Rent vs Buy Calculator

How to use this calculator

Enter rent, home price, down payment percentage, and mortgage rate. The tool estimates loan payment and compares it with rent before taxes, insurance, and maintenance details.

When this calculator is useful

• Housing affordability research
• Comparing rent increases with mortgage scenarios
• Understanding how rates affect the buy decision

Important limitations

A full rent-vs-buy decision depends on taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA, appreciation, moving costs, transaction costs, and how long you stay.

For best results, run at least three cases: a conservative case, a middle case, and a stretch case. If a small change in inputs creates a big change in the answer, that is a sign the decision may be sensitive to rates, fees, timing, or market performance.