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Biweekly Mortgage Payments Explained

A biweekly plan means paying half of your monthly mortgage payment every two weeks instead of the full payment once a month. It sounds like the same amount of money, but it isn't, and that's the whole trick.

Why biweekly payments pay off the loan faster

There are 52 weeks in a year, so paying every two weeks means 26 half-payments. That adds up to 13 full monthly payments instead of 12. The extra payment goes entirely to principal.

On a $300,000 loan at 6.5% for 30 years ($1,896.20 a month), paying biweekly:

See the biweekly example in the calculator →

Watch out for biweekly programs with fees

Some companies sell biweekly payment programs for a setup fee and a fee for every payment. Some of them don't even send your half-payments to the lender right away. They hold the money and pass along a full payment once a month, plus the extra payment once a year. You'd be paying for something you can do yourself for free.

Also check with your servicer before sending half-payments yourself. Many servicers won't apply a partial payment until they receive the full amount, and some treat it as a late or incomplete payment.

The no-fee way to get the same result

Divide your monthly payment by 12 and add that to every monthly payment as extra principal:

Over a year that's one full extra payment, the same as a biweekly plan. It works with any servicer, there's nothing to sign up for, and you can change or stop it any time. (A true biweekly plan, with each half-payment applied the day it arrives, saves a little more interest, but the difference is small.)

Biweekly vs. a fixed extra amount

Biweekly is really just a specific extra-payment amount: about 1/12 of your payment each month. If your budget allows $200 or more extra a month, you'll pay off the loan faster than with biweekly. If $158 is a stretch, $100 still saves years (see how much $100 extra a month saves).

Why biweekly feels easy: if you're paid every two weeks, a half-payment each payday is easy to budget for, and twice a year you get a third paycheck in a month that covers the extra half-payment. If that rhythm suits you and your servicer supports it at no cost, it's a great habit.

In the calculator, check Pay biweekly to see the effect on your own loan, and add other extra payments on top.

This article is general information, not financial advice. Examples are rounded and assume a fixed-rate loan; your lender's numbers may differ slightly.