What Is the Rent vs Buy Calculator?
A rent vs buy calculator weighs the lifetime cost of renting against owning a home. It compares your monthly rent and its inflation to the full cost of owning — mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance — while crediting the home's appreciation and the opportunity cost of your down payment.
How to use this calculator
Type your numbers into the fields above. The results change the moment you edit any input, so you can try one scenario after another and see exactly what moves. Most calculators show a short summary of the key figures, a line-by-line breakdown underneath, and — where it applies — a year-by-year schedule you can export to a spreadsheet. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is stored or sent anywhere. Treat the output as a planning estimate, not as final word on a real decision.
The Formula
The model sums the mortgage payment, property tax, insurance, and maintenance over the holding period for buying, and the escalating rent for renting. It then compares those totals, accounting for the home's appreciated resale value and the returns you could have earned investing the down payment instead.
Worked Example
Buying a $350,000 home with $70,000 down at 6.5% over 7 years costs mortgage, tax, insurance, and maintenance along the way. Renting at $1,800 with 3% annual inflation costs a rising stream of payments. If appreciation and avoided rent outweigh ownership costs, buying wins — otherwise renting does.
Tips for the Most Accurate Estimate
- The longer you stay, the more buying's fixed costs are spread out.
- Higher appreciation favors buying; higher rent inflation favors buying too.
- Include maintenance and taxes — owners pay these; renters usually do not.
- Compare the return you'd earn on your down payment if you rented and invested it.
- Factor in selling costs (about 6–8%) if you might move before 5–7 years.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: When does renting beat buying?
Renting tends to win if you move often, housing prices are flat, or your down payment would earn more invested elsewhere than the home appreciates.
Q: Why count the down payment's investment return?
Because buying ties up cash in home equity. The calculator credits the return you forgo by not investing that money.
Q: Does this include the mortgage interest tax deduction?
No, the simplified model excludes tax benefits. In higher tax brackets the deduction can improve the buy case.