Who we are
CalcHomeRate is a free online mortgage calculator built for home buyers in the United States and Canada. We offer four tools in a single site: an affordability calculator, a mortgage payment calculator, a refinance calculator, and a rent vs buy comparison. Every tool works for both markets with a single country toggle — no separate sites, no separate tabs, no re-entering data.
We are based in Canada and built CalcHomeRate because we couldn't find a single tool that handled both markets correctly. US-based calculators ignore Canadian semi-annual compounding. Canadian calculators don't model US PMI or DTI ratios. We built one that does both — properly.
Why Canada and the US use different mortgage formulas
This is the most important thing to understand about our calculator — and the reason we built it in the first place.
Canadian mortgage interest is legally required to compound no more frequently than semi-annually under Section 10 of the Interest Act (Canada). Your lender calculates the effective annual rate as (1 + quoted rate ÷ 2)² − 1, then derives a monthly rate from that. US mortgages use monthly compounding: the monthly rate is simply the annual rate divided by 12. At the same nominal rate, these two methods produce different payments — a gap that grows with loan size.
On a $500,000 mortgage at 5.00%, the difference between the correct Canadian formula and a US-style monthly compounding calculation is approximately $20–$30 per month. Over a 25-year amortization that is real money — and it means budgets based on the wrong formula are systematically inaccurate.
How we verify our calculations
Every formula in CalcHomeRate is cross-referenced against primary sources:
- CMHC premium rates verified against the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation published premium schedule (4.0% / 3.1% / 2.8% tiers as of 2026)
- OSFI stress test verified against the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions B-20 Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices guideline
- GDS and TDS ratios (39% / 44%) confirmed against the OSFI B-20 qualifying ratios
- Semi-annual compounding formula confirmed against the Interest Act (Canada), R.S.C. 1985, c. I-15, Section 10
- US DTI ratios (28% / 36%) confirmed against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conventional underwriting guidelines
- Accelerated bi-weekly calculation verified: monthly payment ÷ 2 × 26 = 13 monthly equivalents per year
- Live rate data sourced from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (US) and Bank of Canada published rates (CA), updated weekly
Our four free tools
All four calculators are available on every page. Each also has a dedicated page with in-depth explanations, key term definitions, and FAQ sections.
Your data never leaves your browser
Every calculation on CalcHomeRate runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript. When you type your income, home price, or mortgage rate, that data is processed locally on your device — it is never transmitted to our servers, stored in a database, or shared with third parties.
We use Google Analytics to understand aggregate, anonymised traffic patterns (which pages are visited, in which country), and Google AdSense to serve contextual advertising. Neither service receives your mortgage data. See our Privacy Policy for full details including opt-out links for both services.
Get in touch
We welcome feedback, calculation questions, and suggestions for new features. Reach us at contact@calchomerate.com or visit our Contact page. We typically respond within 1–2 business days.