Mortgage balance comparison
Current loan versus best refinance offer over time
Current mortgage
Best offer
Break-even
United States · USD
Could Refinancing Your Mortgage Save You Money?
Compare your current mortgage with a new loan to estimate payment savings, total cost and your break-even point.
Refinance offer comparison
Comparing each offer at your selected ownership horizon
| Offer | Rate | Est. APR | Points | Net costs | Payment | Break-even | Balance at horizon | Net result at horizon |
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Rate sensitivity analysis
Stress all refinance offers at lower and higher rates while keeping their terms, points and fees unchanged
| Rate change | Winning offer | Adjusted rate | Payment | Break-even | Balance at horizon | Net result at horizon | Change from entered rates |
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Refinance or pay down the current mortgage?
Compare the best refinance with using the same amount as a principal payment
| Strategy | Cash used now | Monthly payment | Balance at horizon | Estimated payoff | Net result at horizon |
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Planning estimate only—not a loan offer. The estimated APR treats entered net costs as finance charges; official APR treatment varies by fee and must come from the lender's disclosures. Escrow deposits and entered non-finance prepaids are excluded. Compare Loan Estimates using APR, lender charges, third-party fees, escrow requirements and the same time horizon.
Compare a refinance at the date that matters to you
A refinance replaces the existing first mortgage with a new loan. This calculator compares four entered offers with keeping the current mortgage, using a shared cash‑out amount and a chosen comparison horizon. The ranking considers loan payments, fees and remaining balances at that horizon. A new offer may rank highest among the alternatives yet still be less favorable than keeping the current loan, so review the dollar result as well as the ranking.
Payment savings and cost recovery answer different questions
If $5,400 of upfront fees reduce principal‑and‑interest payments by $180 a month, simple break‑even is 30 months. This measure does not account for differences in remaining debt, which the horizon comparison includes. When fees are financed, there is no upfront balance to recover, but the larger loan can generate additional interest. A positive cash‑flow label does not mean the refinance is free or economically better.
Enter points, fees and credits once
Offer A combines the general closing‑cost field with origination and third‑party fees. Avoid entering a total in the first field and repeating its components below. In this model, points are a percentage of the existing balance plus cash‑out, before financed fees. Lender credits reduce calculated fees to a minimum of zero; excess credits do not create additional cash proceeds. Changing points does not automatically change the quoted rate.
Prepaids are separate from the offer ranking
Offer A includes a prepaid and escrow input that is added to its displayed upfront cash when it ranks first. The comparison does not include that input in simple break‑even, estimated APR or horizon savings. Other offers do not have a matching prepaid field. Compare tax and insurance timing, escrow funding and any refund from an existing account separately; the displayed cash figure is not a complete Closing Disclosure.
A term reset can disguise the cost of lower payments
Compare a new loan at the current remaining term before testing a fresh 30‑year schedule. The lifetime cost display includes estimated interest plus fees, while the horizon result focuses on the selected earlier date. Neither measure includes any investment return you might earn on cash kept outside the mortgage. Cash‑out increases the loan and is treated as money received, not as a free saving.
Use the comparison as a model of your offers
The APR estimate uses a simplified treatment of entered fees and does not reproduce all legal disclosure rules. Rates remain constant; mortgage insurance, changing escrow bills and unentered charges are not modeled. Subordinate liens affect equity ratios but their payments are not added to the comparison. Keep the entered current payment consistent with its principal‑and‑interest balance, rate and remaining term.
Mortgage refinance calculator FAQ
Does the best-ranked offer always beat my current mortgage?
No. It is the strongest of the four refinance offers entered. Check whether the result is ahead or behind keeping the current loan at your selected horizon.
What is the simple refinance break-even point?
It divides upfront fees by positive monthly principal-and-interest savings and rounds up to whole months. It does not include remaining-balance differences or prepaid escrow amounts.
Does financing the fees make the refinance free?
No. Financed fees increase principal and can generate interest. An immediate cash-flow label only indicates that no fees are paid upfront in that scenario.
How does the calculator handle points and lender credits?
Points apply to the current balance plus cash-out before financed fees. Credits reduce entered fees to a minimum of zero. The tool does not automatically lower the interest rate when points increase.
Are prepaid taxes and escrow included in the comparison?
Offer A prepaids are added to its upfront cash display if selected as best. They are excluded from the ranking, horizon savings, simple break-even and estimated APR. Other offers have no separate prepaid field.