Compare 15-year refinance rates today

The case for a 15-year refinance isn't a lower payment — it's a lower lifetime cost. Compressing your repayment into half the time means more of every dollar goes to principal instead of interest, and you reach your mortgage-free years sooner.

According to Bankrate's Hidden Homeownership Tax research, 82.8% of refinance borrowers end up paying more than they needed to. Most of that gap closes the moment you compare real offers instead of taking the first one. That's true whether you're shortening your term or not — but it matters even more here, because a 15-year loan locks in your rate for fewer years of total payments, so getting it right the first time counts for more.

"Refinancing to a 15-year mortgage from a 30-year mortgage can be a good choice if your goal is to pay your loan off quickly,” says Andrew Dehan, former senior analyst at Bankrate. “But keep in mind that, unless you score a significantly lower mortgage rate, your monthly payment with the 15-year mortgage could be much more than what it was with your 30-year loan.”

If you’re in one of the following situations, a 15-year refinance may be worthwhile.

• If your income has grown enough to comfortably absorb a higher payment, then refinancing into a 15-year term lets you pay off the loan in half the time without straining your budget. Use Bankrate’s refinance calculator to estimate your potential monthly payment.
• If your new monthly payment would land close to what you're already paying, then a 15-year refinance lets you keep your payment roughly flat while cutting years and interest off your loan — this is common if your credit score has climbed since your original loan, or if you're refinancing out of an FHA loan and its mortgage insurance premiums.
• If you're at the halfway point of your current 30-year loan, then a 15-year refinance can match your remaining payoff timeline while potentially lowering your rate and putting more of each payment toward the principal. This works best if your current rate is well above today's average — otherwise the payment jump may not be worth it.

"The process of refinancing is not unlike buying a home — just a little simpler,” Dehan says. You won’t go house hunting or negotiate with a seller, but you'll manage a similar amount of paperwork. In most cases, expect to submit the same documentation as a purchase mortgage, with a four- to six-week timeline.

Here’s what the mortgage refinance process should look like, from start to finish:

The 30-year and 15-year mortgage terms get all the attention, but they’re not the only games in town.

“Another option, if you want to shorten your loan term, is refinancing to a 20-year loan,” Dehan says. “This option pays off your loan 10 years sooner than a 30-year, but still has a lower monthly payment than a 15-year."

If you want to pay off your mortgage even faster, a 10-year term accelerates things further, though it comes with the highest payment of the group.

You can also shorten your effective payoff timeline without refinancing at all — just direct extra payments toward principal on your existing loan, or set up biweekly automated payments (confirm with your lender that the extra amount is applied to principal, not future interest).

This example uses a $350,000 loan and Bankrate's national rate averages as of July 6, 2026.

The 15-year loan costs $693 more every month. In exchange, you cut your total interest by $282,256 over the life of the loan. If you can hold that extra $693 a month in your budget without strain, the savings are real and compound the longer you stay in the home. If you can't, a 20-year refinance or extra principal payments on your current loan get you part of that savings without the full payment jump.