Housing Decision

Rent Forever or Buy a Place

Compare the true financial costs of renting versus buying over time. Factor in opportunity costs, maintenance, appreciation, and more. If Renting, user MUST invest down payment and per-month savings for this calculation to make sense!

Try Calculator

Buying Parameters

Renting Parameters

Historical S&P 500 average is ~10%; 7–8% is a conservative estimate.

Net Worth Comparison

Winner After --
Fill in fields to calculate
Buying Net Worth
--
Renting Net Worth (Investment Portfolio)
--
Difference
--
--
Break Even Point
--
When buying becomes better

Cost Breakdown

Total Cost of Buying (Over --)
--
Total Cost of Renting (Over --)
--
Monthly Payment (Buying)
--

How It's Calculated

Monthly Mortgage: Loan × [r(1+r)ⁿ] ÷ [(1+r)ⁿ-1] where r = monthly rate, n = total payments
Buying Net Worth: Home Value × (1 + Appreciation Rate)ⁿ - Loan Balance - 6% Selling Costs
Renting Net Worth: Down Payment invested + Monthly Savings Differential, compounding at investment return rate
Key Assumption: Renter invests down payment amount and difference between monthly buy vs rent costs

Net Worth Over Time

If You Decide to Rent, You Will Need to Invest.

Ready to start investing? Open an account with Robinhood to start trading stocks today.

Start Trading on Robinhood
Full Disclosure: This is an affiliate link. If you sign up, the brokers might toss a few coins my way. It doesn't cost you a penny extra, but it does help keep the math running and the lights on around here. Win-win.

Key Considerations

What the numbers don't capture

Flexibility

Renting offers easy relocation for career opportunities. Buying ties you to a location but builds forced savings through home equity.

Market Timing

Housing markets are cyclical. Buying at peak prices or high interest rates can significantly impact returns. Be patient.

Opportunity Cost

Down payment money could compound in the stock market. This calculator accounts for that, but many analyses don't.

Lifestyle Factors

Emotional satisfaction, stability for kids, ability to customize - these matter but can't be quantified in a calculator.

Winner After --
Fill in fields to calculate