Residential Mortgage Payment Calculator
Enter your mortgage amount, rate and amortization — see monthly, semi-monthly, bi-weekly and weekly payments for principal + interest or interest-only. Amortizations up to 40 years.
Your residential mortgage
Most Canadian lenders compound variable rates monthly. Scotiabank and Strive Capital* compound semi-annually — the cheapest variable compounding in Canada. RBC Royal Bank** compounds at your payment frequency (weekly = 52×, bi-weekly = 26×), which is usually the most expensive.
* Semi-annual compounding on a variable-rate mortgage is uncommon in Canada. As of July 2026 we're only aware of Scotiabank and Strive Capital offering it on a VRM; every other major bank and monoline lender we deal with compounds monthly on variable. Semi-annual is the cheapest compounding any Canadian institutional lender offers; none offers simple interest.
** RBC Royal Bank is the only major Canadian lender we're aware of that compounds a variable mortgage at the borrower's payment frequency (e.g. 26× per year on bi-weekly, 52× on weekly). At the same sticker rate this produces the highest real cost of the group.
At the same nominal rate, less-frequent compounding produces a lower payment.
Default 30 years, up to 40. Insured mortgages cap at 25 years — 30 only for first-time buyers or newly built homes; uninsured (20%+ down) A-lender mortgages allow 30. Amortizations of 35–40 years are only available through select private and alternative (B) lenders, typically at higher rates.
Think of the quoted rate as the “sticker” rate. EAR is the real yearly cost after the lender’s compounding schedule is applied. The gap above is the extra cost versus a semi-annual-compounded mortgage at the same sticker rate — the best case any Canadian institutional lender offers. The more often interest compounds, the higher the real cost, even when the sticker rate looks identical. Simple-interest mortgages are not available here, so use this EAR to compare lenders apples-to-apples, not to look for something “better than semi-annual.”
Same payment, every frequency
Time to payoff vs semi-annual compounding
Same total dollars paid per year ($27,655), solved against each compounding schedule.
You're already on the Canadian best-case schedule — semi-annual compounding. No time is lost to a heavier compounding convention at this rate.
Over the full amortization
Computed for your selected payment frequency — accelerated schedules genuinely shorten the totals above. Assumes the same rate for the entire amortization; real mortgages renew every 1–5 years at then-current rates. For the full year-by-year schedule and accelerated payment options, see the Amortization Calculator.
- Lets you choose the interest compounding frequency — and shows the effective annual rate (EAR) gap in basis points versus Canada's semi-annual convention
- Names names: Scotiabank and Strive compound variable semi-annually (the cheapest schedule any institutional lender offers); RBC compounds at payment frequency (the most expensive) — and prices the difference
- Shows time-to-payoff and interest cost versus semi-annual compounding, so 'the same rate' stops hiding different real costs
- True accelerated bi-weekly and weekly schedules that actually shorten your amortization — not just relabelled monthly math
Get your real mortgage approval amount
Calculators give estimates. We give exact numbers — based on your income, credit, and the lender most likely to say yes. Free, no obligation, same-day reply.
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Payment frequency, in plain terms
The two words people mix up most on this page are bi-weekly and accelerated bi-weekly. Only one of them pays your mortgage off sooner. Figures below are $500,000 at 4.50% over 30 years — an illustration, not a quoted rate.
What is the difference between bi-weekly and accelerated bi-weekly?+
Plain bi-weekly only changes when you pay, not how much. Your yearly total is worked out from the monthly payment and split into 26 — so on a $500,000 mortgage at 4.50% over 30 years, monthly is $2,521.08 and plain bi-weekly is $1,163.57, and both come to $30,252.93 a year. Accelerated bi-weekly changes the amount: it takes the monthly payment, halves it to $1,260.54, and collects that every two weeks. There are 26 two-week periods in a year, not 24, so you pay $32,774.01 — thirteen monthly payments instead of twelve. That thirteenth one goes entirely against principal.
