How Much Is My Mortgage Payment?

How to use this in 60 seconds

1. Enter home price and your real down payment. A 20% down avoids PMI in the US (typically $30–$70/mo on a $400K loan), but FHA loans accept 3.5% and conventional accepts 5% with PMI. Anything below 20% means you'll pay PMI until you cross 78% loan-to-value (LTV).
2. Check the current interest rate from your lender. National averages are a useful sanity check but your actual rate depends on credit score (740+ for best rates), DTI ratio, and points purchased. As of late 2026, conventional 30-year fixed has hovered around 6.5–7.5%. A 1% rate change on a $400K loan is roughly $260/mo difference.
3. Compare the 30-year vs 15-year totals. The 30-year has a much lower monthly payment but you pay ~2× more total interest over the life of the loan. The 15-year is the same overall cost as paying off a 30-year aggressively — but it locks you into the higher payment. The "First 12 months breakdown" shows you that on a 30-year, year 1 is ~85% interest and only ~15% principal.

What this calculator doesn't include

The monthly payment shown is principal + interest only. Your actual monthly housing cost is "PITI": Principal + Interest + property Taxes + Insurance, plus HOA fees if applicable, plus PMI if you put down less than 20%. On a $400K home, expect:

• Property tax: 0.5–2.5% of home value annually ($170–$830/mo). US average ~1.1%.
• Homeowners insurance: $1,200–$2,500/year ($100–$210/mo). Higher in disaster-prone areas.
• PMI (if LTV > 80%): 0.3–1.5% of loan annually ($100–$500/mo).
• HOA: $0–$600/mo depending on building/community.

Add these to the P&I from the calculator to get your true monthly housing cost. A widely-used rule: PITI shouldn't exceed 28% of gross monthly income (the front-end DTI ratio that lenders apply).

Math runs locally. We don't store your inputs.

Where the math gets nuanced

• Buying down the rate with points. 1 point = 1% of loan amount paid upfront, typically buying down the rate by 0.25%. Break-even is usually 4–6 years. Skip points if you might refinance or sell within that window.
• Refinance math. Refinancing typically costs $3K–$6K in closing fees. The rule of thumb: refinance if the new rate is 0.75%+ lower AND you'll stay in the home long enough to recover the closing costs (usually 18–36 months).
• 15-year vs 30-year + invest the difference. If you take the 30-year and reliably invest the monthly payment difference at a higher return than your mortgage rate, you come out ahead. With current 6.5–7% mortgage rates vs long-run equity returns of 7% real, this margin has narrowed — many people are better off taking the 15-year now.
• Owning isn't always the better deal. Compare with the Rent vs Buy calculator to see when renting and investing the down payment outperforms buying.