Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Lower net cost option
Buy
Buying net cost
$109,758
Renting net cost
$225,274
Net cost difference
$115,516
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How to use this
- 1Enter home price ($).
- 2Enter down payment (%).
- 3Enter mortgage rate (%).
- 4Enter annual taxes + maintenance (%).
- 5Enter home appreciation rate (%).
- 6Enter comparable monthly rent ($).
- 7Enter annual rent growth (%).
- 8Enter investment return on down payment (%).
- 9Enter years to compare.
- 10Read your lower net cost option on the right — it updates as you type.
- 11Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Buying builds equity but carries closing costs, property tax, maintenance, and interest, while renting is simpler but builds no equity and can rise annually. This calculator compares your net cost of homeownership — mortgage payments, taxes, maintenance, and closing costs minus home appreciation and equity built — against total rent paid over the same horizon, assuming what you'd have spent on a down payment is invested instead if you rent.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Home price: 400000 $
- Down payment: 20 %
- Mortgage rate: 6.5 %
- Annual taxes + maintenance: 2 %
- Home appreciation rate: 3.5 %
- Comparable monthly rent: 2200 $
- Annual rent growth: 3 %
- Investment return on down payment: 7 %
- Years to compare: 10
Results
- Lower net cost option: Buy
- Buying net cost: $109,758
- Renting net cost: $225,274
- Net cost difference: $115,516
What each field means
Inputs
- Home price ($)
- The home price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 400000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Down payment (%)
- The down payment used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 20 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
- Mortgage rate (%)
- The mortgage rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 6.5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–15 %.
- Annual taxes + maintenance (%)
- The annual taxes + maintenance used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 2 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–10 %.
- Home appreciation rate (%)
- The home appreciation rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3.5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–15 %.
- Comparable monthly rent ($)
- The comparable monthly rent used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 2200 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual rent growth (%)
- The annual rent growth used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–15 %.
- Investment return on down payment (%)
- The investment return on down payment used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 7 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–20 %.
- Years to compare
- The years to compare used in the calculation. Starts at 10 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–30.
Results
- Lower net cost option
- Returned as a plain value and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Buying net cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Renting net cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Net cost difference
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why does this favor buying over long horizons?
Appreciation and equity paydown compound over time, and once a fixed-rate mortgage is locked in, buying's cost grows only with taxes and maintenance while rent typically rises every year.
What if home prices fall?
Lower or negative appreciation rates in the input can flip the result — in flat or declining markets, renting and investing the difference often wins, especially over shorter horizons.
Does this include closing costs?
Add 2-5% of home price in closing costs to the buy side for a more conservative estimate — they're excluded here to isolate the ongoing cost comparison.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Buy vs Rent a Home Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/buy-vs-rent-home-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/buy-vs-rent-home-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buy vs Rent a Home Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Buy vs Rent a Home Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/buy-vs-rent-home-cost) (2026).