I already broke down the honest answer to how much house you can afford in a separate piece, including why lender approval and true affordability are two different numbers. This is the tool version, plug in your real income and debts and see both numbers for yourself instead of taking a rule of thumb on faith.
Short version: enter your income, existing debt, down payment, and rate, and you’ll get two price numbers side by side, a conservative figure based on the 28/36 rule that leaves you real breathing room, and a looser figure closer to what a lender might actually approve you for based on a higher debt-to-income ceiling. The gap between them is often larger than people expect, and it’s exactly the number worth knowing before you start house hunting.
How to Use It
Start with your gross monthly income, before taxes, not your take-home pay, since that’s what lenders and standard affordability ratios are built around. Then enter your existing monthly debt payments, car loans, student loans, credit card minimums, personal loans, anything already coming out of your paycheck before a mortgage even enters the picture (do not enter your current rent/mortgage payment as it will be replaced by the new mortgage after buying the house).
Down payment and rate work the same way here as they do in the mortgage calculator, if you already have a rate quote or a realistic estimate, use it, small differences here shift your affordable price meaningfully. The tax and insurance field asks for a rough percentage of home price rather than a dollar amount, since that scales properly as the calculator solves for your actual affordable price, 1.5% is a reasonable starting estimate for most areas, though your specific location may run higher or lower.
Why You Get Two Numbers, Not One
This is the entire point of the tool, and it’s the same gap the article covers in depth.
The conservative number is based on the 28/36 rule: no more than 28% of your gross income going to housing costs alone, and no more than 36% going to housing plus all your other debt combined. This is the standard most financial advisors, not lenders, recommend, because it leaves you room for savings, emergencies, and everything else life throws at you.
The lender-max number is based on a debt-to-income ceiling closer to 43%, the general upper limit many lenders will approve you for. This number exists because lenders are underwriting the risk that you’ll pay them back, not the risk that you’ll be financially comfortable. A payment that’s technically approvable can still leave you with almost nothing left over once you account for a car repair, a medical bill, or a slow month at work.
The gap between these two numbers is the real, dollar-amount answer to “how much should I actually spend” versus “how much could I technically get approved for.” For most people, that gap is significant, often tens of thousands of dollars in home price, and knowing it upfront changes how you shop.
What This Doesn’t Account For
No calculator can fully capture your specific situation. This tool doesn’t know about upcoming expenses you’re planning for, how stable your income actually is, or whether you’re the type of person who sleeps fine with a tight budget or the type who needs real margin. Treat the conservative number as a strong starting point, not a hard ceiling, and treat the lender-max number as information about what’s possible, not a target to aim for.
Other debt means car payments, student loans, credit card minimums, personal loans, anything already coming out of your paycheck. Not your future mortgage.
Once You Know Your Range
If you’re closer to actually shopping and want to see what a specific price point translates to as a real monthly payment, including PMI and when it drops off, the mortgage calculator picks up right where this one leaves off.
Before you go further into the process, How to Buy Your First House walks through the full step-by-step process from here through closing day, and if you’re still weighing whether buying makes sense for you at all right now, Renting vs. Buying in 2026 covers that decision
Frequently Asked Questions
Because “how much can I afford” and “how much can I get approved for” are genuinely different questions with different answers. The conservative figure follows the 28/36 rule and leaves real financial breathing room. The lender-max figure reflects a looser debt-to-income ceiling many lenders will approve, but with little margin for anything else.
Gross income, before taxes and deductions. Standard affordability ratios like 28/36 and lender debt-to-income limits are both built around gross income, so using take-home pay would understate what these standard benchmarks are actually measuring.
Any recurring monthly debt payment already coming out of your income: car loans, student loans, credit card minimum payments, personal loans. It does not include your future mortgage payment, which the calculator solves for separately.
It’s a reasonable estimate based on common debt-to-income guidelines, but actual approval depends on your credit score, employment history, assets, and the specific lender’s own standards. Treat it as a rough ceiling, not a guarantee.
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