Fortnightly/Weekly vs Monthly Repayment Calculator

Find out how much you could save by making fortnightly or weekly repayments instead of monthly. Simply enter your details into the calculator to get an instant result.

Why switch to fortnightly/weekly home loan repayments?

Most people make their mortgage repayments monthly, but what if paying weekly or fortnightly could help you save money? 

A year has 12 months, 26 fortnights, and 52 weeks. Paying weekly or fortnightly can help you make an extra repayment each year compared to paying monthly.

The more frequently you make repayments, the less interest will be accrued on what you still owe. Let's take a look at an example:

Loan amount: $400,000

Monthly repayment: $2500

If you made a monthly payment of $2500, then you will be accruing interest on $400,000 for the entire month. However, if you make two fortnightly payments of $1250, then you will only be accruing interest on $398,750 for half the month.

If you continue with this strategy, you can save a significant amount of money in interest payments and reduce the time it takes to pay off your home loan. Use this repayment calculator to see how much time and money you can save by switching your repayment frequency to weekly or fortnightly.

How does this loan repayments calculator work?

This home loan repayments calculator works like a standard mortgage payments calculator, except that it also simulates the effect of making weekly or fortnightly payments. Just enter the basic details of your loan, including loan amount, loan term, and interest rate, and your results will generate automatically.

The loan balance chart graphs how much time and money can be saved by making fortnightly rather than monthly payments. 

How accurate is this calculator?

This home loan repayments calculator is designed to give you an estimate of what you can save by switching your repayment frequency from monthly to fortnightly or weekly and works on a series of assumptions, including:

  • No loan fees are taken into account.
  • The interest rate does not change over the life of the loan.
  • Interest is calculated by compounding the same repayment frequency when interest compounding may not be based on repayment frequency in practice.
  • A year has 26 fortnights, 52 weeks, and is counted as 364 days.
  • No rounding takes place during calculation, while repayments are rounded to the nearest cent in practice.

A calculator can't give you a precise answer because of the variance between lenders and how they calculate home loan repayments. Therefore, you should only use this mortgage repayments calculator to get an indication of how switching your repayment frequency will impact your home loan.

This calculator is based on the Half Monthly Repayment Method, which calculates weekly and fortnightly payments as 1/4 and 1/2 of monthly payments, respectively. Using this method, you will make extra repayments over a 12-month period, pay back your home loan sooner, and save money on interest payments.

If your lender charges fortnightly payments as your annual repayments divided by 26 fortnights, then you won't end up paying as much extra by switching your repayment frequency. While you will still save money on interest, it won't be as much, and it will take the same amount of time to pay off your home loan in full.

The Half Monthly Repayment Method is most effective if your lender calculates fortnightly payments as half your monthly payment. If your fortnightly payments are calculated as annual payments divided by 26, then you won't save as much time or money with this method.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change my repayment frequency?

If you've discovered you can save time and money by switching your repayment frequency to weekly or fortnightly; then the next step is to see whether making this change is possible. While it's handy to see what you can save using a calculator, you need to know whether or not your lender will actually allow you to make the switch.

Once you're sure that your lender offers weekly or fortnightly payments, you need to apply to have your repayment frequency altered. Start by calling your lender or logging in to the online portal where you manage your home loan and make an application to switch your repayment frequency.

Make sure you ask if there are any additional fees and charges for making mortgage repayments more frequently.

How do you calculate monthly repayments?

Monthly repayments are calculated based on the loan term, loan amount (principal), and interest rate. Your interest rate is the percentage of the remaining loan amount you pay as a fee on top of your regular mortgage repayments. Your monthly repayment is a combination of principal and interest divided by the number of months in your loan term.