See it on your own numbers
Try the calculator Move your credit score and down payment and watch your rate update.
Your rate,
The free interactive mortgage rate calculator. See your rate, your payment and exactly why, before you ever talk to a lender.
Mortgage calculator
Plug in your rate.
Type the rate a lender quoted you, or drag the dial. See your payment, and what every eighth of a point is worth.
$
%
Term
%
Type it, or drag the dial · arrow keys move ⅛ point
Monthly principal & interest
Every ⅛ point
Loan amount
Total interest
Half a point lower
Educational estimate · principal & interest onlyAdd taxes, insurance & PMI
CMR-00 · SignatureLive
Mortgage rate calculator
Your rate from credit score, down payment, property and term, then the full payment: principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA and PMI.
CMR-01Calc
Affordability
How much house your income and debts can actually carry.
CMR-02Calc
Refi savings
Monthly savings and the month you break even.
CMR-05Calc
Home equity
What you've built, and what you could borrow against.
CMR-03Calc
Rent vs. buy
The year buying pulls ahead, for how long you'll stay.
CMR-08Calc
PMI
The month private mortgage insurance drops off.
CMR-04Unique
LLPA adjuster
The fee hidden inside your rate, on the real pricing grid.
CMR-09Schedule
Amortization
Every payment, year by year, plus what extra principal saves.
CMR-06Guide
Loan Estimate, decoded
All three pages of the form, every line explained.
The problem → our solution
Same loan. Different risk factors.
The same $200,000 loan, priced for two buyers. Follow each row from credit score to monthly payment.
Free homebuyer toolkit
Five printables. Zero cost.
Five worksheets that take you from your first credit check to your first year in the home. Download, print, and fill them in by hand. No signup, no email.
One 10-page PDF · letter size · prints in black & white
- 01Know Your NumbersCredit score, LTV, DTI and the LLPA factors behind your rate.2 pages · PDFDownload
- 02Home Buying BudgetFind the payment you’re comfortable with, not just the most you can borrow.2 pages · PDFDownload
- 03Home Comparison SheetScore up to four homes side by side on cost, details and location.1 page · PDFDownload
- 04Home Buying JournalWhat you want, every showing, and the milestones to the keys.3 pages · PDFDownload
- 05First-Year ChecklistWeek one through month twelve in your new home.2 pages · PDFDownload
CMR-00 · Signature toolMortgage rate calculator
Your rate, and your real payment.
Pick your credit score, down payment, property and loan. We estimate the rate a lender would price for you, then build the full monthly payment and payoff schedule. Everything updates as you move.
Monthly paymentUpdates live
Principal & interest
Taxes & insurance
PMI
Est. rate
What shifts your rate
Loan breakdown
Estimates for education, not a loan offer. Rate adjustments are a simplified model of how lenders price credit, down payment, occupancy and term; your real rate depends on your lender and the market on the day you lock. PMI is estimated for conventional loans under 20% down.
Year by year
Where the money actually goes.
Early payments are mostly interest; the principal share grows over time.
PrincipalInterestBalance
The calculators
Your max home price
Monthly savings
Break-even
Lifetime net savings
Current payment
New payment
Cumulative net savingsBreak-even
Compares principal & interest on your current balance at both rates over the new term. Resetting the clock on a loan you've paid for years can raise total interest even when the payment drops.
Your equity
Verdict
Renting, total costBuying, net cost
Rent total
Buy net cost
Monthly to own
Buying pulls ahead
PMI drops off in
PMI / month
Total PMI paid
Request at 80%
Automatic at 78%
PMI rates are market estimates by credit score and loan-to-value (roughly 0.5%–1.6% of the loan a year). A new appraisal after your home gains value can get you there sooner.
Total price adjustment
Credit score × loan-to-value grid, purchase loans (points)Highlighted: your cell
Modeled on Fannie Mae's published Loan-Level Price Adjustment matrix for purchase loans. Condo, 2–4 unit and non-primary add-ons are simplified. Lenders usually fold LLPAs into your rate at roughly 0.25% of rate per point.
CMR-09 · Our specialtyFull amortization schedule
Every payment, year by year.
See exactly how much of each payment goes to interest and how much pays down your loan, and what a little extra principal each month does to your payoff date.
Monthly principal & interest
Total interest
Interest saved
Payoff date
Time saved
Balance, no extraBalance with extra
The schedule
Start hereLearn the game before you play it
Start here.
Short, clear guides: your rights, the fees nobody explains, and how to make lenders compete for you. Read a few, then go run your numbers with confidence.
Know your rights
They work for you, not the other way around.
