If you are about to sign a 30-year mortgage, look at the 15-year version first. Same lender, same house, but today the 15-year rate is about 0.69 points lower, and that gap is worth six figures over the life of the loan.
Freddie Mac's weekly survey put the 30-year fixed at 6.48% in early June, down from 6.85% a year ago. The 15-year averaged 5.79%. Lenders charge less on the shorter loan because they get their money back faster and carry less risk. You pay for that lower rate with a bigger monthly check.
Take a $400,000 loan. At 6.48% over 30 years, the payment is about $2,523 a month, and you hand the bank roughly $508,000 in interest. At 5.79% over 15 years, the payment jumps to about $3,330, but total interest drops to about $199,000.
The 15-year costs $807 more a month. It saves more than $308,000 in interest and clears the mortgage in half the time.
This is the rare case where the math is one-sided but the decision is not. The 15-year wins on cost, no contest. The 30-year wins on breathing room: the lower payment is easier to carry if your income dips, and you can always pay a 30-year like a 15-year by adding principal, while a 15-year payment is mandatory every single month. If a job loss would put the bigger payment in danger, that flexibility is worth real money too.
So here is the verdict: your call. But most buyers never run the 15-year number, and they should.
Ask any lender to quote both terms on the same loan so you see both payments side by side. If the 15-year payment fits your budget with room to spare, the interest savings are hard to beat. If it is tight, take the 30-year and set up an extra-principal payment you control. Either way, compare lenders before you lock, because the rate gap between them is as wide as the gap between terms. Run both numbers through our mortgage calculator, then compare our top-rated lenders below.
Ranking
Our top-rated mortgage lenders
Our top-rated mortgage lenders, scored on rates, fees, and service.
| Rank | Company | Best for | Key stat | Score | Apply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocket MortgageRocket Mortgage | Best overall lender | ONE+ 1% down option | 9.3/10 | |
| 2 | ChaseChase Home Lending | Best first-time grants | Up to $7,500 homebuyer grant | 8.9/10 | |
| 3 | PennyMacPennyMac Mortgage | Best FHA lender | Largest FHA lender | 8.7/10 | |
| 4 | BetterBetter Mortgage | Best online experience | Fully online, no lender fees | 8.6/10 | |
| 5 | CrossCountry MortgageCrossCountry Mortgage | Best for refinancing | Low credit-score options, fast close | 8.6/10 | |
| 6 | Guild MortgageGuild Mortgage | Best for flexible credit | Flexible credit for government loans | 8.5/10 |
Rates move weekly, so the exact spread will shift. What holds is the pattern: the shorter term carries a lower rate and far less total interest. The survey figures above are for borrowers with 20% down and strong credit, so your own quotes may run higher. Compare offers on our best mortgage lenders page before you commit to a term.
How Candid Yak makes money. Some of the products we write about pay us if you apply or sign up through our links. That never changes our verdict, our rankings, or the numbers in this article. We call a bad deal a bad deal whether it pays us or not. Some brands shown in our comparison tools are placeholder examples while we finalize partner agreements, and we label them as such.