Mortgage Payoff vs. Invest Calculator

Compare using your savings to wipe out a mortgage today against keeping the loan and investing the same cash upfront. Results update instantly and judge the tradeoff on final net wealth after mortgage interest.

Inputs

Compare clearing the mortgage today against investing the same lump sum while keeping the loan.

Hide

Assumptions

Used both as the payoff amount and the day-0 lump sum investment comparison. Range $50,000 to $800,000.
27 years
2.5%
Monthly mortgage payment resolves to $1,232 / mo.
Return assumption mode
Choose manual planning assumptions or a historical market reference.
7.0%
Adjust expected annual return for planning scenarios.

Option 1

Pay off mortgage today

Use savings to clear the balance immediately, then build a new portfolio from monthly investing only.

$1,200 / mo
Monthly amount invested after the mortgage is gone.
Mortgage payment$0 / mo
Monthly investing$1,200 / mo
Total monthly outflow$1,200 / mo

Option 2

Keep mortgage and invest

Invest the full mortgage balance on day 0, keep the loan in place, and add any extra monthly investing on top.

$400 / mo
Monthly amount invested while the mortgage payment continues.
Mortgage payment$1,232 / mo
Monthly investing$400 / mo
Total monthly outflow$1,632 / mo

Option 1

Pay off mortgage today

Savings clear the mortgage immediately, so the portfolio starts at zero and grows from monthly contributions only.

Final portfolio

$1,148,528

Monthly investing

$1,200 / mo

Mortgage interest cost

$0

Net value

$1,148,528

Option 2

Keep mortgage and invest

The mortgage stays in place while the same cash is invested upfront and tracked both gross and net of mortgage interest paid.

Final gross portfolio

$2,291,947

Monthly investing

$400 / mo

Mortgage interest cost

$109,094

Net value

$2,182,853

Option 2 wins on net wealth

$1,034,326

Keeping the mortgage and investing upfront ends at $2,182,853 net versus $1,148,528 for paying off the mortgage first.

Portfolio comparison over time

Blue shows the payoff-first portfolio. Green dashed subtracts cumulative mortgage interest from the gross investment path.