Free Rent vs Buy Calculator
Slide the numbers and see the exact year buying beats renting.
Your numbers
Cumulative cost over time
Drag any slider to update the chart
What is a rent vs buy calculator?
A rent vs buy calculator is a free online tool that helps you compare the true cost of renting versus buying a home over time, accounting for appreciation, opportunity cost, and transaction fees. It runs entirely in your browser — no signup, no app, and no data is ever sent to a server.
Buying a home is probably the biggest financial decision you'll make, yet most people base it on a gut feeling or what your real estate agent tells you. This calculator runs the actual numbers instead. It compares renting vs buying over time — factoring in your mortgage payment, property taxes, maintenance, HOA fees, PMI, the mortgage interest tax deduction, what your down payment could earn in the stock market, and the brutal 6% commission you'll lose when you sell. The chart shows you the exact year where buying finally starts costing less than renting, so you can stop guessing.
I built this because every rent vs buy calculator I found either hides the opportunity cost of the down payment or ignores real-world costs like PMI and tax deductions. This one shows the full picture with sliders you can drag. Real estate agents will tell you buying always wins because they make money when you buy. Landlords will tell you renting is smarter because they make money when you rent. I don't make money either way — the numbers are the numbers.
How it works
The calculator runs two scenarios side by side. On the buy side: you put a down payment, pay principal and interest on a 30-year mortgage, cover property taxes (adjustable per county — California is ~0.8%, Texas is ~2.5%), insurance, maintenance (1% of home value annually — $4,000/year on a $400,000 home), and HOA if applicable. If you put down less than 20%, PMI auto-applies at 0.8% of the loan amount until year 11 (roughly when most homeowners hit 20% equity). Your home appreciates at whatever rate you set, and when you sell you lose 6% to the agent commission. The mortgage interest tax deduction lowers your buy cost based on your tax bracket — at 24%, you effectively get a quarter of your interest back at tax time.
On the rent side: you pay rent that goes up every year at the rate you pick, and your down payment stays invested in the market earning your expected return. Any monthly savings (if renting is cheaper than buying that month) also go into investments. The red line is rent's total cost over time. The green line is buying's. When green dips below red, that's your breakeven year.
When to use this
Pull this up whenever you're looking at Zillow and wondering if you should actually pull the trigger. It's especially useful if you're not sure how long you'll stay in one place. In expensive coastal cities (San Francisco, NYC, LA), the breakeven is often 8–12 years because home prices are so high relative to rent. In the Midwest or Sun Belt, it can be as short as 2–4 years. If you're planning to move in 3 years, buying almost never makes sense — you won't even cover the closing costs and commission.
Also handy when deciding how much to put down. A 20% down payment avoids PMI and lowers your monthly payment, but it also pulls more money out of the market. Drag the slider and watch how the breakeven shifts — sometimes a smaller down payment makes sense even with PMI if you'd rather keep your money invested. The property tax slider is especially important if you're comparing states — my default of 1.25% sits in the middle but it can swing your monthly payment by $500+ depending on where you live.
Other tools you might like
Once you have a home price in mind, use the mortgage calculator for the full amortization schedule and to see how extra payments change your loan. The compound interest calculator shows what your down payment could grow to if you invested it instead of buying. And the loan calculator helps compare different loan structures side by side.
¿Hablas español? Prueba nuestra calculadora de rent vs buy en español.
How to use this calculator
- Set your home price and down payment — Drag the Home Price slider to the home you're considering. Adjust the Down Payment slider — 20% eliminates PMI but uses more of your savings.
- Adjust your rent and financing assumptions — Set your current or expected monthly rent. Update the mortgage rate to today's rate, and set your expected investment return for what the down payment could earn in the market.
- Find your breakeven — Watch the chart update instantly as you drag any slider. The breakeven year is where the Buy line dives below the Rent line. Below the chart, see your monthly costs and 30-year total difference.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to rent or buy a house right now?
It depends on how long you plan to stay. The breakeven horizon — the year renting costs more than buying — is typically 3–7 years. If you move before that, renting wins. If you stay past it, buying builds equity. The calculator above factors in your specific numbers: home price, rent, mortgage rate, and investment returns to find your exact breakeven.
How many years do you need to stay in a house to make buying worth it?
The rule of thumb is 5–7 years minimum, but the actual number depends on your home price, down payment, and local rent costs. At today's 6.5% mortgage rates with 20% down, the breakeven is often around 4–6 years in most markets. High rent compared to home prices pushes it lower; high home prices with low rent pushes it higher. Run the sliders above to find your exact number.
Does the opportunity cost of the down payment really matter?
Yes, and it's one of the biggest factors people miss. A $80,000 down payment that could earn 7% in the S&P 500 grows to about $300,000 over 20 years. If you put that into a house instead, you're giving up that growth — and home prices typically appreciate slower than stocks. The calculator factors this in automatically so you see the real comparison.
What costs do people forget when calculating if they can afford a house?
Four big ones: maintenance (1–2% of home value annually — that's $4,000–$8,000 on a $400,000 home), closing costs (2–5% of the purchase price), property taxes that increase over time, and the opportunity cost of your down payment. Most online calculators skip the last one, which is why renting often looks worse than it actually is.
Does the rent vs buy decision change with high interest rates?
Yes. At 7% mortgage rates, the monthly payment on a $400,000 home is about $2,660 (P&I alone). At 3% it was $1,686. That extra $974/month makes renting look much more attractive in the short term. Higher rates push the breakeven year further out. But if rates drop later and you can refinance, the buy scenario improves significantly.
Should I rent and invest the difference instead of buying?
Historically, investing in the S&P 500 has returned about 7–10% annually, while home prices have appreciated roughly 3–5% per year. If you rent and invest the difference (smaller monthly payment + down payment), you may come out ahead after 30 years. But a house is a leveraged investment — with 20% down, a 4% gain on a $400,000 home is a 20% return on your $80,000 investment. That leverage is the main argument for buying.