15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage Calculator
On the default $320,000 loan at 6.5%, the 15-year term costs $2,788 a month in principal and interest versus $2,023 for the 30-year — $765 more each month — but pays $226,385 less interest in total and is finished 15 years sooner. The 15-year is the classic refinance and second-home-loan term: it builds equity roughly three times as fast in the early years and typically carries a lower rate in the real market — though this page deliberately uses one rate for both terms so you see the pure effect of the term itself.
15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage Calculator reference last updated · reference source
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What this tool does
On the default $320,000 loan at 6.5%, the 15-year term costs $2,788 a month in principal and interest versus $2,023 for the 30-year — $765 more each month — but pays $226,385 less interest in total and is finished 15 years sooner. The 15-year is the classic refinance and second-home-loan term: it builds equity roughly three times as fast in the early years and typically carries a lower rate in the real market — though this page deliberately uses one rate for both terms so you see the pure effect of the term itself.
How to use the 15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage Calculator
- Check Loan term (years): 15.
- Review the 15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage Calculator result and its exact-value comparison table.
- Verify assumptions before applying the result.
Formula
Both terms amortise the same loan with M = L · r(1+r)^N / ((1+r)^N − 1) (r = annual rate ÷ 12; N = 15×12 vs 30×12); the comparison is the difference in monthly payment, total interest and balance path.
- L
- Loan amount = home price − down payment
- r
- Monthly interest rate = annual rate ÷ 12
- N
- Number of payments = term in years × 12
- M
- Monthly principal & interest payment
Same rate, price, tax and insurance for both terms to isolate the term effect; live quotes normally price the shorter term lower, widening its advantage.
Worked example
15-Year vs 30-Year Mortgage Calculator: Loan term (years) = 15. On the default $320,000 loan at 6.5%, the 15-year term costs $2,788 a month in principal and interest versus $2,023 for the 30-year — $765 more each month — but pays $226,385 less interest in total and is finished 15 years sooner. The 15-year is the classic refinance and second-home-loan term: it builds equity roughly three times as fast in the early years and typically carries a lower rate in the real market — though this page deliberately uses one rate for both terms so you see the pure effect of the term itself.
Inputs
- Home price$400000
- Down payment$80000
- Interest rate (%)6.5 %
- Loan term (years)15
- Property tax (% of home value / year)1.1 %
- Home insurance (per year)$1800
- HOA dues (per month, optional)$0
Result
- Interest saved with the 15-year term$226,384.52
- Monthly principal & interest — 15-year$2,787.54
- Monthly principal & interest — 30-year$2,022.62
- Extra per month for the 15-year$764.93
- Total interest — 15-year$181,757.84
- Total interest — 30-year$408,142.36
- Years sooner mortgage-free15
- Total monthly payment — 15-year (incl. tax & insurance)$3,304.21
- Total monthly payment — 30-year (incl. tax & insurance)$2,539.28
Default comparison: $320,000 loan at 6.5%
| Measure | 15-year | 30-year |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly principal & interest | 2787.54 | 2022.62 |
| Total interest | 181757.84 | 408142.36 |
| Balance after 5 years | 245494.78 | 299555.13 |
Results explained
- Interest saved with the 15-year term
- Total interest on the 30-year schedule minus total interest on the shorter schedule, same loan and rate.
- Extra per month for the 15-year
- The additional monthly principal-and-interest payment the shorter term demands in exchange for the interest saving.
- Years sooner mortgage-free
- 30 minus the shorter term: how much earlier the loan is fully repaid.
- Balance after 5 years (table)
- Remaining principal after 60 payments on each term — the equity-building difference, before house-price changes.
Frequently asked questions
On the default $320,000 loan at 6.5%, about $226,385 — total interest of $181,758 versus $408,142 for the 30-year. The saving scales with the loan size and rate, so enter your own figures to see yours.
$765 more per month in principal and interest on the default loan ($2,788 versus $2,023). Property tax, insurance and HOA are identical for both terms, so the difference in the full monthly payment is exactly this amount.
It suits buyers in their 40s and 50s who want the mortgage gone by retirement, high-income buyers with payment headroom, and refinancers who can keep roughly the same payment by shortening the term. The test most advisers use: the higher payment should still leave room to save at least 15% of income and keep an emergency fund — a mortgage you can barely pay is worse than a longer one you can overpay.
To isolate the term. In real quotes a 15-year loan usually prices 0.5–1.0 percentage points below a 30-year, which makes its true interest saving larger than shown here. Change the rate input to your quoted 15-year rate, note the result, then compare it with the 30-year at its own quote.
After five years on the default loan the 15-year balance is $245,495 versus $299,555 on the 30-year — about $54,060 more equity from the same house, before any change in its value. Early payments on a long term are mostly interest; the short term forces principal down from month one.
Mostly — paying the 30-year as if it were a 15-year (adding about $765 a month on the default loan, marked as principal) retires it on nearly the same schedule, and keeps the flexibility to drop back to the lower required payment. What you give up versus a true 15-year loan is the lower rate lenders usually attach to the shorter term.