20 vs 30 Year Mortgage
Side-by-side payment and total-interest comparison, plus the case for each. Adjust the inputs to model your own loan.
Advanced Options
- Principal & Interest
- $2,275
- Property Taxes
- $450
- Home Insurance
- $100
20 vs 30 year, side by side
$360,000 borrowed, principal and interest only. Rates differ by term because lenders price them differently — using one rate for both would flatter the shorter loan.
| Term | Rate | Monthly P&I | Total interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 years | 6.15% | $2,610.40 | $266,496 |
| 30 years | 6.5% | $2,275.44 | $459,160 |
| Difference | — | +$334.96/mo | −$192,664 |
Put plainly: about $335 more each month buys you roughly $192,664 in avoided interest and 10 fewer years of payments.
Which one is right for you
The case for 20 years
A 20-year term is the middle path: a substantially smaller interest bill than 30 years without the payment jump of a 15. It suits buyers who want to be mortgage-free before retirement or before school fees start, and who find the 15-year payment uncomfortably tight.
The case for 30 years
The 30-year still has the lowest required payment and the most flexibility. Twenty-year products are also less widely offered and sometimes priced barely below 30-year rates — if the rate is the same, a 30-year paid down on a 20-year schedule is strictly more flexible than a 20-year loan.
One rule of thumb worth more than the arithmetic: if choosing the 20-year would stop you funding an emergency reserve or capturing a full employer retirement match, take the 30-year and overpay when you can. Liquidity you have is worth more than interest you might avoid.
Other term comparisons
Related Calculators
Frequently Asked Questions
- Cheaper, not automatically better. On a $360,000 loan the 20-year costs about $335 more per month but saves roughly $192,664 in interest over its life. Whether that trade is right depends on whether the higher payment is comfortable — not just affordable — once you have also funded an emergency reserve and any retirement match.