Rent vs Buy

The Rent vs Buy Calculator provides a comprehensive financial comparison between renting and buying a home over a specified time horizon. It accounts for mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance, insurance, opportunity cost of the down payment, rent increases, and home appreciation. Enter the home price, down payment, mortgage rate, monthly rent, expected rent increases, home appreciation rate, and your investment return rate (for the opportunity cost of the down payment). The dual-line chart shows cumulative costs for each option and the crossover year when buying becomes cheaper than renting. This is one of the most consequential financial decisions most people face. The answer is not always "buying is better" — in many high-cost markets, renting and investing the difference outperforms buying for years or even decades. This calculator gives you the data to make the right choice for your situation.