Here’s How Biweekly Mortgage Payments Work
If you’re looking for a way to pay off your mortgage faster without stretching your budget, biweekly mortgage payments could be the answer. Instead of making one full payment each month, you split your monthly payment in half and pay that amount every two weeks. Over the course of a year, this adds up to one extra full payment, helping you reduce your loan balance faster, cut down on interest and even shave years off your repayment term.
Whether your goal is to save money, build equity faster or gain more financial flexibility, learning how biweekly payments work can help you decide if this approach fits your budget and goals.
- Biweekly mortgage payments require borrowers to split their monthly payment in half, so instead of making 12 payments each year, they make 26 payments.
- Biweekly payments help you pay off your loan faster, save on interest and build home equity faster.
- Alternatives to biweekly mortgage payments include making extra principal payments, refinancing your mortgage or applying for a mortgage recast.
How do biweekly mortgage payments work?
Biweekly mortgage payments involve making half of your monthly payment every two weeks instead of one full payment each month. Since there are 52 weeks in a year, that adds up to 26 half-payments, or 13 full payments in a year instead of 12. That extra payment reduces your principal balance, which helps you pay off the mortgage faster and save money on interest.
Whether you have a 15-year or 30-year mortgage, this setup is a good fit for people who earn a steady paycheck every two weeks, since it lines up with their pay schedule. It’s also helpful for homeowners with bigger loans or higher mortgage interest rates because the extra payment makes a big difference over time.
However, even if you have an irregular income or your budget is already stretched, a biweekly schedule could still work since your mortgage payment isn’t coming out in one big chunk each month. Breaking it into smaller, more frequent payments can sometimes feel easier to manage, as long as you stay consistent.
Paying your mortgage biweekly: An example
This example illustrates the differences for a borrower making biweekly versus monthly payments. We’re assuming a 30-year mortgage on a $450,000 house with a 20% down payment and 7% interest rate.
| Biweekly payments | Monthly payments | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment amount | $1,474.47 | $2,995.09 |
| Number of payments per year | 26 | 12 |
| Total amount paid per year | $38,336.16 | $35,941.07 |
| Total interest paid | $378,166.52 | $502,232.03 |
| Total time to pay off loan | 24 years | 30 years |
The comparison shows that making 26 biweekly payments adds up to $38,336.16 annually, while 12 monthly payments adds up to $35,941.07. This extra payment reduces the loan balance faster, cutting the total interest paid from $502,232.03 with monthly payments to $378,166.52 with biweekly payments. As a result, the loan is paid off in 24 years instead of 30, saving six years of payments and about $124,000 in total interest.
How to set up biweekly mortgage payments
Here are a few options homeowners can use to set up biweekly mortgage payments:
- Set up a plan with your lender. If your mortgage lender allows it without prepayment penalties, you can arrange a biweekly payment plan. Be sure to direct the lender to apply the extra payments to your principal balance rather than just interest — otherwise, you won’t fully benefit from paying down your loan faster or saving on interest over time.
- Set up automatic payments: If you have access to an online account through your mortgage lender or servicer, you can quickly and easily manage your mortgage payments. If biweekly payments make sense, you can simply log into your account and make the switch.
- Make extra principal payments manually: Even if you don’t have a formal biweekly plan, sending extra funds toward your principal whenever possible can reduce your interest and shorten your loan term.
Pros and cons of biweekly mortgage payments
Pros
- Faster loan repayment. Biweekly payments allow you to pay down your mortgage faster. Ultimately, once the loan is paid off, this frees up cash to be used for other financial obligations.
- Save on interest. You pay down your principal balance faster with biweekly payments, decreasing how much interest you owe with each payment. This means you pay less interest over the life of the loan.
- Quickly build equity. Extra payments go toward your principal, helping you build home equity more quickly and giving you more financial flexibility. For example, if you want to take out a home equity loan, renovate your house or refinance in the future, having more equity can make those options easier and more affordable.
- Protect your credit: As long as you make payments on time, both biweekly and monthly schedules help keep your credit in good shape. But if you make a late payment, it can hurt your credit score and make it harder to borrow in the future.
Cons
- Prepayment penalties: If you pay off your mortgage early, your lender may charge a fee. This prepayment penalty could cancel out the savings from biweekly payments, depending on the fee amount.
- Limited flexibility: Because you’re making payments more often, even if they’re smaller, they still reduce the cash you have on hand each month. This can make it harder to cover other expenses, save for goals or handle unexpected costs
- Costly first month: In some cases, switching payment schedules means you’ll have to cover your regular monthly payment and start your new biweekly payments in the same month, which can be tough on your budget.
Alternatives to biweekly mortgage payments
Switching to biweekly mortgage payments may not be right for everyone. Fortunately, there are alternative ways to pay off your mortgage faster, including:
- Paying extra each month: Review your budget to see if you have extra cash to apply to the mortgage principal. Even $50 can help reduce your principal and the total interest you’ll pay on the mortgage.
- Making an extra payment annually: Instead of switching to biweekly payments, you can make one full additional payment or simply add one-twelfth of your monthly mortgage payment amount to each monthly bill, creating one extra payment annually. This lets you pay down your loan faster without changing your budget, and you can time it for when you usually have extra funds.
- Recasting your mortgage: With a mortgage recast, you make a lump-sum payment toward your principal balance and your lender recalculates and lowers your monthly payments. Unlike refinancing, your loan terms stay the same, but you’ll still save money on interest.
- Rounding up payments: Instead of sending the exact payment amount — say, $1,235.50 — round it up to $1,300 and apply the extra amount to your mortgage principal.
- Refinancing and paying the savings: It’s possible to refinance your existing mortgage and get a new loan with a lower monthly payment and interest rate. To reduce your mortgage balance more aggressively, one trick is to continue paying your previous monthly payment amount and instruct your lender to apply the extra cash to your principal.
- Applying bonuses, rebates, cashback rewards or tax refunds. Any time you receive some extra cash, such as rebates, cash back rewards, tax refunds or a year-end work bonus, apply it to your loan principal.
Frequently asked questions
LendingTree offers a mortgage calculator that makes it easy to compare payment options. Simply enter your mortgage information to compare your biweekly payment to your monthly payment and determine when your mortgage would be paid off. You’ll also see how much you could save in interest over the life of your loan.
Biweekly payments shorten a 30-year mortgage by about six years because you make one extra monthly payment each year, which reduces the principal faster and saves thousands in interest. The exact impact depends on factors like your loan amount, interest rate and original loan term.
Making biweekly mortgage payments can reduce your loan principal faster, meaning you can pay off the mortgage early. It could also reduce the interest you pay over the loan’s lifetime.
Some lenders, like U.S. Bank, don’t accept biweekly mortgage payments, so it’s important to check with your mortgage company first. For lenders that do allow biweekly payments, be sure to ask about prepayment penalties or other fees.
Yes, you can usually switch back to monthly mortgage payments, but you’ll need to check with your lender for any rules or fees.
View mortgage loan offers from up to 5 lenders in minutes
Read more
How To Lower Your Mortgage Payment Updated May 2, 2025 Wondering how to lower your monthly mortgage payment? Learn how with tips to save money…Read more
When Should I Refinance My Mortgage? Updated December 19, 2024 Refinancing takes time and money, so it’s important to do it when you’ll get the…Read more