Rent vs Buy Calculator
Compare renting vs buying over your planned stay. Includes mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, appreciation, rent increases, and investing the difference.
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All calculations happen in your browser. No housing or financial data is sent to any server.
Common rule of thumb is ~1% per year.
Assumes you invest upfront cash (down + closing) and the monthly difference between buying and renting.
Table of Contents
What is a Rent vs Buy Calculator?
A rent vs buy calculator compares the financial outcome of renting a home versus buying one over the same planned time period. It estimates total housing costs and (optionally) net worth impact.
It’s most useful when you’re deciding how long you’ll stay and whether the equity from buying is likely to outweigh the flexibility (and potential investment returns) of renting.
How it Works
- Model a mortgage: estimate principal & interest payments and remaining balance over your stay.
- Add ownership costs: property taxes, insurance, HOA, and maintenance (modeled as a % of home value).
- Model home value growth: appreciation increases home value over time and can increase equity.
- Model renting: rent grows with the annual rent increase rate; renter’s insurance is added.
- Model investing the difference: the calculator assumes you invest the upfront cash (down payment + closing costs) and the monthly difference between buying and renting.
Key Inputs Explained
Years planning to stay
This often matters more than any other input. Short stays can favor renting because closing costs and early mortgage interest are front-loaded.
Home appreciation rate
Appreciation boosts home value and can make buying look better—especially over longer horizons. If you’re unsure, test multiple scenarios (e.g., 1–5%).
Maintenance rate
Many homeowners underestimate maintenance. Modeling it as a % of home value helps capture the reality that bigger/more expensive homes generally cost more to maintain.
Investment return rate (if renting)
This drives the “rent & invest the difference” outcome. If investment returns are higher than home appreciation (and rent isn’t too high), renting can be competitive.
Understanding the Results
- Buy net cost: total cash paid for ownership minus ending home equity.
- Rent total cost: total rent paid plus renter’s insurance.
- Net worth (buy): ending home equity.
- Net worth (rent): ending investment portfolio value under the investing assumptions.
The recommendation shown is based on the modeled ending net worth. If you prefer a pure cash-cost view, compare buy net cost vs rent total cost.
Break-even
Break-even is shown in two ways: (1) when buying produces higher net worth than renting, and (2) when buying’s net cost becomes less than or equal to total rent paid. These can occur at different times.
If the break-even point is beyond your planned stay, renting may make more sense under your current assumptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Usually your time horizon (years you’ll stay). Short stays often favor renting because closing costs and early mortgage interest are front-loaded.
There’s an optional simplified mortgage interest “tax benefit” toggle. Real tax outcomes depend on itemization, caps, and your full tax situation.
It’s a common planning approximation that scales maintenance with home value, capturing that more expensive homes often have higher repair/replacement costs.
It assumes that if buying costs more per month than renting, you invest that monthly difference when renting (and also invest upfront cash not spent on down payment + closing costs). This is a common way to compare wealth-building potential.
If your target property has no HOA, set it to $0. If you’re comparing condos or some planned communities, HOA fees can materially change the outcome.