finance calculator
Compare renting and buying with ownership costs and equity impact.
Return when rates, rent, taxes, home prices, or your comparison timeline changes.
Recommendation
Rent
Formula
Compare total buying cost against total renting cost over the chosen time periodThe calculator estimates mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA, and opportunity cost, then compares that with rent.
Step by step
Example
For a $350,000 home, $70,000 down payment, and $2,000 rent over 7 years, renting is cheaper under the default assumptions.
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Summary
Recommendation
Rent
Lower estimated cost under current assumptions.
Buying cost
$258,912
7 year ownership estimate.
Renting cost
$168,000
7 year rent estimate.
Difference
$90,912
Gap between the two paths.
D3 visualization
Compare estimated buying and renting costs over the selected timeline.
D3 visualization
Show key monthly costs that make up the ownership side of the comparison.
Guide
The rent vs buy calculator compares estimated buying cost with renting cost over a selected number of years. It includes mortgage payment, property tax, insurance, maintenance, HOA, and opportunity cost assumptions.
The result helps frame the financial side of a housing decision, but it does not replace lifestyle, job stability, family, or local market considerations.
Enter home price, down payment, mortgage rate, rent, comparison years, ownership costs, and investment return assumption. Review the recommendation and the total cost difference.
Run multiple scenarios because rent growth, home appreciation, selling costs, and investment returns can change the conclusion.
The calculator estimates monthly housing cost from loan payment plus taxes, insurance, maintenance, and HOA. It compares that cost over time against rent and adds an opportunity cost for the down payment.
The lower-cost option under the assumptions is shown as the recommendation.
Opportunity cost
The potential return given up when money is used for a down payment.
Ownership cost
Mortgage plus taxes, insurance, maintenance, and HOA.
Comparison period
The number of years used to compare renting against buying.
The current model focuses on cost comparison and opportunity cost. Appreciation is not modeled as guaranteed value.
Money used as a down payment could have been invested elsewhere, so it has a comparison cost.
No. It is only a cost estimate under the entered assumptions.