Rent vs Buy Calculator
Compare simplified multi-year renting and home-buying costs using mortgage amortization, ownership costs, appreciation, rent growth and exit equity.
Compare estimated cost of renting vs buying
Model a simplified multi-year housing cost comparison including financing, ownership costs, appreciation and rent growth.
How the Rent vs Buy Calculator works
This scenario model estimates mortgage payment and amortization, adds a percentage allowance for annual property tax plus maintenance, projects home value using the entered appreciation rate and subtracts remaining loan balance plus selling cost to estimate exit equity. Renting is modelled as annual rent with the selected growth rate.
How to use this rent vs buy calculator
Enter the purchase price, down payment, loan rate/term, comparison horizon and ownership-cost allowance, then set the appreciation, rent and rent-growth assumptions. The output is intentionally labelled an estimate because small changes in appreciation, financing or holding period can materially change the comparison.
How to interpret the result
Estimated net ownership cost treats the down payment and mortgage interest/ownership costs as cash outflows and offsets them with projected equity at the end of the horizon. The rent side totals rent paid. The difference is useful for scenario exploration, but it is not an instruction to rent or buy because preferences, liquidity and risk are not captured.
Assumptions and limitations
The model excludes the investment return/opportunity cost on down payment, purchase closing costs, insurance unless included in your ownership percentage, property-tax changes, tax deductions, HOA fees, renovation, rent deposits, transaction taxes and market volatility. Appreciation and rent growth are assumptions, not forecasts. Local financing rules can also differ.
Practical example and workflow
A buyer can run the same home through a 3-year, 7-year and 12-year horizon, then stress appreciation from 0% to 5%. Seeing where the result changes is more informative than relying on one “break-even” answer, because the decision is often dominated by holding period and transaction costs.