How much does accelerated bi-weekly actually save?+
On that same $500,000 at 4.50% over 30 years: paying monthly costs $407,588.00 in interest over the full term. Accelerated bi-weekly clears the mortgage in 25 years and 7 months and costs $337,995.05 — a saving of $69,592.95, and roughly four and a half years off. The extra you hand over is $2,521.08 a year, which is exactly one more monthly payment. Nothing clever is happening: you pay a little more, sooner, and interest stops earlier.
Is plain bi-weekly worth doing on its own?+
Barely, if the goal is paying the mortgage off faster. On the same numbers it saves $1,897.62 across thirty years against monthly — the money arrives a few days earlier on average, and that is the whole benefit. What it is genuinely good for is matching a pay cheque that lands every two weeks, so the payment never falls in an awkward week. If someone tells you bi-weekly by itself will take years off your mortgage, they are describing accelerated bi-weekly and calling it the wrong name.
Which is better, accelerated bi-weekly or accelerated weekly?+
They are the same idea and they land within a few weeks of each other. Accelerated weekly takes a quarter of the monthly payment 52 times a year, which is also thirteen months' worth. Weekly is marginally faster because the money arrives a little sooner each cycle, but the difference is small next to the choice between accelerated and not accelerated. Pick whichever matches how you get paid.
Can I change payment frequency later?+
Frequency is set by your lender and your specific product, and the rules differ — some allow a change at any time, some only at renewal, some charge an administration fee. It is worth asking before you sign rather than assuming, because it is easy to arrange at the start and not always easy afterwards. Send us the commitment and we will read the clause for you.
Does paying accelerated bi-weekly use up my prepayment privileges?+
No. It is built into the payment schedule itself, so it sits outside the annual lump-sum and payment-increase allowances your mortgage gives you. You can run an accelerated schedule and still make a lump-sum prepayment in the same year. Do check your own agreement, since the privileges themselves vary by lender.
Case Studies — files like this
Anonymized case studies from our files. Names and identifying details removed.
- Case study · Residential / AlternativeA COVID Income Dip and a Collection: An Alternative Lender's Open Equity Line at 73% in DeltaA film location scout with a COVID income dip and a collection already cleared: an alternative lender's open equity line at 9.99% in 2022, behind the first mortgage at about 73% of the Delta home's value, paid out the personal loan and left a cash reserve.Read the file →
- Case study · Residential / AlternativeBuying Out a Half Owner in Maple Ridge: An Alternative-Lender Refinance at 70% on Homestay and Suite IncomeBuying out a half owner on one fixed salary and non-taxable homestay income with no pay stubs: an alternative lender refinanced the Maple Ridge house at 70% in 2021, $1,050,000, grossing the homestay and child benefit up 25%.Read the file →
- Case study · Residential / PrimeRideshare Income and 10% Down: A Major Bank's Insured Mortgage Bought a First Condo in Delta at 90%A self-employed rideshare driver and a draftsperson bought their first home, a Delta condo, at 90% in 2024 with a major Canadian bank's insured mortgage, $432,000 plus the premium at about 4.8%, the driving income averaged over two years and grossed up by 15%.Read the file →
More case studies that use this calculator (8)
- Sold in Surrey, Bought in Edmonton Next Day
- Business Owner's Rental Off Private Rates
- Alberta Condo Out of a Private Mortgage
- Presale Sold, Two Private Mortgages Paid Out
- $14K a Month Saved on a Private Mortgage
- Two Private Mortgages to an A Lender
- Owner-Built Maple Ridge Home, One Take-Out
- Officers Approved Despite a Past Bankruptcy
Need the full year-by-year schedule? Use the Amortization Calculator for the payment split between principal and interest across every year, plus accelerated bi-weekly and weekly options.
Also see: Pay off faster → · Affordability + stress test → · Mortgage insurance (CMHC) →
Why does the same variable rate cost more at some banks? Read Scotia vs TD vs RBC — same rate, different payments and ARM vs VRM, explained — then use the compounding selector above to price it for your own numbers.
Every calculator here is built on published Canadian government rules and lender methodology, and was last checked for accuracy on October 18, 2026 — the arithmetic re-verified and every page re-read on screen. Rates and thresholds change — we confirm the current numbers for your file before you rely on them.