Rent vs. Buy Calculator
Compare total costs of renting vs. buying a home over any time horizon.
Rent vs. Buy Calculator
Compare total costs of renting vs. buying a home over any time horizon.
Property Purchase Formula
ℹ️ Does not include property tax, homeowner's insurance, maintenance, or HOA fees
Disclaimer
Results provided by this calculator are for informational and educational purposes only. They are based on the values you enter and standard formulas, and should not be considered financial, medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult a qualified professional before making important decisions based on these results. Roughtools makes no warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of these calculations for your specific situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Pro Tips
Always verify critical calculations with a second method or source — for important decisions, this tool provides a starting point, not a final answer.
Input accuracy determines output accuracy. Use precise values rather than rough estimates for the most useful results.
Run the calculation multiple times with slightly different inputs to understand the sensitivity of the result to your assumptions.
For professional, financial, medical, or legal decisions, always confirm results with a qualified professional before acting.
When to Use This Calculator
Use the Rent vs. Buy Calculator for fast, accurate calculations without installing any software.
Understand the formula and see how changing inputs affects the result for educational purposes.
Get a quick estimate before performing more detailed analysis or consulting a professional.
Accessible from any device — no app to install, no account required, works offline after loading.
Run multiple scenarios quickly by changing one input at a time to understand sensitivities.
About the Rent vs. Buy Calculator
This rent vs. buy calculator computes and compares the total net cost of renting versus buying a home over your chosen time horizon, accounting for home appreciation, mortgage interest, property taxes, maintenance, opportunity cost of the down payment, and rent increases. Enter your local rent, home price, and financial assumptions to see which option is truly cheaper for your situation.
How to Use the Rent vs. Buy Calculator
- 1
Enter the monthly rent for a comparable rental property.
- 2
Enter the home purchase price and your down payment amount.
- 3
Enter the mortgage rate, property tax rate, and expected home appreciation rate.
- 4
Enter the expected annual rent increase percentage.
- 5
Set your planned time horizon (how many years you plan to stay) and compare totals.
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