Rent vs Buy · Break-Even · Wealth Trajectory

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Renting vs Buying: Run the Real Numbers.

Enter both scenarios — rent, home price, mortgage rate, all ongoing costs. See your break-even year, buyer equity vs renter investment portfolio at any time horizon, and a year-by-year wealth chart. AI gives you a direct verdict: which wins, why, and what assumption changes the answer.

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30-year simulation · Break-even analysis · 10 currencies

Everyone has an opinion on whether you should rent or buy. Almost nobody has run the actual numbers for your situation. This does it in under 2 minutes.

Built for you if…

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You're deciding whether to buy a home and have no idea how to actually compare the costs

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You keep hearing "renting is throwing money away" and want to know if that's true for your numbers

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You're in a high-cost city and wondering if renting and investing is actually smarter

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You want to know how long you need to stay in a home before buying makes financial sense

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You want AI to cut through all the assumptions and tell you which path wins for your situation

Sound familiar?

Most people hit at least three of these before they realise what's missing.

"Renting is throwing money away" is wrong — but so is the alternative assumption.

Buying has upfront costs (6–10% of home value), ongoing costs that exceed rent in most markets, and ties up capital that could compound in the market. Renting has rising costs and no equity. Neither is obviously better. The answer depends on your specific numbers.

You can't compare rent and mortgage payments directly. That's not the comparison.

The real comparison is total wealth after N years — buyer's home equity (after selling costs) vs renter's investment portfolio (down payment invested + monthly savings). Most people compare the wrong numbers and reach the wrong conclusion.

The break-even point changes everything — and most people don't know theirs.

In most markets, buying loses to renting for the first 5–10 years due to closing costs, selling costs, and early-stage mortgage interest. If you might move in 3 years, renting wins almost universally. Knowing your break-even year is the most useful number in this decision.

Small assumption changes produce wildly different answers.

The result flips based on appreciation rate, investment return, rent growth, and how long you stay. The point isn't to find one right answer — it's to understand which assumption drives your outcome, then decide how confident you are in that assumption.

How it works

Enter your renting scenario

Monthly rent, expected annual rent increases, renter's insurance, and the investment return you'd earn on the down payment if you kept renting.

Enter your buying scenario

Home price, down payment %, mortgage rate and term, property tax, insurance, HOA, maintenance rate, appreciation rate, and selling costs.

Set your time horizon and read the comparison

Drag the slider for how long you'd stay. See the break-even year, wealth comparison at your horizon, year-by-year chart, and an AI brief that names the winning path and the one assumption that could flip the result.

Preview

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Rent vs Buy Calculator

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What you get

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Month-by-month simulation360 months

Full amortization schedule, compounding portfolio, escalating rent — all calculated month by month for precision.

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Break-even analysisYear it flips

Shows the exact year when buyer wealth overtakes renter portfolio — or "never" if renting wins the full horizon.

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Year-by-year wealth chartSVG · dual-line

Buyer net equity (gold) vs renter portfolio (indigo) plotted across the full time horizon. Crossover point annotated.

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Full cost breakdownMonthly line-by-line

Both scenarios broken down: P&I, tax, insurance, HOA, maintenance for buyer; rent, insurance for renter.

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10 currenciesUSD · GBP · EUR +7

Switch currency to match your market. All calculations and displays update instantly.

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AI verdict4-section analysis

Reads all inputs + results. Returns: verdict, why it plays out this way, the assumption that most changes the answer, what to do next.

Everyone has an opinion on whether you should rent or buy. Almost nobody has run the actual numbers for your situation. This does it in under 2 minutes.

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Frequently asked

It models the major financial variables: full mortgage amortization, property appreciation, compounding investment returns, escalating rent, and selling costs. What it doesn't model: tax benefits of mortgage interest deduction (US), stamp duty tiers, capital gains tax on home sale, or behavioural factors (people don't always invest the savings). For a high-stakes decision, use this as a directional tool and verify with a financial advisor.