FHA Loan Calculator
Calculate your FHA loan monthly payment including upfront and annual mortgage insurance (MIP), or compare it side by side against a conventional loan with PMI to see which costs less per month.
What this calculator estimates
An FHA loan calculator works out your true monthly housing payment on a government-backed FHA loan, including the mortgage insurance premium (MIP) that FHA loans require regardless of your down payment size. Because MIP is one of the most misunderstood costs of an FHA loan, this calculator breaks out the upfront MIP charged at closing and the ongoing annual MIP built into your monthly payment separately, so you can see exactly where your money is going rather than just a single bundled number.
How and where this calculator is typically used
First-time homebuyers use this calculator early in the home-shopping process, since FHA loans are especially popular for buyers who can't put down a full 20%, letting them compare what a realistic FHA monthly payment looks like on homes in their target price range before they start touring properties or getting pre-approved. Buyers who are on the fence between an FHA loan and a conventional loan use the FHA vs Conventional tab specifically to see, in real dollar terms, which option actually costs less per month given their own down payment amount and credit-driven interest rate, rather than relying on general advice that doesn't account for their specific numbers.
Mortgage loan officers and real estate agents also use tools like this in client conversations, since it's often faster and more transparent to show a client an actual side-by-side breakdown than to explain FHA mortgage insurance rules verbally.
How FHA mortgage insurance is structured
Unlike conventional loans, where private mortgage insurance (PMI) usually falls away once you reach 20% equity, FHA loans charge mortgage insurance in two parts. An upfront MIP is charged as a percentage of the loan amount at closing, which most borrowers choose to finance into the loan rather than pay in cash. On top of that, an annual MIP is charged as a percentage of the loan balance, split into monthly installments and added to your regular payment. Depending on your loan-to-value ratio and loan term, annual MIP on an FHA loan can last for the life of the loan rather than dropping off automatically, which is a key difference from conventional PMI.
Why FHA loans appeal to certain buyers despite the MIP cost
| Factor | FHA advantage |
|---|---|
| Minimum down payment | As low as 3.5% with qualifying credit |
| Credit flexibility | Generally more lenient credit score requirements |
| Mortgage insurance | Can last for the life of the loan, unlike PMI |
FHA loans trade a more accessible qualification bar for mortgage insurance that can be more expensive and longer-lasting than conventional PMI, which is exactly why comparing the two side by side at your specific down payment and credit profile matters before choosing between them.
The formulas this calculator uses
Here r is the monthly interest rate and n is the total number of monthly payments. This calculator assumes the upfront MIP is financed into the loan, which is the most common approach, so it's included in the balance used to calculate both the principal and interest payment and the ongoing monthly MIP charge.
For the FHA vs Conventional comparison, the same principal and interest formula runs separately for each loan using its own down payment and rate, with FHA's monthly MIP compared directly against the conventional loan's monthly PMI (calculated the same way, using its own annual PMI percentage), giving you a true side-by-side monthly cost.