Mortgage Refinance Calculator
What a rate-and-term refinance costs against keeping the mortgage you have, worked out on your own figures over the years you expect to stay rather than a full term you probably won't see out.
Private by design. Your numbers stay on this device.
Educational estimates only. Not financial, tax, or lending advice.
Updated
Should you refinance?
Refinancing makes financial sense when the total cost of the new loan (closing costs, payments made, and the balance still owed) falls below the cost of keeping your current mortgage before you sell or refinance again. That break-even test matters more than the size of the rate drop. A 0.5% improvement can pay for itself in under two years on a large balance with low closing costs, while a 1.5% improvement can lose money on a small balance with high costs if you move in three years.
The two things that most often reverse the answer are the term reset (refinancing into a fresh 30 years after paying for eight) and financed closing costs (paying interest on the fees for the life of the loan). The calculator below models both.
If your existing rate is below what is on offer, a recast can lower the payment without touching the rate, and recast vs refinance costs the two against each other.
Over your 26-year stay
A rate-and-term refinance replaces your loan at a new rate. The closing costs are paid up front and repaid out of the monthly saving, so the question is whether you stay long enough to get them back.
- Keep current
- Monthly payment
- $2,767
- Net cost over your stay
- $687,691
- vs keeping your mortgage
- —
- Break-even, ours
- —
- Break-even, conventional
- —
- Rate & term refi
- Monthly payment
- $2,591
- Net cost over your stay
- $632,764
- vs keeping your mortgage
- +$54,927
- Break-even, ours
- Month 31
- Break-even, conventional
- Nothing upfront to recover
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 | Replace your mortgage | |
|---|---|---|
| Measure | Keep current | Rate & term refi |
| Interest rateThe rate on the new or largest loan in this scenario. | 6.875% | 5.75% |
| Starting loan balance | $320,000Low | $328,000 |
| Starting LTV (loan-to-value) | 71.1% | 72.9% |
| Principal & interest | $2,204 | $2,028Low |
| 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 | $2,767 | $2,591Low |
| Total closing costs | NoneLow | $8,000 |
| Cash you have to put inClosing costs paid in cash, plus any lump sum or one-time payment this option needs upfront. | NoneLow | NoneLow |
| 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 | None |
| Interest over 26 years | $367,691 | $304,764Low |
| 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. | $687,691 | $632,764Low |
| 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. | Baseline | +$54,927Low |
| Why that differs from interest saved | — | $62,927 less interest, less $8,000 of extra balance you start out owing — leaving you $54,927 better 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. | — | Month 31 |
| 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. | — | Nothing upfront to recover |
| Time to payoff | 26 yearsLow | 26 yearsLow |
| Total interest, full term | $367,691 | $304,764Low |
| Lifetime cost (interest + costs) | $367,691 | $312,764Low |
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.
How to use this refinance calculator
Four inputs decide almost all of the answer, and the rest fine-tune it.
- Enter your current balance and rate. Use the payoff balance from your latest statement, not the original loan amount. If you know your exact principal and interest payment, enter that too, since it is more accurate than a derived figure.
- Enter the years and months you have left, not the original term. That remainder is what a new 30-year loan would reset.
- Enter the offered rate, term and closing costs from a Loan Estimate, the standard three-page form the CFPB requires a lender to give you within three business days of your application. Advertised rates assume a borrower profile that may not be yours. To add up the lines on that form first, use the closing cost calculator.
- Enter how long you expect to stay. This input decides the answer more often than any other, and most calculators leave it out. Every scenario is scored over this horizon.
Results update as you type. The calculation runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
A worked example: why the term matters more than the rate
The same rate and closing costs over three terms, measured two ways that put them in opposite orders.
A borrower owes $400,000 at 6.875% with 24 years left, paying $2,840 a month in principal and interest. They are offered 5.875% with $8,000 in closing costs, paid in cash. The only thing that changes between the three rows below is the term they choose.
| New term | P&I | Simple payback | Break-even | Interest vs keeping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 years | $2,366 | 17 months | Month 26 | +$34,014 |
| 25 years | $2,547 | 28 months | Month 25 | -$53,783 |
| 20 years | $2,837 | 3,042 months | Month 24 | -$136,931 |
Computed by the same engine as the calculator above, and re-checked against it on every build. Your own figures will differ; this is an illustration, not a quote.
