Skip to content

Biweekly mortgage calculator

What paying half the payment every two weeks saves against paying monthly.

Reviewed by Victor Yuki Matusita on . First published .

Your numbers stay on your device
$
%
years

Interest saved

$88,123

Paying $948.10 every two weeks instead of $1,896.20 a month ends the loan in 24 years 2 months instead of 30 years, and saves $88,123 of interest.

  • Principal $300,000 · 50%
  • Interest paying biweekly $294,513 · 50%

Taxes, insurance and fees

$
$
$

Private mortgage insurance, usually asked with less than 20% down.

$
Monthly payments
Each payment
$1,896.20
Interest
$382,637
Paid off in
30 years
Biweekly payments
Each payment
$948.10
Interest
$294,513
Paid off in
24 years 2 months

B ends the loan 5 years 10 months sooner and saves $88,123 of interest.

Advertisements

Biweekly schedule

How to use the biweekly mortgage calculator

  1. Enter the home price, the down payment, the rate and the term of the mortgage.
  2. Read the half payment and how much sooner the loan ends.
  3. Compare the monthly and biweekly payments side by side, and open the biweekly schedule.

Where the savings come from

A year has 52 weeks, so half a payment every two weeks is 26 half payments, which add up to 13 monthly payments instead of 12. That extra payment a year goes to principal, and the interest charged every two weeks on a smaller balance does the rest.

Biweekly programs that charge a fee

You can usually reach the same result by adding one twelfth of a payment to each monthly payment, at no cost. The CFPB sued a company that charged enrollment and yearly fees for biweekly plans, saying the fees could take years to recover. Ask your servicer how it applies payments before you sign up for a program.

How the biweekly schedule is worked out

The formula

The monthly payment is M = P × r × (1 + r)^n ÷ ((1 + r)^n − 1) with r the yearly rate ÷ 12. The half payment is M ÷ 2, rounded to the cent.

Every two weeks: interest = balance × yearly rate ÷ 26, rounded to the cent, and the half payment lowers the balance by what is left, until a last half payment closes it.

Assumptions

  • The rate stays the same for the whole term: a fixed-rate loan.
  • The monthly loan it is compared with is charged interest once a month at the yearly rate divided by 12, on the balance, and rounded to the cent.
  • Property tax and insurance stay at the yearly amounts you enter. In real life they can change every year.
  • PMI and HOA dues stay at the monthly amounts you enter. Here PMI doesn't stop on its own; on most loans it can end once the balance falls to 78% to 80% of the home's original value.
  • No closing costs, points or lender fees are included.
  • A biweekly payment is half the monthly payment, rounded to the cent, paid 26 times a year: the same as 13 monthly payments a year.
  • Interest is charged on the balance every two weeks at the yearly rate divided by 26. The time in months is the number of half payments × 12 ÷ 26, rounded up to a whole month.

Worked example

This is the example the calculator opens with, worked out by the same engine you use above.

You enter
Home price$375,000.00
Down payment20%
Rate6.5%
Loan term30 years
Property tax per year$4,500.00
Home insurance per year$1,500.00
PMI per month$0.00
HOA dues per month$0.00
You get
Each payment$1,896.20
Half payment$948.10
Interest saved$88,123.26
Months saved70 months
Number of half payments628 half payments

Paying $948.10 every two weeks instead of $1,896.20 a month ends the loan in 24 years 2 months instead of 30 years, and saves $88,123 of interest.

Sources

Educational tool

This calculator is an educational tool, not financial advice. Your servicer decides how and when biweekly payments are applied.

Questions about biweekly mortgages

Is a biweekly mortgage a different loan?

No. It is the same loan paid in halves every two weeks. Whether the servicer credits each half at once or holds it until the monthly due date changes how much you save.

Why does it save money?

Mostly because 26 half payments make one extra monthly payment a year, and that extra lowers the balance. Interest charged every two weeks adds a little more.

Can I get the same result without a biweekly plan?

Close to it, by paying one twelfth more with each monthly payment. The extra payments calculator shows that case.

Does biweekly fit my pay schedule?

If you are paid every two weeks it can make budgeting easier. Two months a year have three paydays, which is where the extra payment comes from.

Privacy

Your numbers stay on your device. The calculator runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere, and the link you copy keeps the numbers after the #, a part of the address your browser never sends.