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Should I get a fixed home equity loan or a HELOC?
Both borrow against your home. A home equity loan pays out the whole amount at a fixed rate; a HELOC is a variable-rate line you draw as you need it, paying interest only on what you have drawn. Compare the payments, the cost over your horizon, and how far rates would have to rise for the fixed loan to win.
What you need
A HELOC charges interest only on what you have drawn; a home equity loan pays out, and charges interest on, the whole amount from the start.
Costs are compared over this horizon: interest and fees, with what is still owed shown beside them.
Home equity loan
FIXEDPaid once, at closing.
HELOC
VARIABLEUp-front costs: application, appraisal, closing. Paid once.
Add the amount, how you'd draw it and how long you'd keep it, then the fixed loan's rate and term and the HELOC's starting rate.
All four happen in your browser. Your figures are not sent anywhere — the email opens in your own mail app, already filled in.
Related calculators
HELOC or cash-out refinance?
Keep your mortgage and add a line, or replace it with one bigger loan. Compare payments, cost over your horizon, and what Fed moves would do.
How much can I borrow with a HELOC?
See the line your equity supports at different combined loan-to-value caps, and the payment if you draw all of it.
Should I use a HELOC to pay off debt?
Trade a high rate for a lower one — and see the payment jump when the draw period ends.
What's my blended rate?
Weight every rate by its balance, and see which debts the interest really comes from.