Full comparison with ongoing costs, moving, inflation, sensitivity charts and saved scenarios — this Advanced version also adds country-specific presets. Everything updates as you type — nothing to calculate or submit.
Advantage of buying over renting as one input changes. Above zero, buying wins.
Saved in this browser only. Up to 5.
Renting versus buying isn't just "rent is wasted money" or "buying always builds wealth" — it depends on what the money that isn't tied up in a down payment, closing costs, and monthly ownership costs would otherwise earn if invested instead. There are two versions of this tool: a simpler Basic calculator that works in any currency you enter amounts in, and the full-detail Advanced calculator on this page, which adds country-specific currency and cost presets — closing costs, property tax, and mortgage insurance for a set of countries — plus moving costs and inflation. Both run the same underlying comparison — month by month, whichever side spends less invests the difference — so drop back to the Basic version any time you just want the essentials.
Every field loads with an example number so you can see the calculator working immediately, instead of a blank form with no result. These are just a sample scenario, not defaults you need to clear by hand — the moment you type your first real number into any field, every other field clears itself automatically (country presets aside), so you start fresh with only your own figures rather than a mix of your numbers and leftover examples.
The simpler version, on its own page: open the Basic calculator →. It compares mortgage amortization, home price appreciation, rent increases, and investment growth together, in any currency, with nothing to calculate or submit — every field updates the result as you type.
Fill in Home & mortgage, Owning costs, and Renting, then drag the "how long will you stay" slider to see the verdict, chart, and year-by-year table change with your time horizon. It's the right starting point if you don't need country-specific presets, mortgage insurance, moving costs, or inflation adjustment — for those, stay on this Advanced page.
This is the calculator on this page. Alongside the same mortgage and investment math as the Basic tool, it adds country-specific transaction cost presets, mortgage insurance, ongoing maintenance and property tax, the cost of the renter moving every few years, and inflation — so the comparison holds up over a longer, more realistic horizon.
Each month, whichever side spends less — the owner's full monthly cost, or the renter's rent plus insurance and any moving costs that month — invests the difference at your chosen investment return. The renter invests on day one whatever upfront cash the buyer spends (down payment, purchase costs, renovation) minus the renter's own upfront costs (deposit, agent fee). Buying net worth is your home's value minus the loan balance and selling costs, plus invested savings; renting net worth is your invested portfolio plus your returned security deposit.
To use it: pick your country first — this loads typical closing costs, selling costs, property tax rate, and mortgage insurance requirement into the form (broad, editable estimates, not a lookup of your exact rate, since actual costs vary by state, province, or region; choose "Other / no currency" to work in plain numbers). Mortgage insurance is charged on the original loan amount for as long as your loan balance stays above 80% of the purchase price, then drops off automatically. Insurance, service charges, and moving costs rise with inflation each year — turn on "today's money" to see every figure discounted back to today's purchasing power instead of larger nominal future amounts.
Each "what changes the answer" sensitivity chart holds every input fixed except one, and shows how far that input alone would need to move before the verdict flips. Scenarios let you save up to 5 complete sets of inputs (with a name) in your own browser, so you can compare, say, two different homes or cities side by side without re-entering everything — nothing here is uploaded or shared, and clearing your browser data clears them too. Income-tax effects, rent control, and renovation spending that might raise the home's own value aren't included.
All five icons work off the same full, formatted HTML report — verdict, chart, first-year costs, money you don't get back, your inputs, the year-by-year table, and the disclaimer, in your selected currency. The download icon (arrow into a tray) saves that report as an HTML file that opens and prints cleanly in any browser. The grid icon next to it downloads the same figures as a plain CSV spreadsheet file. The copy icon copies the full report as text to your clipboard, ready to paste anywhere. The share icon uses your device's native share sheet to hand off that same HTML report as a file where supported, or falls back to copying the full report as text. The print icon opens that same formatted report in a new tab and triggers your browser's print dialog — choose "Save as PDF" there for a quick PDF. All five work right away, even before you've typed anything — click Download now and you'll get a full demo report built from the example numbers already in the form, so you can see exactly what it looks like before entering your own figures. Nothing you enter is saved between visits or sent anywhere (aside from scenarios you explicitly save, which stay in your own browser); refreshing the page resets the calculator completely.
Disclaimer: This tool is illustrative only and does not reflect your specific lender's rate, local property taxes, or actual investment returns, which vary and are not guaranteed. This tool is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are hypothetical estimates based on your inputs and do not guarantee future performance. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions; we accept no liability for losses arising from use of this calculator. Please verify all calculations independently — this calculator may make mistakes.