Skip to content
Finance Calc Kit
Real estate

Rent vs Buy Calculator

Compare the financial costs of renting vs buying a home over time with our detailed break-even analysis.

Report tool

How the rent vs buy calculator works

Deciding whether to rent or buy depends on more than monthly payment. This calculator compares cumulative renting costs against the net cost of owning over your chosen time horizon, factoring in mortgage interest, property taxes, maintenance, home appreciation, rent inflation, and the opportunity cost of your down payment.

Use the mortgage calculator with taxes and insurance to estimate your monthly PITI payment, the down payment calculator to size your upfront cash, and the mortgage calculator to model loan principal and interest alone.

What costs are included

  • Renting: cumulative rent paid, growing each year at your rent inflation rate.
  • Buying: mortgage interest, property tax, and maintenance, minus home price appreciation. Principal payments build equity and are not treated as lost cost.
  • Opportunity cost: the down payment could have earned your assumed investment return if you continued renting.

Worked example: $300,000 home vs $1,800 rent over 10 years

  1. Purchase: $300,000 home, $60,000 down (20%), 6.5% rate, 30-year term.
  2. Owning costs: 1.2% property tax, 1.5% maintenance and insurance, 4% annual appreciation.
  3. Renting: $1,800 per month with 3% annual rent inflation, 7% investment return on the down payment.
  4. Result: after 10 years, buying shows a lower net cost because appreciation and equity offset interest and carrying costs.
Buying Net Cost=Interest+Tax+Maintenance−(Future Value−Purchase Price)\text{Buying Net Cost} = \text{Interest} + \text{Tax} + \text{Maintenance} - (\text{Future Value} - \text{Purchase Price})

Frequently asked questions

Does a lower monthly mortgage mean buying is always better?
Not necessarily. A low mortgage payment can still lose to renting if home prices stagnate, carrying costs are high, or you move before building equity. Compare cumulative net costs over your expected stay.
Why is principal not counted as a cost?
Principal payments increase your home equity, similar to forced savings. Only interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and opportunity cost represent money you will not recover at sale.
How does the year-by-year table help?
It shows when renting or buying becomes cheaper as rent rises and your equity grows. The break-even year is where the buying net cost line crosses below cumulative rent.
Are results stored on a server?
No. All calculations run in your browser. Changing inputs updates the URL so you can bookmark or share scenarios.

Resources and references

The formulas and methods in this calculator were checked against these independent sources.