Down Payment Calculator

Yes, the RoughTools Down Payment Calculator is completely free with no account, subscription, or payment required. You can calculate required down payments and savings timelines for any home price and loan type at no cost. RoughTools is funded through non-intrusive advertising, keeping every calculator permanently free. There are no usage limits, no premium scenarios behind a paywall, and no registration required to access all features.

No account, email address, or registration is required at any stage. Enter the home price, your target down payment percentage, and your monthly savings capacity — the tool instantly shows the total amount needed, how long it will take to save, and whether PMI applies. There is no login wall, no upgrade required to see the savings timeline, and no data stored about your finances anywhere.

No. All calculations run entirely within your browser using JavaScript. The home price, savings figures, and all other inputs you enter are never transmitted to RoughTools servers, never logged, and never shared with lenders, advisers, or third parties. Once you close the browser tab, the data is gone with no trace retained. Your home buying plans remain completely private throughout the entire calculation process.

Yes, the calculator is fully responsive and works on all modern smartphones and tablets. All input fields and results are optimised for touch screens. This is useful when browsing home listings on your phone — you can quickly check what down payment percentage is needed for a specific property, how long it would take to save at your current monthly rate, and whether you would need to pay PMI at different down payment levels.

The Down Payment Calculator works in all modern browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, and Brave on both desktop and mobile. No plugins or extensions are required. The calculator uses standard JavaScript arithmetic that runs natively in every current browser. For the best currency and percentage formatting, any current version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari on desktop or mobile is recommended.

The savings timeline is calculated using straightforward arithmetic: down payment amount divided by monthly savings contribution. If you have existing savings toward the goal, that amount is deducted first. The calculation assumes a flat monthly savings rate with no investment return on accumulated savings — for a more aggressive projection, factor in interest earned in a high-yield savings account. The tool provides a conservative planning baseline. Actual timelines depend on whether your monthly savings rate changes, unexpected expenses, or changes in your target home price.

Once the page has fully loaded in your browser, all calculations run in JavaScript without requiring an active internet connection. You can adjust home prices, down payment percentages, and savings amounts and view updated timelines offline. The initial page load requires internet access to download the page assets. After that, the calculator functions entirely client-side for as long as the browser tab is open, making it usable even with poor or no signal.

To use the calculator: (1) Enter the home price you are targeting. (2) Select your down payment percentage — 3%, 3.5%, 10%, 20%, or a custom amount. (3) Enter any existing savings already set aside for the down payment. (4) Enter your planned monthly savings contribution toward the down payment. (5) Click Calculate. The tool shows the total down payment amount required, the remaining amount to save, the number of months to reach your goal, and whether you will need to pay PMI (required when putting less than 20% down on a conventional loan).

Lender-provided calculators are designed to show you mortgage payments and qualify you for a loan — they are not optimised for helping you plan savings timelines and compare down payment scenarios. RoughTools Down Payment Calculator focuses specifically on the savings planning problem: how much you need, how long it will take at your current rate, and the financial tradeoff between different down payment levels (such as avoiding PMI by reaching 20%). It is neutral, private, and has no incentive to push you toward any particular loan product.

To report a bug or suggest a feature — such as HYSA interest on savings, down payment assistance programme modelling, FHA vs conventional comparison, gift fund inclusion, or savings acceleration scenarios — use the feedback link in the site footer or visit the RoughTools contact page. When reporting a bug, include the inputs you used, the browser and OS, and the expected versus actual result. Feature requests for investment return on down payment savings or amortisation impact of different down payment amounts are reviewed regularly.

The minimum down payment depends on the loan type: conventional loans (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) require as little as 3% for first-time buyers, but 5% for repeat buyers in most cases. FHA loans require 3.5% with a 580+ credit score, or 10% with a 500–579 credit score. VA loans (available to veterans and active military) require 0%. USDA loans (for eligible rural properties) also require 0%. Jumbo loans (above conforming limits) typically require 10–20%. For any conventional loan with less than 20% down, PMI (private mortgage insurance) is required until equity reaches 20%.

PMI (private mortgage insurance) is required on conventional loans when the down payment is less than 20%. It protects the lender (not you) against default risk. PMI typically costs 0.5%–1.5% of the loan amount annually — on a $300,000 loan, that is $1,500–$4,500 per year or $125–$375 per month. You can request PMI removal once your equity reaches 20% of the original home value (based on your payment schedule). Under the Homeowners Protection Act, lenders must automatically cancel PMI when equity reaches 22% of the original purchase price based on scheduled payments. Reaching 20% down payment upfront eliminates PMI entirely from the start.