A home equity loan has one fixed payment, so the math is simple. In the example below, $50,000 at 8% over 15 years is $477.83 a month and $36,009 in interest. Type in yours.
The numbers in the boxes are examples to show how it works. They aren’t a quote, a current market rate or any lender’s terms, so swap in your own.
What your result means
The payment is what you owe every month for the whole term, and it shouldn’t change if your rate is fixed. Total interest is the price of the loan in dollars. Compare terms and you will see the trade. Stretch the example to 20 years and the payment drops to $418.22, but the interest climbs from $36,009 to $50,373.
What it leaves out
Closing costs, appraisal and origination charges, and the cost of the insurance and property taxes you already pay. It also can’t tell you what a lender will approve. A home equity loan is secured by your house, so missed payments put the house at risk.
What to check with a lender
Ask for the APR, not only the rate, along with every cost at closing. Ask whether the rate is fixed, whether there is a penalty for paying early and how much combined loan to value they allow. Then rerun this with the numbers on the quote.
How this is calculated
Monthly payment: with a monthly rate i (the annual rate divided by 12) and n monthly payments (years times 12), the payment is the loan amount times i, divided by 1 minus (1 plus i) raised to the power of minus n. At a 0% rate it’s the amount divided by n.
Total you repay is the payment times n. Total interest is that minus the amount you borrowed. Payments are rounded to the cent and the totals to the nearest dollar, using the unrounded payment. It accepts amounts up to $10,000,000, rates from 0% to 30% and terms from 1 to 40 years. Anything outside that is moved to the nearest allowed number and you’ll see a note saying so.
Home equity loan calculator questions
It depends on the rate and the term. As an example, $100,000 at 8% over 15 years is $955.65 a month, with about $72,017 in interest. Change the boxes to match your quote.
Usually, yes. Home equity loans typically have a fixed rate and a fixed payment, unlike a HELOC, which usually has a rate that moves. Confirm that on your loan estimate.
No. It only covers the principal and interest on the amount you enter. Add the closing costs from your quote to the total by hand to see the full price.
Credit not great? Read about a home equity loan with bad credit at each score. Weighing it against a HELOC? HEI vs HELOC breaks down the difference. You can also check how much equity you can borrow before you apply, or see our best home equity agreement companies and the rest of our home equity guides.