--- title: "Rent vs Buy Calculator - Compare Total Cost | CanDoYa" description: "Use this free rent vs buy calculator to compare home equity, rent, mortgage costs, maintenance, appreciation and invested savings over time." url: https://candoya.com/tools/rent-vs-buy/ locale: en type: browser-tool --- # Free Rent vs Buy Calculator Category: Calculators ## Is it better to rent or buy a home? A rent vs buy calculator compares the wealth you could build through home equity with the money a renter could invest instead. This calculator models mortgage amortization, rising rent, property costs, home appreciation, transaction costs and investment returns to estimate which path is ahead over the time you expect to stay. The comparison runs **entirely in your browser**. Start with the home price, rent, mortgage and timeline, then open the assumptions to match local taxes, insurance, maintenance, transaction costs and expected growth. The result is a planning scenario, not a forecast or financial recommendation. ## How to use it 1. **Enter the purchase details** - Add the home price, down payment, mortgage rate and loan term for the property you are considering. 2. **Enter rent and your timeline** - Use the monthly rent for a comparable home and the number of years you realistically expect to stay. 3. **Tune the assumptions** - Open the assumptions and add local taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA, transaction costs and growth rates. 4. **Compare ending wealth** - Review each path's ending wealth, the estimated advantage and whether buying reaches a break-even point within your timeline. ## Who it's for - **First-time buyers** testing whether a short stay gives buying enough time to recover closing and selling costs. - **Current renters** comparing a larger down payment with keeping that cash invested. - **Relocating households** exploring how different stay lengths change the break-even point. - **Home shoppers** adjusting property tax, insurance, HOA and maintenance for a specific listing. - **Budget planners** stress-testing lower appreciation, faster rent growth or different investment returns. ## Expert note The down payment is not treated as a lost cost: it becomes home equity for the buyer, while the renter invests the same avoided upfront cash. Each month, the lower-cost path also invests the difference. That equal-budget approach prevents the mortgage principal from being counted as both a cost and an asset. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is this rent vs buy calculator free? Yes. The calculator is free, needs no account and has no usage limit. It runs with client-side JavaScript, so you can adjust the assumptions repeatedly without sending your financial inputs to a calculation server. ### Are my home price and rent figures uploaded? No. The comparison is calculated locally in your browser. The values you enter are not uploaded by the tool or saved to an account. You can clear the form when you finish. ### What costs does the calculator include? It includes the down payment, mortgage principal and interest, property tax, home insurance, maintenance, HOA, buying costs and selling costs. The renting side includes rent, renter insurance, the invested upfront cash and the invested difference when renting costs less in a month. ### How does the rent vs buy break-even point work? The break-even point is the first month when the buyer's net home equity and invested monthly savings equal or exceed the renter's investment portfolio. A result can briefly cross and later reverse when assumptions are unusual, so also compare the ending values at your actual stay length. ### Does the calculator include tax deductions or PMI? No. It does not model mortgage-interest deductions, property-tax deductions, capital-gains tax, PMI, utilities or local assessment limits. Tax treatment depends on location and personal circumstances, so add those effects separately if they are material to your decision. ### What should I use for maintenance and home appreciation? Use assumptions that fit the property's age, condition and local market. A maintenance estimate around 1% of home value is a common planning starting point, but actual repairs can be uneven. Test a conservative appreciation rate and at least one scenario with no appreciation. ### Why can renting win even when rent is lower than the mortgage? Renting can invest the down payment and purchase costs that buying requires upfront. It can also invest monthly savings when rent is below the full ownership cost. Whether that portfolio outweighs home equity depends on the stay length, appreciation, transaction costs and assumed investment return. ### Can this calculator tell me what I should do? No. It compares financial assumptions, but housing decisions also involve stability, flexibility, repair risk, financing approval and lifestyle preferences. Treat the output as a scenario to discuss with qualified local professionals, not as personalized financial advice. ## Related tools - [Mortgage Calculator with Taxes, Insurance & PMI](https://candoya.com/tools/mortgage-calculator/) - [Mortgage Overpayment Calculator](https://candoya.com/tools/mortgage-overpayment/) - [Home Affordability Calculator](https://candoya.com/tools/home-affordability/) - [Compound Interest Calculator](https://candoya.com/tools/compound-interest/) - [Savings Goal Calculator](https://candoya.com/tools/savings-goal-calculator/) --- *Markdown edition of , published for AI agents and other automated readers. Index of key pages: .*