Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Compare wealth after renting or owning—not just your monthly housing payment.

YOUR HOUSING DECISION

Which choice grows your net worth?

Home purchase price $ Monthly rent $ / month Mortgage interest rate % APR Years you plan to stay years

Down payment %Home appreciation %/yrInvestment return %/yr

ESTIMATED ADVANTAGE AT YOUR HORIZONCalculating…Includes sale proceeds, investments and cash-flow differences

Buy — ending net worth—

Rent — ending net worth—

Mortgage payment (P&I)—

First year buying leads—

Advanced assumptions Taxes, HOA, closing costs, inflation & more ⌄

Loan term (years)Buying closing costs (%)Selling costs (%)Property tax (% home value/yr) Maintenance (% home value/yr)Home insurance ($/mo)HOA dues ($/mo)PMI until 80% LTV ($/mo) Rent growth (%/yr)Renters insurance ($/mo)Rent security deposit (months)Inflation (%/yr) Owner extra utilities ($/mo)Renter extra utilities ($/mo)Other buying costs ($ upfront)

YOUR WEALTH PATH

Buy vs. rent over time

Buy Rent

Net worth includes home sale proceeds after estimated selling costs, outstanding mortgage, invested cash-flow savings, and refundable rent deposit. Estimates, not market forecasts.

What changes your decision?

Difference in ending net worth (buy minus rent) when you change one assumption.

First-year cash flow

Comparing out-of-pocket housing costs before investing the difference.

View year-by-year comparison and assumptions

Year	Buy net worth	Rent net worth	Buy − rent	Mortgage left

How this rent vs. buy calculator works

Both choices start with the same total cash budget. A renter can invest money not spent on a down payment and buying costs. Each month, whichever option has lower housing costs invests the difference at the assumed rate. If you buy, the ending result also includes the home’s estimated sale proceeds after mortgage balance and selling costs.

What counts: fixed-rate amortization, down payment, buying and selling costs, annual home appreciation, property tax, insurance, maintenance, HOA, conditional PMI, rent inflation, deposit refund, and alternative investing. The monthly model compounds investment returns from an effective annual assumption. Amounts are nominal except in the optional real-dollar display.

What it does not count: income tax deductions or capital-gains tax, brokerage fees or investment taxes, mortgage refinancing, escrow mechanics, rent deposit opportunity return, special assessments, rent controls, local transaction taxes, and changing mortgage/insurance rules. Property-tax and maintenance assumptions scale with home value. PMI is modeled simply as ending once loan balance is no higher than 80% of original purchase price; actual lender removal criteria can differ. This is an illustrative financial comparison, not investment or mortgage advice.

Related tools

Continue with a specialist if you need additional detail about the purchase or loan.