Compare the two middle columns. Simple payback, which divides closing costs by the monthly saving and is the figure most calculators print, ranks the 30-year term best at 17 months and the 20-year term as absurd at 3,042 months. The 20-year payment is almost identical to the one being replaced, so there is barely any monthly saving to divide into. Break-even, which also counts the balance still owed, ranks them the opposite way: month 24 for the 20-year, month 26 for the 30-year.
The last column explains the gap. The 30-year refinance does lower the payment, by $473 a month, but it adds $34,014 of interest over the full term at a rate a full point below the loan it replaced, because the term reset outweighs the rate. The 20-year at the same rate saves $136,931.
How both break-even figures are calculated, and when they disagree
Rate-and-term vs cash-out refinance
The two are priced and capped differently, and people use them for different things.
| Rate-and-term | Cash-out | |
|---|---|---|
| New loan amount | Payoff balance (+ financed costs) | Balance + cash taken (+ costs) |
| Cash to you at closing | None | The amount you request |
| Effect on LTV | Unchanged or lower | Higher |
| Typical LTV cap | Up to ~95% on conventional | Commonly ~80% |
| Relative pricing | Better | Usually priced above rate-and-term |
| Main reason to use it | Lower the rate or change the term | Access equity as cash |
General characteristics only. Caps, pricing and eligibility differ by lender, loan product, occupancy and location.
If you only want better pricing, a rate-and-term refinance is the simpler choice. If you need cash, compare a cash-out refinance with second liens before assuming it is the answer (see cash-out refinance vs HELOC).
The 30-year reset trap
The most common way a refinance costs money while appearing to save it.
Interest is charged on the outstanding balance, so early payments are interest-heavy: on a 30-year loan at 6.5%, roughly three-quarters of the first payment is interest. Eight years in, that ratio has shifted meaningfully in your favour. Refinancing into a fresh 30-year term throws that progress away and puts you back at the start of the curve.
The monthly payment falls, which feels like a win, but you have added years of payments and total interest can rise even at a lower rate. Match the new term to what you have left instead. If you have 22 years remaining, compare a 20-year and a 25-year refinance rather than defaulting to 30. The worked example above prices the same refinance over three terms.
Does refinancing reset your mortgage, and how to refinance without restarting
Refinance calculator questions
- How much does my interest rate need to drop before refinancing is worth it?
- There is no universal threshold. The old '1% rule' ignores the two things that decide it: your closing costs and how long you will keep the loan. A 0.5% drop can pay for itself in under two years on a large balance with low costs, while a 1.5% drop can lose money on a small balance with high costs if you sell in three years. Run your own numbers and look at the break-even month, not the rate difference.
- What is a refinance break-even point?
- It is the month when the money you have saved finally exceeds what the refinance cost you. This calculator measures it by comparing total cost (payments made plus the balance still owed, minus any cash received) against simply keeping your current mortgage. If your break-even month falls after you expect to sell or refinance again, the refinance costs you money even though the monthly payment fell.
- How is the break-even point calculated here?
- Month by month, this tool tracks the total cost of each scenario: closing costs paid in cash, every payment made, mortgage insurance, plus the balance still owed at that month, minus any cash received. The break-even month is the first month where that running total for the refinance drops below the same running total for keeping your current mortgage.
- Why is that different from dividing closing costs by monthly savings?
- The simple division ignores what happens to your balance. A refinance into a fresh 30-year term lowers the payment partly by paying down principal more slowly, so some of the 'saving' is debt pushed into later years. Counting the remaining balance charges each scenario for the debt it leaves behind, which is why this method often produces a later break-even than the simple version.
- What if there is no break-even point within my planned stay?
- Then the refinance has not paid for itself by the time you expect to leave, and the tool says so rather than showing a break-even month far beyond your horizon. That is a real result rather than an error, and it usually means the closing costs are too high relative to the rate improvement, or the new term stretches too far.
- Is it worth refinancing to a shorter term?
- Shorter terms usually carry lower rates and dramatically less total interest, but the monthly payment goes up, often by more than people expect. If the higher payment is comfortable, a 15-year refinance is one of the most cost-effective moves available. If it is not, extra principal payments on your existing loan get you most of the interest savings while keeping the lower required payment as a safety net.
- Should I roll closing costs into the loan or pay them in cash?
- Paying in cash keeps the balance lower and avoids paying interest on the fees, but it consumes savings immediately. Rolling them in preserves cash at the cost of interest over the life of the loan. On a $8,000 cost financed for 30 years at 6%, you pay roughly $9,000 in additional interest on the fees alone. The calculator models both, so you can see the difference rather than guess at it.