Biweekly Mortgage Payments: How Much Do They Really Save?

Published October 12, 2026

Free tool: Biweekly Mortgage Calculator→

Paying half your mortgage payment every two weeks sounds like a small change, but it can take years off a 30-year loan. The reason is simple arithmetic: a year has 52 weeks, so you make 26 half-payments, the same as 13 full monthly payments instead of 12. This guide shows how much that saves and what to check first, using the free Biweekly Mortgage Calculator.

How biweekly payments work

• Monthly: 12 payments a year.
• Biweekly: a half-payment every two weeks, 26 a year, which adds up to 13 monthly payments a year.

The extra payment each year goes straight to principal, and paying more often means slightly less interest builds up between payments.

Example: $350,000 at 6.5%

A $350,000, 30-year mortgage at 6.5%:

• Monthly payment: $2,212.24
• Biweekly payment: $1,106.12 every two weeks
• New payoff time: 24 years 2 months, about 5 years 10 months sooner
• Interest: $343,597 instead of $446,406, saving $102,809

On a 15-year loan of the same size, biweekly payments save less, about $27,842, and finish about 1 year 10 months early, because the loan is already short.

You can get the same result without a biweekly plan

The savings come from the extra payment, not the schedule. Adding one-twelfth of your payment to every monthly payment, $184.35 in the example, also pays the loan off in about 24 years 2 months and saves about $101,799. That's useful if your servicer doesn't offer biweekly payments or charges for them. For a loan you already have, the Mortgage Payoff Calculator shows the effect of that extra amount on your remaining balance.

What to check with your servicer

• Fees: some third-party biweekly programs charge setup or per-payment fees that eat into the savings, while most servicers accept extra principal for free.
• How half-payments are applied: some servicers hold a half-payment until the other half arrives, which slightly reduces the savings.
• Extra goes to principal: confirm that the extra payment reduces your balance rather than being held for a future payment.
• Budget fit: biweekly payments suit a biweekly paycheck, but two months a year you'll make three half-payments.

How to use the Biweekly Mortgage Calculator

1. Open the Biweekly Mortgage Calculator.
2. Enter the loan amount and the interest rate, and choose the loan term.
3. Read the results: how much sooner the loan is paid off, the interest saved, the monthly and biweekly payments and the new payoff time, with a chart comparing the two balances, a total-interest comparison and a balance-by-year table.

Frequently asked questions

How much do biweekly mortgage payments save?

On a $350,000, 30-year loan at 6.5%, about $102,809 of interest, and the loan is paid off about 5 years 10 months early.

Is paying biweekly the same as paying twice a month?

No. Twice a month is 24 half-payments a year, the same as 12 monthly payments, so it saves very little. Biweekly is 26 half-payments, which adds one full payment a year.

Can I get the savings without signing up for a biweekly program?

Yes. Add one-twelfth of your payment to each monthly payment and ask your servicer to apply it to principal. In the example, that saves almost exactly as much.