HesapHanem

Biweekly Loan Payment Calculator

Enter the loan amount, annual rate, and term in months to see the biweekly savings.

How it is calculated

First the standard monthly payment is found with the annuity formula PMT = L·r ÷ (1 − (1 + r)−n), where L is the loan amount, r = annual rate ÷ 100 ÷ 12 and n is the term in months. Total interest on that schedule is PMT·n − L.

The biweekly payment is simply half of PMT. It is applied 26 times a year with a rate per period of annual rate ÷ 100 ÷ 26, and the balance is stepped down payment by payment until it reaches zero. The last payment is counted only for the part actually needed. Payoff time in months is the number of biweekly payments × 12 ÷ 26, and interest saved is the monthly-plan interest minus the biweekly-plan interest. The rate must be above zero and the term at least 1 month. Amounts are in US dollars; fees and rounding by a real lender can change the figures.

Worked example

Loan 250,000 at 6.5% a year for 360 months. Monthly rate r = 0.065 ÷ 12 ≈ 0.005417, so the monthly payment is about 1,580.17 and total interest over 30 years is about 318,861.

Biweekly payment = 1,580.17 ÷ 2 = $790.09. Paying that every two weeks at 0.065 ÷ 26 per period clears the balance in 628 payments, which is 628 × 12 ÷ 26 ≈ 289.8 months. Interest on that schedule is about 245,426, so interest saved = 318,861 − 245,426 ≈ $73,434.82, and the loan ends about 70 months early.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Expecting the savings from simply splitting the monthly payment in two. Savings arise because there are 26 half-payments a year, equal to 13 full months; a lender that holds each half until month-end gives no benefit.
  • Entering the term in years. The field is in months, so a 30-year loan is 360, not 30.
  • Entering the rate as a decimal (0.065). Type 6.5 for 6.5%.
  • Entering a 0% rate. The tool needs a rate above zero and returns nothing otherwise.
  • Forgetting that the lender must apply each biweekly payment to the loan as it arrives and accept it without a fee; otherwise the saving in the result is not real.

Sources

About this calculator

Switching from a monthly to a biweekly payment schedule means paying half of the monthly amount every two weeks instead of the full amount once a month. Because a year has 52 weeks, that works out to 26 half-payments — the equivalent of 13 full monthly payments instead of 12 — so the borrower makes one extra full payment per year without any change in the amount budgeted per paycheck.

That extra payment goes straight toward principal, which shortens the loan term and reduces the total interest paid compared to sticking with the standard monthly schedule. This calculator compares the two schedules for the same loan amount, rate, and term to show exactly how much interest is saved and how many months are cut off the payoff date.

Was this helpful?

You can pick up to 3 reactions.

Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    Savings depend heavily on loan length. A 250000 loan at 6.5% over 360 months saves 73,434.82 and finishes after about 289.8 months, but 30000 at 7% over 60 months saves 583.21 and ends at 54.9 months. Short loans gain little because there is less interest to cut. Ask your lender how they post a biweekly payment, since the saving holds only if each one is applied on arrival. Is your loan long or short?

Popular calculators

Loan Calculator

Monthly payment, total interest and full amortization schedule.

Percentage Calculator

Percent change, percent of, and ratio calculations.

Discount Calculator

Calculate final price, savings, and discount amount.

BMI Calculator

Body mass index from height and weight (metric or imperial).

Age Calculator

Compute your exact age in years, months and days from a birth date.

Compound Interest Calculator

Calculate the final amount and interest earned with compounding.

All Calculators