Rent vs Buy Calculator
Compare the long-term financial outcome of renting versus buying a home. Interactive chart, regional presets, no login required.
Get local data for your ZIP code
Pre-fill the calculator with median home values, rents, and tax rates for your area.
- Monthly Mortgage (P&I)
- $4,410/mo
- Monthly Buying Cost (month 1)
- $6,148/mo
- Monthly Rent (month 1)
- $2,800/mo
- Total Buying Costs (7yr)
- $540,721
- Total Rent Paid (7yr)
- $261,624
- Final Home Equity
- $578,681
- Renter Portfolio
- $636,106
Compare Scenarios
Save your current inputs as a scenario to compare different options side-by-side.
Should You Rent or Buy?
The rent-versus-buy decision depends on more than just the monthly payment. This calculator models the full financial picture — mortgage principal & interest, property taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, home appreciation, rent inflation, and the opportunity cost of your down payment.
How the Model Works
Each month the calculator computes the total cost of owning (P&I + taxes + insurance + HOA + maintenance) and compares it to the cost of renting. The renter is assumed to invest their down payment in a diversified portfolio earning the specified return rate. Whenever buying costs more than renting in a given month, the renter also invests the difference.
At the end of each year the calculator snapshots buy wealth (home equity = appreciated home value minus remaining loan balance) and rent wealth (the renter's investment portfolio). The year where buy wealth first overtakes rent wealth is the break-even year.
Key Assumptions
- Home appreciation and rent increases compound annually.
- Property taxes and maintenance scale with the appreciated home value.
- The renter's portfolio compounds monthly at the stated return rate.
- Closing costs, realtor commissions, and tax benefits are excluded for simplicity.
Sources & Methodology
- Opportunity cost methodology (renter investing the down payment and monthly savings) — CFPB: Owning a Home — Comparing Loan Options
- Home appreciation and rent inflation assumptions — FHFA House Price Index (HPI)
- Standard mortgage amortization (principal paydown equity) — CFPB: What is an Amortization Schedule?
- Property tax and maintenance cost benchmarks — U.S. Census Bureau: American Housing Survey
Related Tools
- House Hacking Calculator — Consider house hacking to reduce your housing cost
- DSCR Calculator — Check DSCR if you're buying an investment property
- Refi & Rate Simulator — Model refinancing scenarios for your purchase