maratoolRent vs Buy Calculator
Net cost of buying vs renting over your planned stay — mortgage, taxes, maintenance, and appreciation against rent growth and invested savings.
Buying
Renting
What is Rent vs Buy?
The Rent vs Buy Calculator settles the question with a net-cost comparison instead of a rule of thumb. For buying, it tallies the down payment, closing costs, mortgage payments, property tax, and maintenance, then credits the equity you would walk away with after selling costs. For renting, it tallies rent (growing yearly) and credits the gains from investing the money a buyer would have tied up. Whichever path leaves you richer after your planned stay wins.
How to use
- Enter the home price, down payment, mortgage rate, and your monthly rent.
- Adjust taxes, maintenance, appreciation, rent growth, and investment return — or keep the typical defaults.
- Set how many years you plan to stay and read the verdict.
Frequently asked questions
How does this calculator compare renting and buying?
It computes the net cost of each path over your stay: everything paid out, minus what you walk away with — home equity after 6% selling costs for buyers, investment gains for renters. Opportunity cost runs both ways: whoever pays less each month invests the difference.
Why does how long I stay matter so much?
Buying front-loads roughly 9% of the home price in closing and selling costs. Short stays cannot recover that; longer stays spread it across years of equity building.
What does the investment return input mean?
The return a renter earns by investing the down payment and any monthly savings instead of buying. The S&P 500 has averaged about 7% after inflation historically.
Is my data sent to a server?
No. All calculations happen in your browser.
Last updated
Powered by maratool