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Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Which costs less over your time horizon, renting or owning.

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Buying

Renting

This is the input that moves the answer most.

YearCost of buyingCost of rentingDifference

Cheaper option

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—

Break-even year—
Net cost of buying—
Net cost of renting—

Buying, broken down

Mortgage interest paid—
Tax, insurance, upkeep—
Transaction costs—
Equity at sale—

Quick Tool Overview

The Rent vs Buy Calculator totals every cost on both sides over the years you plan to stay: maintenance, tax, insurance and transaction costs against rent and the return your deposit would earn while invested. It reports the winner and the break-even year.

What it does
Compares the total cost of renting against buying
You give it
A home price, a comparable rent and your time horizon
You get back
Total cost each way, the winner and the break-even year
Best for
Deciding whether buying makes sense for how long you will stay
Calculators Free, unlimited use No sign-up Runs in your browser

About the Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Enter the home price you are considering and the rent on a comparable place, then the years you expect to stay. The calculator totals every cost on each side and reports which comes out ahead, plus the break-even year at which buying overtakes renting.

Buying is rarely as cheap as the payment comparison suggests, and renting is rarely as wasteful. On the owning side there is maintenance, property tax, insurance and the transaction costs of buying and selling, which alone can run eight to ten percent round trip. On the renting side there is the return your down payment earns while it stays invested. Set those against equity and price growth and the answer usually turns on one thing: how long you stay.

Key features of the Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Break-even year calculated

The year buying overtakes renting, which is the honest answer to a question usually settled by instinct.

Opportunity cost included

A renter keeps the deposit invested, and that forgone return belongs on the buying side of the ledger.

Transaction costs both ways

Buying and selling can cost eight to ten percent round trip, which is why short stays favour renting.

Maintenance and tax counted

The ongoing costs of ownership that a payment comparison silently omits.

Growth assumptions you control

Price appreciation, rent inflation and investment return are all inputs, not hidden constants.

How to use the Rent vs. Buy Calculator

  1. 1

    Enter the price and the rent

    A home you would buy and the monthly rent on a comparable property.

  2. 2

    Set your time horizon

    The number of years you expect to stay. This is the input that moves the answer most.

  3. 3

    Adjust the assumptions

    Price growth, rent inflation, maintenance and the return your deposit would earn if invested.

  4. 4

    Read the break-even year

    Stay longer than it and buying wins; move sooner and renting was the cheaper choice.

Frequently asked questions

Commonly five to seven years, but it depends entirely on transaction costs, price growth and the gap between rent and the payment. The break-even year in the result is the figure to look at, not a rule of thumb.

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