Rent vs Buy Calculator

About Rent vs Buy Calculator

The rent vs buy calculator compares rent with an estimated home purchase, including mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, maintenance, closing costs, equity, and appreciation.

How to Use

The rent vs buy calculator compares rent with an estimated home purchase, including mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, maintenance, closing costs, equity, and appreciation. Fill in Monthly rent, Home price, Down payment, Mortgage rate, Loan years, Property tax rate, Monthly insurance, Monthly maintenance, Closing costs, Annual appreciation, and Selling cost, then review the calculated Monthly buy cost, Five-year rent cost, Five-year buy cost, Buying advantage, Model scope, and Selling cost.

  1. Open the calculator : Use Rent vs Buy Calculator from the Finance category.
  2. Check the inputs : Review the required values and any optional settings.
  3. Read the formula : Use the formula and notes below to understand how the result is produced.

Common Questions

What does the Rent vs Buy Calculator estimate?

Compare five-year renting costs with estimated buying costs.

What can change the estimate?

This is an estimate, so taxes, fees, payment timing, compounding, and changing returns can move the result.

Inputs

  • Monthly rent
  • Home price
  • Down payment
  • Mortgage rate
  • Loan years
  • Property tax rate
  • Monthly insurance
  • Monthly maintenance
  • Closing costs
  • Annual appreciation
  • Selling cost

Outputs

  • Monthly buy cost
  • Five-year rent cost
  • Five-year buy cost
  • Selling cost
  • Buying advantage
  • Model scope

Formula

Buying advantage = five-year rent cost - estimated five-year buy cost.