Biweekly Mortgage Calculator
Half your payment every two weeks = 13 full payments a year. See exactly how many years and dollars that cuts from your mortgage.
Biweekly modeled as 13 full payments per year (the standard 26-half-payment effect).
Why biweekly payments work
A year holds 52 weeks — so paying half your mortgage payment every two weeks means 26 half-payments = 13 full payments instead of 12. You sneak one extra payment per year straight into principal, and every dollar of early principal stops compounding interest for the rest of the loan:
Worked example
A $320,000 balance at 6.5% with a $2,022.62 P&I payment (a fresh 30-year loan): switching to $1,011.31 every two weeks pays it off roughly 5–6 years sooner and saves on the order of $90,000+ in interest — run your own numbers above for exact figures.
Do it yourself — don’t pay for it
- Third-party “biweekly programs” charge setup and per-payment fees ($200–$400 up front plus $1–$3 per draft) for something you can do free. Some just hold your half-payments and forward them monthly — you pay fees for zero acceleration.
- Free method 1: ask your servicer to apply an extra 1/12 of the payment to principal each month — mathematically near-identical.
- Free method 2: make one full extra principal-only payment a year (tax refund, bonus).
- Check how your servicer handles partial payments: many hold a half-payment in “unapplied funds” until the second half arrives — fine for the math above, but confirm nothing is treated as late.
Before you accelerate
- Confirm no prepayment penalty (rare on conforming U.S. loans made after 2014).
- Extra principal doesn’t lower the required monthly payment — it shortens the loan. If payment relief is the goal, that’s a recast or refinance.
- Weigh the guaranteed return (your mortgage rate) against high-interest debt first — paying a 24% card beats prepaying a 6.5% mortgage every time.
Frequently asked questions
How much faster does biweekly pay off a 30-year mortgage?
Typically 4–6 years faster at recent interest rates (more at higher rates, less at low ones), with interest savings often in the tens of thousands. The exact figure depends on rate and remaining term — the calculator computes it for your loan.
Is biweekly the same as making one extra payment a year?
Essentially yes — 26 half-payments equal 13 full ones. The timing differs slightly (biweekly front-loads principal a bit more within each year), which is why results differ from the “one lump extra in December” approach by a rounding error, not a strategy.
Will my lender accept biweekly payments?
Most servicers accept the money but simply hold the first half until the second arrives, then apply a normal monthly payment — the acceleration then comes from the two extra half-payments per year. Confirm they’ll apply those as principal, or replicate the effect with a monthly 1/12 extra principal payment instead.
Does paying biweekly help my credit score?
No direct effect — mortgage reporting is monthly, and “paid as agreed” is the score input either way. The benefit is purely interest and payoff time.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-20 · Report an issue