One formula, two pages
EMI = P × r × (1 + r)n ÷ ((1 + r)n − 1). Monthly rate is the annual rate divided by 12. Both pages run this. If you have ever wondered whether the two pages disagree, they do not. Same inputs, same answer, different clothes. If you want to see the maths worked out step by step, How to Calculate EMI by Hand runs the full formula with real numbers.
The EMI page
The EMI page speaks Indian loan language: ₹, Indian digit grouping, EMI, tenure, principal. Example: ₹1,00,000 at 12% for 12 months gives ₹8,884.88 a month, ₹1,06,618.55 in total. This is the page I would send to someone comparing personal loans in India.
Run it yourself on the EMI Calculator.
The Mortgage page
The Mortgage page speaks US mortgage language: $, US digit grouping, term, monthly payment. Example: $200,000 at 6% over 30 years gives $1,199.10 a month. Total paid: $431,676.38. Interest alone: $231,676.38.
Look at that interest figure. Over 30 years you pay back more in interest than you borrowed. That is normal for a long mortgage, and it is exactly why the total matters more than the monthly figure. A payment that feels affordable can still be an expensive loan.
Run it yourself on the Mortgage Calculator.
A trap: comparing monthly payments across currencies
₹8,884.88 a month and $1,199.10 a month look comparable on a page. They are not. Different currencies, different loan sizes, different tenures. Never line up the two monthly figures and conclude one loan is cheaper. Compare each loan against its own alternatives: total paid and total interest, in its own currency.
What both leave out
Neither page includes property tax, insurance, processing fees, prepayment, or floating-rate changes. Both are pure loan maths. Neither is a lender quote. If your lender's number is higher, one of those missing pieces is usually the reason.
A concrete example, using round illustrative numbers: say property tax adds $150 a month and insurance adds $100. Your real monthly outgo on the $200,000 mortgage is then about $1,449, not $1,199. The calculator did not lie. It just did not include the parts it never claimed to include.
The decision rule
If the loan is in rupees, use the EMI calculator. If it is a US-dollar mortgage, use the Mortgage calculator. That is the whole rule.
If you just need the maths, either page works. Read the ₹ as $ yourself and ignore the Indian digit grouping. The answer will be right. The Mortgage page is simply clearer for a US loan, and the EMI page is clearer for an Indian one.
One real-world mix-up: someone earning in ₹ with a US mortgage, or vice versa. Use each calculator for its own loan. Do not convert one loan into the other's currency inside your head and compare the monthly figures. That is how the trap in the previous section starts.
And if you are judging calculators in general, not just these two, the five checks in How to Choose an EMI Calculator show what separates an honest calculator from a misleading one.
The two examples side by side
Here are the worked examples from this guide in one place, so you can see how the same formula behaves across currencies and tenures.
| Loan | Monthly payment | Total paid | Interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,00,000 at 12%, 12 months | ₹8,884.88 | ₹1,06,618.55 | ₹6,618.55 |
| $200,000 at 6%, 30 years | $1,199.10 | $431,676.38 | $231,676.38 |