Three numbers every buyer should know before talking to a single lender.
3business days
After you apply, the lender owes you a free Loan Estimate within three business days. It's the law. Read one with us
45days
Today's FICO models count every mortgage credit pull inside 45 days as one. Shop inside 14 days to be safe on every model. How it works
78% LTV
PMI must end automatically when your balance reaches 78% of the original value. You can ask at 80%. Find your month
CMR-07 · A–ZMortgage glossary
Know what you're signing.
Clear definitions of common mortgage terms, so your Loan Estimate, your rate and the whole process finally make sense.
CMR-06 · GuideHow to read a Loan Estimate
Three pages. Every line, explained.
The Loan Estimate is a standard three-page form every lender must give you within three business days of applying. Same format from every lender, so you can compare them line for line.
Page 1 · Your loan at a glance
The core numbers that define your loan.
- Loan amount
- The total you’re borrowing. Check whether it can increase after closing — on most fixed loans it can’t.
- Interest rate
- The rate used to calculate your principal & interest. Confirm whether it can change.
- Monthly principal & interest
- The part of your payment that pays down the loan plus interest — before taxes and insurance.
- Prepayment penalty
- A fee for paying the loan off early. You want this to say "NO".
- Balloon payment
- A large lump sum due at the end of the term. On a standard 30-year loan this should say "NO".
What you’ll actually pay each month, now and later.
- Principal & interest
- The loan portion of your payment. On an adjustable loan this can rise over time.
- Mortgage insurance
- PMI or MIP, required when you put less than 20% down. It can fall off later once you have enough equity.
- Estimated escrow
- Money collected monthly to pay your property taxes and homeowners insurance when they come due.
- Estimated total monthly payment
- Principal & interest + mortgage insurance + escrow. This is the number that hits your bank account.
- Estimated taxes, insurance & assessments
- The yearly cost of taxes, insurance and any HOA dues — whether or not they’re in escrow.
The two headline closing numbers.
- Estimated closing costs
- Total of all loan costs and other costs (the detail lives on Page 2), minus any lender credits.
- Estimated cash to close
- The actual money you need to bring — closing costs plus your down payment, minus deposits and credits.
Page 2 · Where every dollar goes
What the lender charges to make the loan.
- Points
- Optional upfront fee to buy down your rate. One point = 1% of the loan. Paying points only pays off if you keep the loan long enough.
- Application / underwriting / processing fees
- The lender’s own charges for originating your loan. These are fixed by the lender — compare them between offers.
Third-party services the lender picks.
- Appraisal fee
- Pays a licensed appraiser to estimate the home’s value.
- Credit report fee
- The cost of pulling your credit.
- Flood determination
- Checks whether the property sits in a flood zone.
Services you’re allowed to price-shop yourself.
- Title services & lender’s title insurance
- Searches the title and insures the lender’s interest. You can compare providers.
- Survey / pest inspection
- Where required, confirms property lines or checks for pests. Shopping these can save real money.
A + B + C — everything tied to getting the loan.
- Total loan costs
- The sum of boxes A, B and C. This is the part of closing costs most directly driven by your lender choice.
Charges from your local government.
- Recording fees
- Paid to record the deed and mortgage in public records.
- Transfer taxes
- A tax some states/counties charge to transfer the property. Varies widely by location.
Costs paid in advance at closing.
- Homeowners insurance premium
- Usually the first full year, paid upfront.
- Prepaid interest
- Interest from your closing date to the end of that month.
- Property taxes
- Any taxes due soon, prepaid at closing.
Seeds your escrow account.
- Initial escrow deposit
- A few months of taxes and insurance collected upfront so the escrow account always has a cushion.
Optional or situational items.
- Owner’s title insurance
- Optional policy that protects you (not just the lender) against title problems. Often labeled "optional".
E + F + G + H.
- Total other costs
- Everything not charged by the lender — taxes, prepaids, escrow and other items.
D + I, minus lender credits.
- Total closing costs
- Loan costs plus other costs.
- Lender credits
- Money the lender puts toward your costs — often in exchange for a slightly higher rate.
How closing costs become the check you write.
- Down payment & funds from borrower
- Your equity contribution.
- Deposit
- Your earnest money, credited back to you.
- Seller credits & adjustments
- Anything the seller or others pay on your behalf.
- Estimated cash to close
- The final figure — what you actually bring to the closing table.
Page 3 · Comparisons & fine print
Three numbers built for shopping lenders.
- In 5 years
- Total you’ll have paid in five years, and how much of that goes to principal. Great for comparing offers.
- Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
- Your rate plus fees expressed as a yearly cost — a fuller picture than the interest rate alone.
- Total Interest Percentage (TIP)
- The total interest you’ll pay over the loan as a percentage of the amount borrowed.
Rights, requirements and what-ifs.
- Appraisal
- Your right to receive a copy of the appraisal.
- Assumption
- Whether a future buyer could take over your loan.
- Homeowners insurance
- A reminder that the lender requires it but you choose the company.
- Late payment
- The fee charged if a payment is late.
- Refinance & servicing
- Notes that refinancing depends on future conditions, and who will collect your payments.
Signing here is not a commitment.
- Signature line
- Confirms you received the form. It does NOT mean you’ve accepted the loan — you can still walk away.
About usCalculate My Rate, LLC · founded 2026
Built for buyers. Not lenders.
Calculate My Rate is an independent educational platform that gives every home buyer the clarity, confidence and tools to navigate the mortgage process, without the pressure, the pitch or the confusion.
Going through the home-buying process can feel overwhelming. Between rate quotes, LLPA adjustments, closing cost breakdowns and Loan Estimates full of terms you've never heard, it's easy to feel like the whole system is designed for everyone but you.
We went through it ourselves. We sat across from lenders without knowing what questions to ask, signed documents we didn't fully understand, and wished there had been a place to go just to understand the numbers, without anyone trying to sell us something.
That's exactly what Calculate My Rate is. We built the tools we wished existed, and we made them free for everyone, because financial clarity shouldn't be a luxury.
"We built the tools we wished existed when we bought our homes. Educational, empowering tools to put you in the best spot possible, before you ever sit down with a lender."Calculate My Rate, LLC
What we stand for
Six promises, kept.
No lender to sell, no affiliate fees to collect, no loan to pitch. Our only interest is yours.
01Radical transparency
Every number we show is explained. Every term is defined. We break complexity down so you can own it.
02Complete independence
No lender to sell, no affiliate fees, no loan to pitch.
03Real-time tools
Calculators update live as you adjust, so you see exactly what moves your rate.
04Education first
Every article, guide and glossary term is written to inform, never to impress or intimidate.
05No pressure, ever
No signup. No sales calls. No follow-up emails. Use the tools on your own terms.
06Built for everyone
First home or fifth, no financial background required.
Got questions
Frequently asked.
And when you're ready, start with the calculator. No signup, no pressure, just the math.
Is this financial advice?
No. Everything on Calculate My Rate (the calculators, articles, glossary and guides) is for educational purposes only. We help you understand the numbers so you can ask better questions. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy, sell, borrow or invest. Always work with a licensed lender, financial advisor or real estate professional for advice specific to your situation.
Are the rate estimates accurate?
The rates in our calculator are educational estimates based on publicly available LLPA data and general market conditions. They are not a quote, not a commitment to lend, and not guaranteed. Your actual rate depends on your full financial profile, the lender you choose, and the market when you lock. Always get a formal Loan Estimate from a licensed lender for your actual numbers.
Do you pitch me a loan?
No. We don't make loans or pitch you one. We're an independent educational platform with no mortgage product to sell and no lender relationship that influences what we show you. No pressure, no follow-up calls, no agenda.
What is an LLPA, and why does it affect my rate?
A loan-level price adjustment (LLPA) is a risk-based fee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge on most conventional mortgages. It's based on your credit score, down payment, property type and other factors, and it's folded into your interest rate instead of shown as a separate charge. Our LLPA adjuster shows you exactly which cell of the pricing grid you land in.
Can I use these tools if I'm just starting to research?
Absolutely. That's exactly who we built them for. You don't need a lender, a pre-approval, or even a specific home in mind. The tools work best before you talk to lenders, so you know what questions to ask and what numbers to expect.
Why does my rate look different from a lender's quote?
That's expected. Our calculator gives you an educational estimate so you know the ballpark before you walk in. A lender's quote reflects your full credit file, the specific loan program, their own pricing and that day's market. Use our numbers to understand what drives your rate, then compare real Loan Estimates across lenders.
Who made this, and why?
Calculate My Rate was built by people who went through the home-buying process and felt blindsided by how complicated, and how opaque, mortgage pricing really is. We built the tools we wished had existed. When buyers understand their numbers, they make better decisions and ask better questions.
Calculate My Rate, LLC is an independent educational platform. All content, calculators and estimates are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, legal or mortgage advice. Results are not a commitment to lend, a guarantee of rate or terms, or a formal Loan Estimate as defined under RESPA/TRID. Calculate My Rate is not affiliated with any lender, bank, real estate agency or government entity.