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Mortgage Merlin
Interactive tool · 11 loan types

Compare any two mortgage types

Set a home price, pick two loan programs — see monthly payment and total interest side by side. Conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, bank statement, DSCR, ITIN, asset depletion and more. Rates derived from Freddie Mac PMMS (Jul 30, 2026) — illustrative, not a quote.

$100k$1.5M

Loan A

6.66%✓ Lower payment

30-yr fixed · illustrative

Min down3% · $13,500
Loan amount$436,500
Min credit620
Max DTI45%
Income docsTax returns / W-2

Est. monthly P&I

$2,805/mo

~$573,324 total interest over 30 yr

Loan B

7.50%

30-yr fixed · illustrative

Min down10% · $45,000
Loan amount$405,000
Min credit660
Max DTI50%
Income docs12–24 mo bank statements

Est. monthly P&I

$2,832/mo

~$614,455 total interest over 30 yr

Conventional 30-yr saves $27/mo in P&I payments at this home price. Over 30 years that’s $41,131 less in total interest.

Illustrative only — not a pre-approval or offer of credit. Payments are principal & interest only; excludes taxes, insurance, PMI/MIP, HOA, and origination fees. Down payments shown are published minimums; non-QM lenders often require more. Rates update approximately weekly from Freddie Mac PMMS.

How to read this comparison

  • Monthly P&I only. The payment shown is principal and interest. Your actual payment also includes property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, and — for many loan types — mortgage insurance or HOA dues. Budget roughly 0.5–1.5% of the home price annually for taxes and insurance combined, depending on your state.
  • Down payment = published minimum. VA and USDA permit 0% down; conventional and FHA start at 3–3.5%. Non-QM programs (bank statement, DSCR, ITIN) show the published floor — many lenders require 15–25% based on your credit score and LTV.
  • Rate = Freddie Mac PMMS + published spreads. The conventional 30-yr rate is the national weekly average from Freddie Mac. All other programs are derived by adding typical market spreads to that base rate. Non-QM rates vary significantly by lender, credit, LTV, and prepayment terms — treat these as a benchmark, not a locked price.
  • Term matters for the 15-yr option. A 15-yr conventional loan carries a lower rate than a 30-yr, but the higher monthly payment reduces your qualifying DTI. Use the DTI calculator to see how each term affects your debt-to-income ratio at your actual income.
Self-employed tip: Compare conventional against bank statement at your expected home price. A bank-statement loan has a higher rate — but if your tax-return net income doesn’t qualify you at the conventional rate, that lower rate is irrelevant. A bank-statement approval at 7.5% beats a conventional decline every time.

How we source this

Program terms compared here follow the agency and FHA guidelines, not lender marketing. All outputs are illustrative samples, not quotes, pre-approvals or offers of credit.