Home Equity Loan Calculator
A home equity loan is a fixed second mortgage: a lump sum at one rate, with a payment that never changes. Your first mortgage stays as it is.
Private by design. Your numbers stay on this device.
Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice.
Updated
What is a home equity loan?
A home equity loan sits behind your existing mortgage rather than replacing it. You take a lump sum at a fixed rate over a fixed term, so you know the payment for the life of the loan, which a HELOC cannot promise. The rate is higher than a first mortgage because the lender is second in line if the house is sold under duress. Against a cash-out refinance, the trade is simple: a higher rate on a small balance, or a lower rate applied to everything you owe.
Over your 26-year stay
You keep your first mortgage and its rate. The second lien is priced higher, but only the amount you borrow is exposed to it.
- Keep current
- Monthly payment
- $2,767
- Net cost over your stay
- $687,691
- vs keeping your mortgage
- —
- Break-even, ours
- —
- Break-even, conventional
- —
- Equity loan + mortgage
- Monthly payment
- $3,244
- Net cost over your stay
- $725,199
- vs keeping your mortgage
- -$37,508
- Break-even, ours
- Never recovers
- Break-even, conventional
- No monthly saving
Why two break-even figures? The conventional figure counts only the monthly payment saving against the cash you pay upfront. Ours also counts what you still owe when you sell, which is why the two disagree.
Compared over
the 26 years you expect to stay
Two break-even figures. The conventional figure counts only the monthly payment saving against the cash you pay upfront. Ours also counts what you still owe when you sell, which is why the two disagree.
| Leave it alone | Borrow beside it | |
|---|---|---|
| Measure | Keep current | Equity loan + mortgage |
| Interest rateThe rate on the new or largest loan in this scenario. | 6.875% | 8% |
| Starting loan balance | $320,000Low | $370,000 |
| Starting LTV (loan-to-value) | 71.1% | 82.2% combined |
| Principal & interest | $2,204Low | $2,682 |
| Extra principalVoluntary principal on top of the scheduled payment. Part of what you pay each month, so it belongs in the all-in figure. | — | — |
| PMI | — | — |
| Property tax + insuranceIdentical across every scenario for the same home, but a real part of the monthly bill. | $563 | $563 |
| Monthly HOA dues | — | — |
| All-in monthly payment | $2,767Low | $3,245 |
| Total closing costs | NoneLow | $1,500 |
| Cash you have to put inClosing costs paid in cash, plus any lump sum or one-time payment this option needs upfront. | NoneLow | $1,500 |
| Monthly commitment on topMoney you have to keep finding every month beyond the required payment: voluntary extra principal, or the same money invested instead. The required payment itself is the all-in figure above. | NoneLow | NoneLow |
| Cash received | None | $50,000 |
| Interest over 26 years | $367,691Low | $403,699 |
| Balance left after 26 yearsWhat you would still owe when you expect to sell or refinance again. | $0Low | $0Low |
| Equity after 26 yearsHome value less the balance owed. Uses your assumed appreciation rate, which is 0% unless you change it. It is never used to remove mortgage insurance early. | $450,000Low | $450,000Low |
| Invested balance after 26 yearsOnly the growth on this account is credited against net cost. The contributions are money you paid in, so counting the whole balance would count them twice. | — | — |
| Net cost over your planned stayCash closing costs + payments made + balance still owed − cash received. Excludes property tax, insurance and HOA, which are identical across scenarios. | $687,691Low | $725,199 |
| Savings vs keeping your mortgageThis is not the same as interest saved: it also counts the balance you still owe at the end of your stay and any cash you paid upfront. The row above reconciles the two. | BaselineLow | -$37,508 |
| Why that differs from interest saved | — | $36,008 more interest, less $50,000 of extra balance you start out owing, less $1,500 paid in cash at closing, plus $50,000 of cash you received — leaving you $37,508 worse off. |
| Break-even point, ours“Ahead from month 1” means there was no upfront cost to recover. “Never recovers” means the costs are never paid back. | — | Never recovers |
| Break-even point, conventionalUpfront cash divided by the monthly payment saving. This is the number most people mean by break-even, and it flatters a refinance: it ignores the principal you stop paying down when the term restarts. The equity-adjusted figure above is the one to rank on. | — | No monthly saving |
| Time to payoff | 26 yearsLow | 26 yearsLow |
| Total interest, full term | $367,691Low | $403,699 |
| Lifetime cost (interest + costs) | $367,691Low | $405,199 |
How to read this: “Low” marks the lowest figure among the scenarios shown and is not a recommendation. Net cost counts payments made plus the balance still owed at the end of your stay, minus cash received, which is what makes loans of different sizes and terms comparable.
