Calculators
Home loan repayment calculator
One question, answered four ways: what does a single repayment on this loan look like weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and how does it change if the loan is interest only for a while first? Enter your own figures and the result updates as you type. Free, no sign-up, estimates only.
Estimated repayment
$0
principal and interest, monthly
Total interest
$0
estimated, over the life of the loan
Loan paid off in
0
at these repayments
This calculator gives estimates for general information only. It is not credit advice or an offer of credit, and it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Results depend on the figures you enter and the assumptions shown below, which you can edit. Actual amounts will vary with lender fees, charges and credit criteria. Consider your circumstances and seek advice before acting. Talk to us and we'll search for options available to you across a panel of 75 lenders.
The default values are examples only and are not a quote, an offer of credit or a suggestion about any particular loan or lender. Results are not intended to be relied on when making a decision about a financial or credit product. Consider obtaining advice from a licensed professional before making financial decisions.
Assumptions (you can change these)
There are no hidden numbers here. Everything the calculator uses is one of the fields above, including the example interest rate, so change any of them to match your own loan. The notes below only describe how the arithmetic is done.
Frequency conversion on this calculator works like this. The monthly repayment is worked out first, from the annual rate divided by 12 over the term in months. Fortnightly is that monthly figure multiplied by 12 and divided by 26; weekly is multiplied by 12 and divided by 52. Because those figures are derived from the monthly one, a year of payments totals the same at every frequency, so paying at those amounts clears the loan slightly before the nominal term. That is why "loan paid off in" can read shorter than the term you entered.
While a loan is interest only, the repayment shown is the year's interest spread across that year's payments and the balance does not move. Once the period ends, the principal and interest repayment is recalculated on the balance still owing over whatever term is left.
Interest is applied once per payment period, at the annual rate divided by the number of payments in a year. Daily accrual, redraw, offset balances and any rate change part-way through the term are not modelled. A rate of zero simply repays the balance in equal instalments.
Figures are rounded to the cent each period and the last payment is trued up so the balance finishes exactly on zero.
Fees are excluded. Application, ongoing, valuation and settlement fees and lender's mortgage insurance are not modelled, and each would add to the real cost of the loan. Your lender's own figure can differ a little because of its rounding and its payment-date rules.
Reading the result
What that repayment figure is actually telling you
Where the first repayment goes
On a principal and interest loan, the interest part of each repayment is worked out on the balance you still owe. At the start that balance is at its largest, so the first repayment is mostly interest and only a small slice comes off the loan itself. Every repayment after it shifts the mix a little: the interest share shrinks, the principal share grows, and the balance line on the chart above tips from almost flat into a steady fall.
That is normal, and it is the same on every amortising loan. If you want to see the split period by period rather than as a curve, the amortisation calculator lays out the schedule and shows what an extra amount each time would do to it.
Principal and interest, or interest only
Principal and interest repayments cover the interest and chip away at the amount borrowed. With interest only, the repayment covers the interest and nothing else, so the amount you borrowed does not reduce during that period, as ASIC's Moneysmart sets out on its interest-only home loans page. The repayment is lower while it lasts, which is why interest only is common on investment lending and during a build.
The catch arrives at the end. When the interest-only period finishes, the loan switches to principal and interest, and the repayment rises, because the full amount borrowed now has to be repaid over a shorter remaining term. Switch the toggle above to "Interest only first" and the result panel shows you both numbers for the same loan, the one you would pay now and the one waiting at the other end.
What changes when a fixed period ends
A fixed rate holds your repayment steady for the fixed period, not for the life of the loan. When it ends, the loan moves to a variable rate unless you agree a new fixed period, and the repayment moves with it. Moneysmart covers this under choosing a home loan.
This calculator uses one rate for the whole term, so the useful way to plan for a fixed loan is to run it twice: once at your current fixed rate, and once at a higher rate, and look at the difference between the two repayments. If your fixed period ends in the next year or so, that is a good moment for a mortgage health check or a look at the refinance calculator.
Weekly, fortnightly or monthly
Changing the frequency does not change the loan, it changes how often you pay. This calculator derives the fortnightly and weekly figures from the monthly one: the monthly repayment is worked out first, then the fortnightly amount is that monthly figure multiplied by 12 and divided by 26, and the weekly amount is multiplied by 12 and divided by 52.
Splitting the same annual amount into 26 or 52 payments does not by itself pay the loan off faster. What it does is put money against the balance sooner within each month, so a little less interest accrues along the way. The effect is small, and it is smallest on this calculator because the fortnightly and weekly figures are derived from the monthly one. The real gains come from paying more than the scheduled amount, which the amortisation and extra repayments calculator models properly.
Worth knowing: many lenders set a fortnightly repayment at half the monthly amount rather than deriving it the way this calculator does. Half of a monthly repayment paid 26 times is more than twelve monthly repayments across a year, and that extra is what shortens the loan. ASIC's Moneysmart describes that version. Ask your lender which one it uses before assuming a switch will save you time.
Common questions
Repayment questions we hear
Why is my first repayment mostly interest?
Interest is charged on what you still owe, and at the very start that is the whole loan, so the interest share is at its largest and only a small slice comes off the balance. With every repayment the interest share shrinks and the principal share grows, slowly at first and then faster. The amortisation calculator shows that split period by period.
Does paying fortnightly instead of monthly make a difference?
Only a little, and not for the reason people expect. This calculator derives the fortnightly and weekly figures from the monthly repayment, so a year of payments comes to the same total at every frequency. Paying more often just gets money onto the balance sooner within each month, which shaves a small amount of interest. Paying more than the scheduled amount is what really shortens a loan.
What happens to my repayment when an interest-only period ends?
It goes up. During an interest-only period the amount borrowed does not reduce, so when the loan switches to principal and interest that same amount has to be repaid over a shorter remaining term. Choose "Interest only first" above and the result panel shows both the interest-only repayment and the estimated repayment once that period ends.
My rate is fixed. Which rate should I enter?
Enter your fixed rate to see the repayment while the fixed period runs, then run it again at a higher rate to see how the repayment would move if the loan reverted to a variable rate afterwards. We do not publish rates on this site, so take the figures from your own loan documents or ask us.
How much can I borrow?
This calculator answers a different question: what a loan of a given size would cost to repay. Borrowing power depends on your income, your commitments, your living expenses and each lender's own assessment rules, and it varies a lot between lenders. If your pay includes shift work, allowances or overtime, the income annualiser is a sensible first step, then talk to us and we will work it out properly across the lender panel.
Do you charge a fee for arranging a home loan?
No. Our home loan service is free to you. The lender pays us a commission when your loan settles.
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