calculation spreads those payments over the term you enter, with a constant nominal annual rate converted into monthly periods. It is useful for comparing two clearly stated scenarios. It does not tell you which lender will approve an application, the interest rate you will be offered, or whether buying a particular home fits your household budget.
Build the rest of the housing budget
A payment that looks affordable can leave out substantial recurring bills. Obtain the assessor's property-tax figure, an insurance quote, association dues and any mortgage-insurance quote separately. Maintenance and utilities also require cash even when they are not collected by the lender. Use the PITI tool to put the relevant categories beside the loan payment. Keep one-time closing cash separate from recurring expenses; adding the same financed charge to the balance and again as a cash fee would count it twice.
Use the note rate for this arithmetic
A lender's note rate and APR answer different questions. This tool uses the entered note-rate assumption to calculate the amortizing payment. It does not derive a legally disclosed APR from a complete fee schedule. When comparing Loan Estimates, use the same loan amount, repayment period, rate-lock context and treatment of points. A lower advertised percentage can come with higher upfront costs, so the first monthly payment is only part of the comparison.
What the lifetime interest total assumes
The total holds the rate and scheduled payment pattern unchanged until the loan is repaid. Selling, refinancing or paying extra principal changes that path. Taxes and insurance are outside this total. A longer term can make the scheduled payment smaller while keeping principal outstanding for longer. Compare both the monthly amount and interest, then use amortization for the remaining balance at the date you actually expect to move or refinance. No house-price growth or future rate path is predicted.
Before using the estimate in a decision
Replace the illustration with figures from your own documents. Check whether fees are paid in cash or included in principal, whether a mortgage-insurance charge applies, and whether the quoted product is fixed for the full repayment term. A zero entered rate is a valid mathematical scenario; it is not a promise of free borrowing. The CFPB Loan Estimate reference below explains the disclosure to compare with these inputs. Ask the lender to explain differences rather than assuming this estimate is the final payment.
Worked United States example: Mortgage Calculator
This is a hypothetical arithmetic example in USD, not a current lender quote, market observation or borrower record. The same calculator model produces the figures below. Its input assumptions are shown so that you can reproduce or change the scenario.
| Assumed input | Illustration value |
|---|---|
| Home price ($) | 420,000 |
| Down payment (%) | 20 |
| Annual interest rate (%) | 6.82 |
| Loan term (years) | 30 |
| Calculated measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Loan amount | $336,000.00 |
| Monthly principal & interest | $2,194.95 |
| Total scheduled interest | $454,180.84 |
Amounts use unrounded intermediate arithmetic and are rounded only for display. Selecting different costs, rates, payment dates or terms changes the result; no illustration value is prefilled into your personal financial fields.
Questions about this United States mortgage estimate
Why is the US principal-and-interest result lower than an escrow payment?
Escrow can collect tax and insurance alongside principal and interest. This page calculates the loan component only. Add actual escrow items, mortgage insurance and association dues separately rather than interpreting the smaller result as the complete cost of ownership.
Does changing the down payment also price my mortgage insurance?
No. A different deposit changes the financed principal in this model. It does not obtain an insurer quote, decide program eligibility or choose a credit-based premium. Use your actual insurance information in the relevant budget tool.
Can I compare a fixed-rate offer with an adjustable loan here?
Only as explicitly labelled constant-rate scenarios. This page does not implement future resets or caps. Use the ARM scenario tool for those assumptions and check the actual agreement; neither tool predicts the rate at a future reset.