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Rent vs Buy Calculator

Find your personal break-even year — the exact point when buying becomes cheaper than renting. This calculator factors in opportunity cost on your down payment, home appreciation, transaction costs, rent inflation, and tax benefits to give you the real answer for your numbers.

Buying costs

Home purchase price

Down payment

Mortgage rate

Annual home appreciation

Annual property tax rate

Monthly HOA + insurance

Annual maintenance

% of home value per year

Selling costs at exit

Agent fees + transfer tax

Renting costs

Current monthly rent

Annual rent increase

Investment return on down pmt

What you earn if you invest instead

Years to analyze

yrs

Calculating…

Break-even year

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Stay longer: buying wins

Buy total cost (yrs)

—

Over your period

Rent total cost (yrs)

—

Over your period

Net difference

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Winner over your period

Monthly mortgage payment (P&I)—

Monthly buy cost (all-in)—

Monthly rent (year 1)—

Down payment (opportunity cost)—

Home value at end of period—

Equity built (net of selling costs)—

Break-even year

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Buying — total true cost

—

Net cost after equity

Total mortgage payments—

Property tax paid—

Maintenance paid—

HOA + insurance paid—

Selling costs at exit—

Less: equity at exit—

Net cost of buying—

Renting — total true cost

—

Net cost after investment gains

Total rent paid—

Down pmt invested (grows to)—

Monthly savings vs buying (grows to)—

Total investment portfolio—

Less: rent paid—

Net cost of renting—

Cumulative net cost over time

Lower bar = cheaper option at that year

Calculating…

What This Calculator Includes That Others Miss

Opportunity cost on your down payment — the money you put down could be invested. This is the biggest factor most rent vs buy calculators ignore entirely
Selling costs at exit — 5–7% of your home value goes to agent commissions and transfer taxes when you sell. On a $500K home that is $25,000–$35,000 that most buyers forget to factor in
Full monthly buy cost — mortgage plus property tax, insurance, HOA, and maintenance. Not just the mortgage payment
Rent inflation — rent that is cheaper today will not be cheaper in 5–10 years. Compounding rent increases significantly change the long-term comparison

The break-even insight: In most US markets the break-even year is 4–7 years. If you plan to stay shorter than your break-even, renting is likely the smarter financial decision. If you plan to stay longer, buying wins. The key variable that most changes this calculation is your down payment opportunity cost — the higher your investment return assumption, the longer it takes for buying to win.