Rent vs Buy Calculator
Should you rent or buy? Compares 5/10/30-year cost of renting vs owning, including taxes, maintenance, and opportunity cost.
About the Rent vs Buy Calculator
The Rent vs Buy Calculator answers the biggest financial decision most people ever make: am I better off renting or buying my home? It compares the full cumulative cost of each option over 5, 10, and 30 years - including mortgage payments, property tax, maintenance, opportunity cost on the down payment, expected home appreciation, and the rising cost of rent over time.
The math is more nuanced than most calculators acknowledge. The cost of buying isn't just the mortgage; it's also the opportunity cost of having a large down payment locked up instead of invested. The cost of renting isn't just monthly rent; it's the lost equity from never building ownership. The tool surfaces both costs honestly so the right answer for your situation is clear.
Common use cases
- Decide whether to keep renting or start house-hunting
- Stress-test the buy decision against flat or declining home prices
- Compare a starter-home purchase vs continued renting and investing
- See how time horizon (how long you stay) changes the breakeven
Tips for accurate results
Time horizon is the single most important input. Buying almost always loses on short holds (under 5 years) because transaction costs (closing, realtor fees) wipe out years of equity gain. Buying almost always wins on long holds (15+ years) because mortgages are paid off and appreciation compounds. The 7-10 year range is where the answer genuinely depends on local market conditions.
Privacy & data handling
The Rent vs Buy Calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded, logged, or shared with third parties - the math happens locally and your inputs disappear when you close the tab. There is no signup, no email collection, and no daily-use limit.
What inputs matter most?
Home price, mortgage rate, down payment, property tax rate, expected home appreciation, current rent, expected rent increase, and the return you'd earn investing the down payment elsewhere. Small changes in appreciation rate (e.g., 2% vs 4%) and investment return can flip the answer entirely - the tool shows sensitivity bands so you can see how robust the recommendation is.
What's the 5% rule?
A simplification: if annual home ownership costs (5% of home price, covering mortgage interest, taxes, and maintenance) exceed annual rent, renting wins financially. Above that, buying wins. It's a quick sanity check; the full calculator is more accurate but the 5% rule catches the obvious cases.
Does the tool account for tax deductions?
Yes - mortgage interest and property tax deductions are factored in, but only for filers who itemize. Post-2017 tax-reform changes pushed most households to the standard deduction, so the calculator defaults to standard-deduction math (no tax benefit from ownership) unless you toggle "I itemize."
What about emotional or lifestyle reasons?
The calculator only handles financial math. Renting has real non-financial benefits: mobility, no maintenance hassle, predictable monthly costs. Buying has stability, customization, and forced savings. Use the financial answer as one input, not the only input.
When does buying almost always win?
Long time horizon (10+ years in the same home), low interest rates, high local rent growth, neighborhoods with strong appreciation, and the discipline to actually save (people who would otherwise spend the down payment). Buying loses on short horizons, in flat or declining markets, or when transaction costs dominate (5-7% to sell wipes out years of equity).
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