Full amortization schedule
Every payment, month by month: how much goes to interest, how much retires principal, and what you still owe afterwards. The last money column is the all-in cost (principal, interest, any extra you send, mortgage insurance, property tax, homeowners insurance and HOA dues), which is what leaves your account. Switch to the annual view for a year-by-year summary. Printing and the CSV both follow whichever view you are in, so a year-by-year download gives a year-by-year file, which opens in Excel, Google Sheets and Numbers.
| Month | Payment date | Beginning balance | Payment | Principal | Interest | Extra principal | Ending balance | Cumulative interest | Mortgage insurance | Taxes & insurance | HOA | Total monthly cost | LTV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 01, 2026 | $320,000.00 | $2,204.15 | $370.82 | $1,833.33 | — | $319,629.18 | $1,833.33 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 71.0% |
| 2 | Feb 01, 2026 | $319,629.18 | $2,204.15 | $372.94 | $1,831.21 | — | $319,256.24 | $3,664.54 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 71.0% |
| 3 | Mar 01, 2026 | $319,256.24 | $2,204.15 | $375.08 | $1,829.07 | — | $318,881.16 | $5,493.61 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.9% |
| 4 | Apr 01, 2026 | $318,881.16 | $2,204.15 | $377.23 | $1,826.92 | — | $318,503.93 | $7,320.53 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.8% |
| 5 | May 01, 2026 | $318,503.93 | $2,204.15 | $379.39 | $1,824.76 | — | $318,124.54 | $9,145.29 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.7% |
| 6 | Jun 01, 2026 | $318,124.54 | $2,204.15 | $381.56 | $1,822.59 | — | $317,742.98 | $10,967.88 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.6% |
| 7 | Jul 01, 2026 | $317,742.98 | $2,204.15 | $383.75 | $1,820.40 | — | $317,359.23 | $12,788.28 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.5% |
| 8 | Aug 01, 2026 | $317,359.23 | $2,204.15 | $385.95 | $1,818.20 | — | $316,973.28 | $14,606.48 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.4% |
| 9 | Sep 01, 2026 | $316,973.28 | $2,204.15 | $388.16 | $1,815.99 | — | $316,585.12 | $16,422.47 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.3% |
| 10 | Oct 01, 2026 | $316,585.12 | $2,204.15 | $390.38 | $1,813.77 | — | $316,194.74 | $18,236.24 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.3% |
| 11 | Nov 01, 2026 | $316,194.74 | $2,204.15 | $392.62 | $1,811.53 | — | $315,802.12 | $20,047.77 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.2% |
| 12 | Dec 01, 2026 | $315,802.12 | $2,204.15 | $394.87 | $1,809.28 | — | $315,407.25 | $21,857.05 | — | $562.50 | — | $2,766.65 | 70.1% |
Showing 1–12 of 312 payments
Download any scenario
Each file is generated in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. Scenarios with a second lien include a separate block for each loan.
The link carries these figures inside it, after the #. That part of a web address is never sent to any server, ours or anyone else’s, so sharing one transmits nothing. Anyone you send it to can read the figures in it.
Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice. Want every option side by side instead? Open the full comparison.
A payment that does not change
A fixed second mortgage is the only one of the three equity routes where nothing changes after closing.
| Home equity loan | HELOC | Cash-out refinance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rate | Fixed | Variable | Fixed or adjustable |
| Payment changes over time? | Never | With the rate, and again at end of draw | Only if adjustable |
| First mortgage rate | Untouched | Untouched | Replaced |
| Balance retired from month one? | Yes | Not during an interest-only draw | Yes |
| Payoff date known at closing? | Yes | Yes, but the payment is not | Yes |
General structure only. Terms differ by lender, product, occupancy and location.
On the worked figures below, a home equity loan also costs the least of the three, but that comes from these particular numbers. The lasting difference is in the table: a home equity loan’s payment is known at closing and a HELOC’s is not. When the money is for a known cost, a revolving line’s flexibility has nothing to do, and you pay for it anyway.
What it costs against the alternatives
The same money raised three ways, against a first mortgage worth protecting.
A borrower owes $300,000 at 3.5% on a home worth $600,000 and needs $60,000, over a 10-year stay. A fixed home equity loan at 8% costs $0.64 per dollar raised. The HELOC at 8.5% costs $0.86, and a cash-out refinance at 6.75%, the lowest rate of the three, costs $2.48, because it re-prices the entire $300,000 rather than the $60,000 borrowed.
The second lien’s higher headline rate applies to a much smaller number, which is why comparing quoted rates across these three products tells you little on its own.
Home equity loan questions
- Why choose a fixed second mortgage over a line of credit?
- For certainty. A home equity loan hands over one lump sum at a fixed rate with a fixed payment and a known payoff date, so nothing about it changes after closing. A line of credit trades that for flexibility and carries the rate risk and the end-of-draw step-up. When the money is for a known cost, such as a specific renovation or a specific debt to clear, a revolving line's flexibility has nothing to do.
- Does a home equity loan change my first mortgage?
- No. It is a separate loan recorded as a second lien, so the first mortgage keeps its rate, balance, payment and payoff date. You end up with two payments rather than one larger one, which is what makes it possible to borrow without re-pricing a below-market first mortgage.
- How is a home equity loan repaid?
- Like any amortizing mortgage: equal monthly payments of principal and interest over a fixed term, commonly between five and twenty years. Every payment retires some balance from the first month, which is the sharpest practical difference from an interest-only HELOC draw, where the balance does not move at all until repayment begins.
- What happens to a home equity loan if I sell the house?
- It is repaid out of the sale proceeds at closing, after the first mortgage, because both are secured against the property. That ordering is also why a second lien is priced above a first: the second-lien holder is repaid only once the first is satisfied. If the sale does not cover both, the shortfall has to be settled before the sale can complete.