If you’re looking to purchase your first piece of real estate, might be refinancing your current mortgage, or are in the market for renewing your mortgage, it’s time to crunch some numbers. You’ll want to use the best mortgage calculator to determine your options.
There are plenty of calculators out there. Whether it’s the best mortgage affordability calculator or the best amortization calculator. The goal is to find a calculator to help you make an informed decision based on your situation.
It’s important to note that not all Canadian calculators are created equal. You want to find a calculator to change various factors, including extra payments and rising mortgage rates. So, how do you choose the best calculator for a Canadian homebuyer? We can help.
Every mortgage calculator will require two basic inputs to get started. A spot to input the amount of the mortgage loan and a spot to input the mortgage rate. These are the only factors required to make the calculator work for the most basic calculators. For more complex or comprehensive calculators, you can test different amortization schedules and compare offers based on present interest rates.
We’ve compiled a list for every possible scenario to help you pick among the best mortgage calculators in Canada. Please scroll through our list to determine which calculator is right for you based on your needs and current financial situation.
Number One Mortgage Calculator in Canada: Ratehub
It’s not surprising that the best overall online mortgage calculator in Canada is from one of the top broker companies. The website has the best tools for payment calculators, affordability calculators, refinancing calculators, and penalty calculators.
Ratehub Details
After entering the asking price of the home you want to buy, the mortgage affordability calculator automatically breaks down the loan you would need. This is done based on the size of your down payment. By default, it shows 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, but you can opt for your rate.
Once you select the amortization period, Ratehub asks you to enter your mortgage rate. For those unfamiliar with current rates, this will automatically recommend a rate based on the type and term of your mortgage and your location. You can opt to go with these suggestions or override using your preferred rate.
The final result not only shows you the total monthly mortgage payment but also the amount of mortgage loan (otherwise known as CMHC) fees required. It also includes the cost of your Land Transfer Tax. This will be based on your location and whether or not you get a rebate as a first-time home buyer.
It doesn’t stop there. Just below the calculator, Ratehub shows precisely how much money you’ll need to buy your home. They include the down payment, taxes, land transfer tax, lawyer fees, and title insurance. The Ratehub mortgage affordability calculator also doesn’t just leave you with your real estate costs. The calculator has a section for monthly expenses, including your internet, utilities, debt payments, property taxes, and other related expenses.
That way, you can see how much money you will have to spend on your new living situation. While running mortgage calculations on Ratehub, you can also see the best mortgage offers of the day in the browser.
For all these reasons, and because of the simple navigation, we consider this the best overall calculator in Canada.
Top Mortgage Payment Calculator: Scotiabank
Even though all banking websites have mortgage calculators, many are challenging to navigate. Some bank calculators can become quite cumbersome. Many come with pop-ups, questions about when you’re buying, or additional offers. But Scotiabank has gone with a simple winning formula that’s easy to navigate.
Scotiabank Details
One of the best features of the Scotiabank calculator is the graph. It shows how much principal remains on the loan year by year. What makes this the best mortgage payment calculator is that you compare two mortgages to explore multiple options at once. You can also input lump sum payments into the calculator to see how much faster you can pay off the mortgage. The website also offers a mortgage glossary, so you can find assistance if you’re ever confused about something.
Best Refinance Mortgage Calculator: MoneySense
Mortgage refinancing can be a wise financial move if you discover that you can attain significant savings from making the switch or if you want to access your home’s equity to make upgrades or pay down debt. You can save money by obtaining a lower rate, getting a lower monthly mortgage payment, eliminating mortgage insurance fees, or changing the mortgage term. However, it’s important that you run the calculations to ensure that the savings from mortgage refinancing would offset the penalties.
MoneySense Details
The MoneySense refinancing calculator is the best one because this tool is extremely helpful since you can calculate your new mortgage amount after you input the current value of property of your property and the current mortgage balance. The tool then helps you choose your new mortgage rate and helps to determine the penalty for breaking your mortgage. Based on this information, you can figure out if refinancing your mortgage is a sound financial decision.
It’s also worth noting that this MoneySense tool is powered by Ratehub, which we ranked as the best overall mortgage calculator in Canada. The website also offers helpful content explaining everything you could want to know about refinancing.
Top MortgagePayoff Calculator: DrCalculator
Are you someone who doesn’t mind running every possible scenario, tweaking every possible factor, to determine the best possible mortgage? Then, this is the best mortgage payoff calculator for you.
DrCalculator Details
Karl’s calculator lets you change just about any variable or factor that impacts your mortgage and your payments. Want to add in prepayments? You can do that. Have a lump sum you want to include? That’s possible? Want to see what a periodically increasing variable rate will do over the length of your mortgage? Yep, this calculator will do that as well. Better still, this calculator provides a series of views, letting you see the monthly principal and interest payments or annual breakdowns.
Keep in mind that because it’s so robust, it’s easy to forget what parameters you’ve used, and that can lead to errors. The key is to be disciplined about checking each factor before viewing the final result.
For Americans who want something just as powerful but built based on U.S.A. mortgage regulations, check out Dr Karl’s American mortgage calculator.
Best Calculator With Amortization Schedule: CMHC
It’s not surprising that the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) would offer a few homebuying calculators. The official website offers a calculator to help you compare rates, payment terms, and amortization schedules to find the best options. There’s also an affordability calculator and a debt service calculator to estimate how much you can afford.
CMHC Details
This simple calculator asks for your mortgage amount, down payment, and the amortization length. You can then plug in your numbers and play around with the different amortization and payment frequencies to see your best options. The CMHC mortgage calculator will then share the payment amount with you based on your preferences.
What solidifies this as the best mortgage amortization calculator is that you get a visual chart that compares your mortgage amount to the year. This allows you to see your mortgage amount over the amortization period in a graph to have the visualization in front of you.
It’s important to note that for mortgage loans that are CMHC-insured, the maximum purchase price limit is set at $1,000,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few common questions about finding the best mortgage calculator in Canada that we must address.
What Is The Best Mortgage Calculator?
The best calculator will depend on what you’re looking for. The good news is that there’s one for every possible scenario, from determining if you should refinance to figuring out how much you can afford in monthly payments.
This is why we shared various options for the best mortgage affordability calculator and other mortgage calculators so that you can have the numbers in front of you to make the best possible decision for your situation.
What Is The Best Mortgage Affordability Calculator Overall?
While we mentioned Questrade as the best mortgage affordability calculator, we have to share that the best mortgage affordability calculators overall are available on Ratehub. We chose this as the top overall mortgage calculator because of the multiple tools available on the platform. The affordability calculator shows you exactly how much cash you need to close your home (including your down payment, legal fees, and everything else that you have to spend money on).
Ratehub also offers other mortgage calculators, such as a refinancing calculator, so you can explore options if you’re in the market for a mortgage renewal or want to access your home’s equity.
How Do You Calculate Monthly Mortgage Payments?
You calculate your monthly mortgage payments by inputting all the financial details about your possible real estate purchase and your personal information. Once you have included all the numbers, the affordability calculator will show you how much you can expect to pay. It’s important to remember that every change in input, like interest rate, the purchase price of the home, or your down payment, will significantly impact the monthly mortgage payment.
It would be best if you ran these calculations in advance so that you’re prepared for home ownership because your expenses are going to change drastically.
