Mortgage Rate Comparison Calculator
Compare mortgage offers the right way — on true cost over the term, including the balance left owing, cashback and fees — not just on the payment or the rate on the page.
Run your numbers
Move a slider or type a figure, then press Compare My Rates. Your results appear below — nothing to download and no email required.
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What the Rate Comparison Calculator does
Comparing two mortgage offers on the payment alone is comparing them wrong, because the payment ignores how much principal each one pays down and what any cashback or fees are actually worth. This calculator compares offers on true cost over the term instead — the number that actually decides which one leaves you further ahead.
It handles two or three offers side by side, nets out cashback and fees, shows what each 0.05% or 0.25% increment is genuinely worth in dollars, and — when an offer includes cashback — shows exactly when the extra payment from its higher rate catches up to and overtakes the incentive.
- Payment, term interest, ending balance and true cost for every offer, side by side
- The true cost difference over the term — the real number worth shopping around for
- What 0.05%, 0.10% and 0.25% are worth in monthly payment and total cost
- A reference table of that cost at common mortgage sizes
- A cashback verdict when an offer includes one
The key variables that move the answer — and how lenders treat them
The rate gets all the attention in a mortgage offer, but three other numbers decide what an offer actually costs you.
- The term, not the amortization — lenders price and requalify every term, so the honest comparison window is the term length, not the full amortization. Comparing full-amortization interest overstates how much a small rate gap matters to a decision you will revisit in a few years anyway.
- Ending balance — the lower-rate offer pays down more principal over the same term, which is a second, hidden advantage on top of the smaller payment. Most comparisons miss this entirely and understate what the better rate is actually worth.
- Cashback — some lenders offer cashback on closing to win a mortgage at a higher rate. Lenders that do this are pricing the incentive into the rate, and the extra interest cost over a full term is very often larger than the cashback itself.
- Fees — appraisal, legal or lender-specific fees attached to one offer and not another change the true cost even when the rates are close. Small on their own, but they belong in the same comparison as everything else.
How this is actually calculated
Each offer is priced using the same Canadian semi-annual compounding formula as every other calculator on this site — a periodic rate derived from the nominal annual rate, and a level payment solved against the mortgage amount over the chosen amortization.
True cost over the term is the sum of every payment actually made during the term, plus the balance still owing at the end of it, minus any cashback received, plus any fees paid. This is the correct comparison because it accounts for principal paid down as real value retained, not a cost — a payment comparison alone throws that away.
The cost of a rate increment is calculated by repricing the same mortgage amount at a slightly higher rate and taking the difference, both in monthly payment and in true cost over the term. The reference table repeats that calculation at a set of common mortgage sizes so the figure is comparable regardless of your own amount.
- Payment: P × i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)^−N), same formula, different rate per offer
- True cost over the term: payments made + ending balance − cashback + fees
- Cost of an increment: true cost at (rate + delta) minus true cost at rate, same amount and term
- Cashback crossover: cashback ÷ extra monthly payment from the higher rate
What you get from this calculator, and how a broker uses it
This is the exact comparison a broker runs when weighing a bank's posted offer against what the wider market has available, made visible so you can see the reasoning rather than take a recommendation on faith.
- True cost per offer — the single number to actually decide on, not the rate itself
- True cost difference — quantifies precisely what shopping the market was worth in this case
- Increment table — lets you judge whether a rate difference you are being quoted elsewhere is meaningful or noise
- Cashback verdict — turns a marketing incentive into a real number you can weigh against the alternative
Using your results well
Use the true cost figure, not the payment, as your decision number. A lower payment can still be the more expensive offer once the ending balance, cashback and fees are accounted for, and that is precisely the situation this calculator is built to catch.
What this calculator does not do is account for anything beyond the rate itself — prepayment privileges, portability, penalty calculation method and lender flexibility differ meaningfully between offers and are not captured in a true-cost number. A materially cheaper offer with restrictive terms is not automatically the better one, and that judgment call is exactly where a broker adds value beyond the math.
- Compare on true cost over the term, never on payment alone
- Confirm how long each rate offer is actually held for before treating the comparison as final
- Weigh prepayment privileges and portability alongside the true cost figure, not instead of it
- Run the cashback verdict before accepting any offer that includes one
Questions people ask about this calculator
Why compare true cost instead of just the monthly payment?
Because the payment alone ignores how much principal each offer pays down and what cashback or fees are worth. The lower-rate offer usually has both a smaller payment and a smaller ending balance, so comparing payment alone understates how much better it actually is.
What does 0.25% actually cost me on a typical mortgage?
It depends on your mortgage amount and term, but on a $600,000 mortgage over a five-year term it is typically in the range of a few thousand dollars in monthly-payment terms and considerably more in true cost once the ending balance is included. Use the increment table above for your exact numbers.
Is a mortgage with cashback ever worth it?
Sometimes, particularly if the cash is needed immediately for closing costs and the rate gap is small. But cashback almost always comes attached to a higher rate, and the extra interest paid over a full term frequently exceeds the cashback itself — the cashback verdict above shows the crossover point for your specific numbers.
Should I compare offers over the full amortization or just the term?
Over the term. Lenders reprice and requalify you at every renewal, so the term is the period you are actually locked into any given offer — comparing over the full amortization overstates how much a small rate difference matters to a decision you will revisit in a few years regardless.
How long is a rate hold usually good for?
Typically 90 to 120 days on a pre-approval, though this varies by lender. Confirm the hold period on each offer you are comparing, since a comparison built on an expired rate is not a comparison you can actually act on.
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