How to use the semi-monthly vs biweekly pay comparison
- Enter your yearly salary.
- Read the check on a semi-monthly schedule (24 checks) and on a biweekly schedule (26 checks), and the difference per check.
- To see which months get three biweekly checks, pick any biweekly payday in the year you care about.
- Use the month table to plan bills, since a month with three checks gives you an extra paycheck.
Formula
semi-monthly check = yearly salary / 24
biweekly check = yearly salary / 26
biweekly paydays in a year = dates found by counting 14 days from a known payday
Each check is rounded to the cent. Both schedules pay the same salary over a full pay year, so the monthly average is the salary divided by 12 either way.
A $60,000 salary
Twenty-four semi-monthly checks of $2,500.00 equal $60,000. Twenty-six biweekly checks are $60,000 / 26 = $2,307.69, which is $192.31 less per check. The biweekly checks average $5,000.00 a month over the year, the same as semi-monthly pay.
If a biweekly payday falls on January 2, 2026, the paydays are every 14 days from then. That gives 26 paydays in 2026 with three in January and three in July, and two in every other month. A year that starts with a payday on January 1, such as 2027, holds 27 paydays, so that calendar year contains one extra check.
Why the months look uneven
Twenty-six biweekly checks cover 364 days, but a year has 365 or 366, so the dates slide by a day or two each year. Because 12 months have room for 24 checks, two more checks land in two months of the year and make them three-check months. In a year that starts right on a payday, a 27th check can land at the end of the year.
Semi-monthly pay is paid on set days of the month, often the 15th and the last day, so each month has two checks of the same size. The Pay Period Calendar lays out pay dates for the whole year in a printable calendar.
Using the comparison
A smaller biweekly check feels smaller each time but arrives more often. If your rent or loan payment is due monthly, the three-check months are a good time to put money aside. To convert a wage into these figures, see the Hourly to Salary Calculator, and to divide a check among accounts, the Paycheck Split Calculator.
Assumptions and limits
- Checks are gross amounts, before taxes and deductions.
- Semi-monthly pay is assumed to land twice in every month.
- Biweekly paydays are counted every 14 days from the date you enter, ignoring bank holiday shifts.
- A calendar year with 27 biweekly checks pays one check more than 26 in that calendar year only.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between semi-monthly and biweekly pay?
Semi-monthly pay arrives twice a month, 24 times a year. Biweekly pay arrives every two weeks, 26 times a year. The total for a year is the same, but biweekly checks are smaller.
How many paychecks are in a year on a biweekly schedule?
Usually 26. Some calendar years hold 27 when a payday falls on the first days of January, which adds one extra check in that calendar year.
Which months have three biweekly paychecks?
Two months a year have three when there are 26 paydays. Enter any biweekly payday and the page lists them. The months change from year to year.
Is a semi-monthly salary the same as a biweekly salary?
Yes. The yearly salary is the same. Only the size and timing of each check differ, because the same total is split 24 ways instead of 26.