Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Use this free rent vs. buy calculator to compare projected rent cost with simplified home buying, ownership, and sale proceeds over time.

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Formula steps Estimate limits shown Examples included Private history

Monthly rent ($)Annual rent increase (%)Home price ($)Down payment ($)Mortgage rate (%)Compare over yearsAnnual property tax ($)Monthly insurance ($)Maintenance (% of home/year)Home appreciation (%)Selling cost (%)

Buying lower by estimate$35,454.79

7 years rent total vs buy-and-sell estimate

Total rent cost: $193,094.05
Net buying cost: $157,639.26
Estimated sale proceeds: $181,755.62
Remaining loan balance: $303,798.58

Formula steps

Project rent with the entered annual rent increase.
Estimate buying cash outflow from down payment, mortgage, tax, insurance, and maintenance.
Estimate sale proceeds after appreciation, selling costs, and remaining loan balance.
Compare rent cost with net buying cost.

How to use the rent vs. buy calculator

Enter the requested dollar amounts, rates, terms, tax settings, or contribution details.
Use rates as percentages, such as 6.5 for 6.5%, and check whether a field asks for a monthly or annual amount.
Press the calculate button to see the answer, supporting metrics, and formula steps.
Use the result as a planning estimate only, then copy it if the assumptions look right.

Common uses

Compare renting and buying over a specific number of years.

Test rent growth, appreciation, and selling cost assumptions.

Include basic mortgage, tax, insurance, and maintenance estimates.

Screen whether time horizon changes the answer.

Examples

Seven-year compare $2,100 rent vs $420,000 home

Rent-vs-buy gap

Short stay Three-year comparison

Short horizon estimate

Higher rent market $3,200 rent vs $650,000 home

Longer comparison

Frequently asked questions

Plain-language answers about when to use the estimate, what your numbers mean, what is left out, and how privacy works.

When should I use the Rent vs. Buy Calculator?

Use it for early planning and side-by-side comparisons, especially for tasks like these: Compare renting and buying over a specific number of years. Test rent growth, appreciation, and selling cost assumptions. Treat the answer as a planning estimate, not a final quote.

What is the Rent vs. Buy Calculator doing with my numbers?

In plain language: The calculator projects rent with annual increases, estimates buying cash outflow, estimates sale proceeds after appreciation and selling costs, then compares net buying cost with rent cost. If the result seems too high or too low, first check whether each field expects a monthly amount, annual amount, dollar value, or percent.

What does this estimate leave out?

This does not include taxes, investment returns on cash, repairs timing, moving costs, HOA, PMI, local rules, opportunity cost, or personal flexibility needs. Real finance decisions can also depend on fees, timing, local rules, credit details, and provider-specific terms.

Does the site save my finance inputs?

No. The calculator runs in your browser tab. Recent answers stay only on the page while you use it, and they are not sent to a server.