Rent vs Buy Calculator
Most rent-vs-buy calculators are quietly sponsored by somebody who profits when you buy. This one counts everything — including the number they always skip: what the renter's down payment earns when it gets invested instead.
Of home value — 1% is the standard planning figure.
The single most important input — up to 30.
Verdict after 10 years
🔑 Renting wins
Break-even year
Beyond this horizon
Buyer's net position
$229,262
Renter's net position (investing the difference)
$244,319
Owner's starting monthly (all-in)
$2,511.46
Cash needed to buy (down + ~2.5% closing)
$78,750
Net position by year — ■ buyer ■ renter
🐻 Price-to-rent check: this market's ratio is 16.2 (price ÷ annual rent). Under ~15 favors buying, over ~20 favors renting — and neither renting nor buying is "throwing money away." Rent buys flexibility; interest, taxes, and maintenance are the owner's rent. The only question is which trade fits YOUR next 10 years.
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How this is calculated
Each month, both paths are simulated in full. The owner pays mortgage principal & interest, property tax, insurance, and ~1%/yr maintenance while the home appreciates and the loan amortizes. The renter pays rent (rising annually) — and invests the down payment plus closing costs from day one, plus every month's difference whenever owning costs more (the buyer invests the difference when rent costs more).
After your time horizon: buyer's net position = home value minus ~6% selling costs minus remaining mortgage, plus any investments; renter's net position = their investment account. The break-even year is when the buyer's position first overtakes the renter's.
Time dominates everything. Buying front-loads enormous costs (closing, early-years interest, selling costs later), so short stays almost always favor renting, while long stays let amortization and appreciation win. The price-to-rent ratio (price ÷ annual rent) is the quick market check: under ~15 leans buy, over ~20 leans rent.
Common questions
Isn't renting throwing money away?
No — rent buys housing plus flexibility, exactly like interest, taxes, insurance, and maintenance buy the owner housing. In year one of a 30-year mortgage, roughly 80–90% of the payment is interest and escrow — money just as 'gone' as rent. The real comparison is net worth after N years, which is what this calculator computes.
How long do I need to stay for buying to win?
Commonly 5–7 years — the break-even must absorb ~2.5% buying costs and ~6% selling costs plus interest-heavy early payments. Your break-even year above is the personalized answer; if there's any real chance you move before it, the math says rent.
What does this leave out?
PMI (under 20% down, adds cost to buying), tax deductions (help some itemizing owners), HOA fees, and the biggest wildcard — appreciation, which varies wildly by decade and metro. Test pessimistic and optimistic appreciation; if the verdict flips easily, your decision is really a housing-market bet.
Go deeper
Real estate, evaluated like a pro
This math is taught step-by-step in Module 7 of the Bear Bankroll Wealth System — with interactive worksheets that run the numbers on YOUR situation.
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Educational tool only — estimates, not financial advice. Your numbers stay in your browser and are never sent to our servers.