Rent vs Buy Calculator
"Rent money is wasted" is true only sometimes. Buying incurs closing costs, property tax, insurance, maintenance, and interest, none of which come back to you; renting only costs the rent (plus a refundable deposit). This calculator sums the true multi-year cost of each path— crediting buying for the principal/equity you build—so you can run the math on the specific home, rent, and time horizon you are actually weighing.
Inputs
Renting assumptions
Results
See Personalized RatesBalance & interest over time
The break-even horizon
Most US markets have a "break-even horizon"—the number of years you must own before buying beats renting. Nationally it averages about 5–7 years. Sell earlier than that, and after closing costs and limited principal paydown, renting usually wins. Plan to stay 7+ years, and buying typically wins.
What this calculator ignores (so you know)
It does not model home-price appreciation, rent growth, closing costs on the sale side (~6–8% of sale price), maintenance (~1% of home value per year), or opportunity cost on your down payment. Conservative real-world nets are usually less favorable to buying than what the tool shows.