Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Compare the same number of months in a rented home and a purchased home. Enter your own mortgage, property-cost, rent-growth and sale assumptions to see how the cash comparison changes.

Enter all amounts in one currency. Currency selection changes labels, not amounts or jurisdiction. No conversion is performed.

Mortgage interest scenarios use the stated monthly-rate approximation. Selecting CAD does not apply Canadian semiannual mortgage compounding; use lender terms to check an actual mortgage quote.

Range: 0–1,000,000,000
Range: 0–100
Range: 0–1,000,000,000
Range: 0–1,000,000,000
Range: 0–100
Range: 1–1,200; whole numbers
Range: 1–1,200; whole numbers
Range: 0–1,000,000,000
Range: 0–1,000,000,000
Range: 0–1,000,000,000
Range: 0–100
Range: -50–100

Enter your values to see an estimate. Enter 0 for amounts that do not apply.

How this calculator works

Rent rises after each completed 12-month period. Buying costs include the down payment, actual mortgage payments, purchase closing costs and monthly property and maintenance costs, less sale proceeds after selling costs and remaining mortgage debt. Mortgage payments stop when the loan ends.

Worked example

For six months, rent of 1,000 monthly costs 6,000. A 100,000 home with 20,000 down, a zero-rate 12-month loan, 150 monthly property and maintenance costs, 1,000 buying costs, 5% selling costs and no appreciation has a net ownership cost of 6,900.

Assumptions and limits

Uses nominal mortgage interest compounded monthly, fixed property costs and an effective annual home appreciation assumption. Excludes income taxes, opportunity cost, deposit returns, investment returns, moving costs and unentered charges. Sale equity can be negative and assumed appreciation is not a forecast.

How to choose your inputs

Choose one comparison horizon and enter costs for comparable housing. Include ownership charges and maintenance that are not part of mortgage principal and interest, plus buying and selling costs. Set rent growth and home appreciation independently; changing one does not imply a matching change in the other.

How to interpret your result

The result compares undiscounted cash costs after modeled sale equity. It does not show what the down payment or monthly differences could earn if invested elsewhere, so it is not a complete wealth comparison. Test a shorter holding period and lower sale value to see how transaction costs and equity assumptions affect the preferred option.

Primary references

This educational estimate uses your inputs. It is not individualized financial, tax, insurance, or investment advice, a lender offer, approval decision, or a promise of future results.

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