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
Buying saves this much vs renting
$17,719
Net cost of owning
$164,886
Net cost of renting
$182,605
Home equity at the end
$195,526
Mortgage payment (P&I)
$2,307.15
Total rent paid
$214,712
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter home price ($).
- 2Enter down payment (%).
- 3Enter mortgage rate (%).
- 4Enter years you will stay.
- 5Enter monthly rent ($).
- 6Enter annual rent increase (%).
- 7Enter home appreciation (%).
- 8Enter monthly taxes, insurance, upkeep ($).
- 9Enter return on invested down payment (%).
- 10Read your buying saves this much vs renting on the right — it updates as you type.
- 11Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Buying wins on a long enough timeline because rent rises and a fixed mortgage does not. Under about five years, transaction costs usually make renting the better financial move.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Home price: 425000 $
- Down payment: 15 %
- Mortgage rate: 6.6 %
- Years you will stay: 7
- Monthly rent: 2300 $
- Annual rent increase: 3.5 %
- Home appreciation: 3 %
- Monthly taxes, insurance, upkeep: 750 $
- Return on invested down payment: 6 %
Results
- Buying saves this much vs renting: $17,718.77
- Net cost of owning: $164,886.44
- Net cost of renting: $182,605.22
- Home equity at the end: $195,526.36
- Mortgage payment (P&I): $2,307.15
- Total rent paid: $214,711.65
What each field means
Inputs
- Home price ($)
- The home price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 425000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Down payment (%)
- The down payment used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 15 % 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 6.6 % so you have a working example on load.
- Years you will stay
- The years you will stay used in the calculation. Starts at 7 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–30.
- Monthly rent ($)
- The monthly rent used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 2300 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual rent increase (%)
- The annual rent increase used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3.5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–15 %.
- Home appreciation (%)
- The home appreciation used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: -5–15 %.
- Monthly taxes, insurance, upkeep ($)
- The monthly taxes, insurance, upkeep used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 750 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Return on invested down payment (%)
- The return on invested down payment used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 6 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–15 %.
Results
- Buying saves this much vs renting
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Net cost of owning
- 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 of renting
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Home equity at the end
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Mortgage payment (P&I)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total rent paid
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
How does the rent vs buy calculator work?
Buying wins on a long enough timeline because rent rises and a fixed mortgage does not. Under about five years, transaction costs usually make renting the better financial move. The underlying maths is: Compare total cost of owning (net of equity) with total rent paid plus invested down payment.
What do I need to enter?
9 values: home price, down payment, mortgage rate, years you will stay, monthly rent, annual rent increase, home appreciation, monthly taxes, insurance, upkeep, and return on invested down payment. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move.
What does the buying saves this much vs renting result mean?
It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds.
Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser.
How accurate is the result?
It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
Who is this tool for?
It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs.
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). Rent vs Buy Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rent-vs-buy
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rent-vs-buy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rent vs Buy Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Rent vs Buy Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rent-vs-buy) (2026).