About this tool
Rent vs Buy Calculator is a free, in-browser tool that simulates renting versus buying the same home month by month over your chosen horizon and compares the resulting net worth of each path. All simulation happens locally in your browser.
The buyer pays a down payment, an amortized mortgage (annual rate ÷ 12), property tax and maintenance on the current home value, while the home appreciates and equity builds. The renter pays rent that grows yearly and invests the down payment — plus every month's difference between owning costs and rent — at your expected investment return. The buyer's net worth is home value minus the remaining loan; the renter's is the investment portfolio. The break-even year is the first year buying pulls ahead.
Use it to test how appreciation, rent growth, or a higher investment return flips the verdict — the famous insight of this comparison is how sensitive it is to those assumptions.
Frequently asked questions
What does the break-even year mean?
It is the first year (checked at each year end) where the buyer's net worth — home value minus remaining loan balance — meets or exceeds the renter's invested portfolio. A dash means buying never catches up within your horizon.
What is the opportunity cost of the down payment?
The renter is assumed to invest the down payment on day one and add (or withdraw) the monthly difference between total owning costs and rent, compounding at your investment return. This is the single biggest factor most rent-vs-buy comparisons omit.
What costs are included for the owner?
Mortgage principal and interest, property tax and maintenance (both as annual percentages of the current home value, divided by 12). Transaction costs like buying/selling fees are not modeled, so results near the break-even point should be read as roughly even.
Does this tool send my data anywhere?
No. The entire month-by-month simulation runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded or stored.
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