Fixed vs Variable Rate Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Enter loan amount — The calculator loads with a worked example already filled in, so you can see what a realistic set of figures looks like before replacing them with your own.
2. Fill in the remaining fields — Every field has a sensible default. Change the ones that apply to you and leave the rest.
3. Read the result — The answer updates as you type — there is nothing to submit. The rows beneath the headline show how it breaks down.
4. Expand the schedule — Where a year-by-year table is offered, open it. The breakdown over time usually shows something the single headline figure does not.
5. Share or print — Use the share button to copy a link with your figures already filled in, or print the result — the print stylesheet strips the navigation and adverts.

What this calculator works out

To use the Fixed vs Variable Rate Calculator, enter your loan amount, term and fixed rate. The result — fixed monthly payment — updates as you type, with no button to press and nothing to submit. The calculation runs entirely in your browser, so the figures you enter are never sent anywhere.

How this is calculated

The fixed vs variable rate calculator applies its formula to the values you enter and returns the result immediately.

A worked example

Take the values this page loads with:

• Loan amount: $300,000.00
• Term: 25
• Fixed rate: 6.2%
• Variable rate today: 5.6%
• Expected rise in the variable rate: 1%

On those figures the fixed monthly payment is 1,969.75. Broken down:

• Variable payment today: 1,860.22
• Variable after the expected rise: 2,044.41
• Initial monthly difference: 109.53
• Difference after the rise: -74.66
• Variable stops being cheaper if rates rise by: 0.60%

Change any field above and every figure here recalculates — these numbers are produced by the same formula the calculator runs, so they cannot drift apart from it.

What the figures mean

The headline figure answers the immediate question. These are the ones worth paying attention to:

• Variable payment today — the figure worth watching when you change your inputs.
• Variable after the expected rise — the figure worth watching when you change your inputs.
• Variable stops being cheaper if rates rise by — the figure worth watching when you change your inputs.

Where a schedule is shown, expand it: the year-by-year breakdown usually reveals something the single headline number hides.

What this calculator assumes

Assumes the rate rise happens immediately and is permanent, which overstates its effect — real rate moves are gradual. The crossover figure is the honest answer: fixing is insurance, and the premium is the gap between the two rates today.

Why it runs in your browser

Every calculation on this page is arithmetic, and arithmetic does not need a server. Running it locally means the result is instant, it keeps working if your connection drops, and — the part that matters — your salary, your debts and your medical measurements are never transmitted to us. There is no figure on our side to store, log or lose.

Where this calculator stops

A calculator applies the rules it is given to the figures you enter. It cannot see the rest of your circumstances, and real financial decisions are rarely decided by a single number.

Treat the result as a starting point for a conversation — with a lender, an accountant or an adviser — rather than as an answer. Where an institution will quote you a real figure, that figure is the one that counts: it will include fees, your credit profile and terms this page knows nothing about.

Keeping the figures current

The formula behind this page does not change, but the assumptions you should bring to it do — interest rates, inflation and market returns all move. Revisit the inputs rather than trusting a figure you calculated a year ago.