October 13, 2025
Bi-Weekly vs. Bi-Weekly Accelerated Mortgage Payments: What’s the Difference?
Homeowners often hear that “bi-weekly saves interest,” but there are actually two very different versions of bi-weekly payments. Understanding the difference helps you pick the option that matches your goals for cash flow, interest savings, and speed of payoff.
Regular bi-weekly payments split your normal monthly mortgage into smaller amounts paid every two weeks. You make 26 payments per year, but the total you pay over the year is kept equal to what you would have paid monthly. In practice, you’re just changing the timing of payments, not increasing how much you pay annually.
Because regular bi-weekly payments don’t increase your yearly total, the effect on interest and amortization is small. You may see very modest savings from slightly earlier application of funds, but it won’t meaningfully shorten a 25-year amortization on its own.
Bi-weekly accelerated payments also occur every two weeks (26 payments), but the amount is set to roughly half of your full monthly payment without reducing it to keep the annual total the same. That means your yearly outlay becomes the equivalent of 13 full monthly payments instead of 12.
That “extra” month’s payment created by bi-weekly accelerated is applied to principal, which lowers your balance faster. Lower principal means less interest charged in future periods, creating a compounding benefit that can shave years off your amortization and save thousands in interest over the life of the loan.
Quick example: If your monthly payment is $2,000, a regular bi-weekly plan divides the year’s total so your 26 payments add up to the same $24,000 you would have paid monthly. A bi-weekly accelerated plan sets your payment at about $1,000 every two weeks. Over 26 periods, that totals $26,000—effectively one extra $2,000 applied to principal each year.
Cash-flow vs. speed trade-off: Choose regular bi-weekly if you want payments to align neatly with a bi-weekly paycheque and keep the same annual cost. Choose bi-weekly accelerated if you want a built-in prepayment that reduces interest and shortens the mortgage without having to remember separate lump-sum contributions.
Naming varies by lender: Some institutions label schedules as “bi-weekly,” “true bi-weekly,” “rapid,” or “accelerated.” Always confirm whether the plan results in the equivalent of 12 or 13 monthly payments per year so you know exactly what you’re getting.
Bottom line: Regular bi-weekly mostly changes timing. Bi-weekly accelerated increases your annual principal repayment by about one full monthly payment, helping you pay down faster and save more interest.
Source: Absolute Mortgage Team