Your money. Your move.
Renting or buying? Let's do the math.
Our free rent vs. buy calculator compares the real costs of renting vs. buying a home — mortgage payments, home buying costs, and the growth of money you invest instead — so you can see which path builds more wealth for you.
Free. No sign-up. Your numbers stay in your browser.
After 10 years
Renting wins
by $34,380 in projected net worth
Compare the real costs
Mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, closing and selling costs — side by side with rent.
See your long-term net worth
Track home equity against a renter's invested savings, year by year.
Make a more informed decision
Find your break-even year and see which assumptions move the result most.
How it works
- 1
Enter your numbers
Start from example assumptions and swap in your own price, rate and rent.
- 2
Watch it recalculate
Every change instantly updates the verdict, chart and yearly table.
- 3
Understand the why
See the factors that drive your result, with every assumption shown.
Methodology & assumptions
Plain-English rules behind every number. Results are estimates, not predictions.
Mortgage
Monthly principal and interest use the standard fixed-rate amortization formula. We track your loan balance month by month.
Ownership costs
Property tax is a percentage of the home's current value. Insurance and maintenance grow with home value. HOA dues stay flat.
Buying side
If you sell at the end, you get the home's value, minus selling costs, minus what you still owe on the loan. Principal you paid shows up here once, as equity.
Renting side
The renter keeps the down payment and closing costs and invests them. Each month, whoever pays less invests the difference, so both sides spend the same total.
Comparison
We compare buyer net worth (sale proceeds plus any invested savings) with the renter's portfolio in the same year. Break-even is the first year from which buying stays ahead of (or tied with) renting through the end of your time frame.
Limitations
Not modeled: PMI, taxes on gains, mortgage interest deductions, refinancing, and market volatility. Returns and appreciation are smooth averages you choose — not forecasts.