Should you rent, or should you buy?
Answer a few plain-language questions and see a projection of which path leaves you ahead. No jargon, no math homework, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
The home you would buy
Every answer is pre-filled with a typical value, so you can press Next and adjust later.
How it works
Five quick steps. Every answer starts with a typical value, so you can move fast and fine-tune later.
Enter the home price
The home you are considering, or just a ballpark.
Enter your rent
What a similar home rents for near you.
Share your plans
How long you would stay, and what you expect of the market.
Fine-tune costs
Or skip it. Typical values are filled in for you.
See your projection
A projection based on your numbers, not a sales pitch.
How the calculator works under the hood
Every number comes from the formulas below, with no black boxes. The simulation runs month by month for 40 years at full precision; currency is rounded only for display.
Mortgage amortization
The loan is the home price minus your down payment. The monthly payment uses the standard fixed-rate formula; with a 0% rate it is simply principal divided by months. Each month splits into interest (balance times the monthly rate) and principal, tracked for the full term.
Mortgage insurance (PMI)
Below 20% down, PMI is charged at the annual rate divided by twelve, and it ends permanently in the first month the balance reaches 78% of the original price. Running it for the whole term would overstate the cost of buying.
The cost of owning
Mortgage payment, PMI while active, property tax, insurance, HOA fees, maintenance, and any repairs reserve. Tax and maintenance are percentages of the current home value, so they grow with appreciation.
The cost of renting
Monthly rent plus renters insurance. Rent rises once per year by your assumed increase, compounded for each year that has passed.
Both sides invest
At the start, the renter invests the buyer's out-of-pocket cash (down payment plus closing costs, minus the deposit). Every month after, whichever side pays less for housing invests the difference at your assumed return. Models that only let the renter invest are biased against buying.
Sale proceeds and net worth
The home appreciates continuously; selling nets the home value minus selling costs, minus the remaining loan. Buyer net worth is sale proceeds plus buyer investments; renter net worth is investments plus the returned deposit.
Break-even and equivalent rent
Both paths are computed for every year 1 to 40. Break-even is the first year the buying path is at or above the renting path; if that never happens within 40 years, the tool says so plainly. The equivalent rent headline finds the rent at which both paths would end even, using a binary search over the same engine.
Edge cases
0% down, 100% down (cash purchase), 0% interest, zero or negative appreciation, negative investment returns, and 1-year stays are all handled explicitly. The same engine passed a 62-test suite against published amortization schedules.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home in 2026?
There is no universal answer; it depends on your local prices and rents, your mortgage rate, how long you plan to stay, and what you would do with the money renting frees up. In many high-priced metros, renting and investing the difference projects ahead for shorter stays, while buying tends to pull ahead the longer you hold. Enter your own numbers above to see a projection for your situation.
How long do I need to stay for buying to make sense?
Buying carries large one-time costs: closing costs when you purchase (about 3% of the price) and selling costs when you exit (about 7% of the sale price). Those need years of equity growth and rent escalation to overcome. Under typical assumptions the projected break-even lands somewhere between 4 and 10 years, but your assumptions can move it a lot.
What is the break-even year?
The first year the buying path's projected net worth equals or exceeds the renting path's. Before that year the renter is projected ahead; after it, the buyer is. If buying never catches up within 40 years under your assumptions, the calculator states that plainly instead of showing a number.
What does the "worth it if rent is above" number mean?
It is the tipping point. If a similar home rents for more than that amount, buying is projected to leave you ahead over your chosen stay; below it, renting and investing the difference is projected ahead. The calculator finds it by re-running the full simulation at different rents until both paths end even.
Does it account for investing my down payment if I rent?
Yes. At the start, the renter invests the cash the buyer paid out of pocket: down payment plus closing costs, minus the security deposit. Every month afterward, whichever side pays less for housing invests the difference at your assumed rate of return.
What is PMI and when does it apply?
Private Mortgage Insurance is a monthly charge lenders require when your down payment is under 20%. The calculator applies it automatically (default 0.6% of the loan per year) and removes it once the loan balance amortizes to 78% of the original purchase price, matching how removal works for most conventional loans.
Does it include mortgage interest tax deductions?
Not in this version. Since the 2017 standard deduction increase, most U.S. households do not itemize, so mortgage interest deductions do not change their taxes. A tax-deduction estimator is on the roadmap.
Can I model a housing downturn or bad market returns?
Yes. Home value change and investment return both accept negative values, so you can stress-test falling home prices or negative returns.
Is this financial advice?
No. This tool provides educational projections based on assumptions you control. It is not financial, tax, or investment advice. Consult a licensed professional before making housing or investment decisions.
Can I share my scenario?
Yes. Your assumptions are encoded into the page URL. Use the "Copy shareable link" button and anyone who opens the link sees exactly your scenario. Nothing you enter is sent to any server; the whole calculation runs in your browser.