When applying for a mortgage in 2026, loan officers will barrage you with different options: A 30-year fixed, a 15-year fixed, an ARM, or a scenario where you pay extra cash upfront for "points." Never pick a loan based entirely on the monthly payment. Use our Loan Comparison Calculator to model up to three scenarios side-by-side and reveal exactly which mortgage mathematically saves you the most money over the next three decades.
Banks make massive profits by selling you loans with incredibly low monthly payments.
If Bank A offers you a 30-year loan at $2,500 a month, and Bank B offers a 15-year loan at $3,500 a month, the 30-year loan seems like the obvious choice. But what the bank does not actively advertise is the Total Interest Paid.
On a 30-year mortgage, you will often pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in pure interest. By utilizing the 15-year loan, your monthly payment is aggressively higher, but you destroy the principal balance so fast that you can save $200,000+ in interest over the life of the loan. Our side-by-side calculator forces the bank's true profit margins into the open.
Our tool allows you to instantly compare three distinct loan profiles. Here are the most common ways experts use this calculator:
In 2026, first-time homebuyers are often torn between an FHA loan (which allows a 580 credit score but mandates expensive, permanent Mortgage Insurance Premiums) and a Conventional loan (which requires higher credit scores but allows PMI to eventually fall off).
Use our comparison tool to model the exact same house with an FHA loan in Scenario 1 and a Conventional loan in Scenario 2. If you plan to live in the house for 30 years, the permanent MIP on the FHA loan will likely make it significantly more expensive over the long term, even if the FHA interest rate is technically lower.
If you want to view the full, month-by-month amortization schedule for a specific scenario (including taxes and insurance), move your numbers over to our massive, fully featured Mortgage Calculator.
Go to Advanced Mortgage CalculatorA 30-year mortgage gives you flexibility. The monthly payment is low, which protects you if you lose your job. A 15-year mortgage has a significantly higher monthly payment, but it destroys the loan balance twice as fast. A 15-year mortgage will literally save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest, but you must be mathematically certain you can afford the massive monthly payment.
Compare up to 3 mortgage scenarios simultaneously. Edit any field to see results update instantly.
Monthly Payment
$2,609
✓ Lowest Payment
Monthly Payment
$3,123
Monthly Payment
$3,277
| Metric | Scenario A | Scenario B | Scenario C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Price | $400,000 | $400,000 | $400,000 |
| Down Payment | $80,000 (20.0%) | $40,000 (10.0%) | $80,000 (20.0%) |
| Interest Rate | 6.75% | 6.75% | 6.25% |
| Loan Term | 30 yr | 30 yr | 15 yr |
| Monthly P&I | $2,076 | $2,335 | $2,744 |
| Monthly PITI | $2,609 | $3,123 | $3,277 |
| Loan Amount | $320,000 | $360,000 | $320,000 |
| Total Interest | $427,185 | $480,583 | $173,876 |
| Total Payments | $747,185 | $840,583 | $493,876 |