Mortgage Comparison
Put three mortgages on the same home side by side — and see which rate, amortization, and payment frequency really costs less.
of the home price. Minimum:
Enter a home price, a down payment below it, and a rate and amortization for each scenario.
Comparing mortgages — what to know
What does this mortgage comparison tool do?
It puts three mortgages on the same home side by side. You set the home price, down payment, and country once — they are shared — then give each of the three scenarios its own interest rate, amortization, and payment frequency. The tool shows each scenario’s payment, mortgage insurance, total interest, and total cost, flags the cheapest overall, and plots how fast each one builds home equity.
How do I compare two mortgage rates?
Keep the home price, down payment, amortization, and frequency the same in two of the scenarios, and change only the rate. The difference in total cost is the true price of the rate gap. Even a quarter of a percentage point adds up to thousands of dollars over a 25-year amortization, which the side-by-side total makes obvious.
Is a shorter amortization or a lower rate better?
Both lower the interest you pay, but in different ways. A lower rate reduces the cost of every dollar borrowed; a shorter amortization reduces how long you borrow it for. A shorter term usually saves more interest overall but raises the payment. Put one scenario with the lower rate and one with the shorter amortization side by side and compare the total cost and the payment together.
What do the equity curves show?
Home equity is the part of the home you own outright — the price minus the mortgage balance. Each curve starts at your down payment and rises to the full home price when the mortgage is paid off. A steeper curve means equity builds faster; an accelerated-payment scenario reaches the top years earlier than a standard monthly one, which is the clearest picture of paying a home off sooner.
Does accelerated bi-weekly really cost less?
Yes. An accelerated bi-weekly payment is half the monthly payment, paid 26 times a year — which equals 13 monthly payments instead of 12. That one extra payment a year goes straight to principal, shortens the amortization by several years, and cuts the total interest. The trade-off is a slightly higher yearly outlay. Set one scenario to monthly and another to accelerated bi-weekly to see the exact difference.
Can I compare Canadian and US mortgages here?
The three scenarios share one country, because the compounding method and the type of mortgage insurance differ between Canada and the US. Switch the country toggle to compare scenarios within that market. To weigh a Canadian mortgage against a US one, run the comparison once for each country, or use the single Mortgage Calculator and switch the country there.