Buy vs Rent Calculator
Compare the long-term financial outcome of buying a home versus renting and investing the savings.
Your Situation
If You Buy
If You Rent
Buying
Mortgage payment
—
Monthly housing cost
—
Monthly invested
—
Renting
Monthly rent
—
Monthly invested
—
Outcome
Net worth (buying)
—
Net worth (renting)
—
Advantage
—
Break-even year
—
Net Worth Over Time
Monthly Cost Over Time
Advantage Over Time
Cumulative Spending
Year-by-Year Details
| Year | Home Value | Home Equity | Buy Investments | Buy Net Worth | Rent Investments | Rent Net Worth | Advantage |
|---|
How It Works
Input the home price, mortgage rate, down payment, monthly rent, and investment return rate. The tool simulates two parallel scenarios — buying and renting — over your chosen time horizon, accounting for equity build-up, opportunity cost of the down payment, and typical ownership costs, then shows which comes out ahead financially.
Use Cases
- Deciding whether to buy or keep renting in your current city
- Quantifying the break-even point where buying becomes cheaper than renting
- Comparing the financial outcome at different property appreciation rates
- Evaluating a relocation decision where housing costs differ significantly