Borrowing
Rent vs Buy Calculator
Find the year buying beats renting, using your country's real cost of getting in and out: stamp duty, notary fees and agent commission. 15 countries.
Over 10 years
Renting is cheaper for the whole period
Renting leaves you $14,884.26 better off after 10 years
Net cost to buy
$166,911.14
$2,022.62/mo mortgage · $89,600.00 up front
Net cost to rent
$152,026.88
$2,000.00/mo rising 3% a year
Difference
$14,884.26
in favour of renting
Why no year breaks even here
Break-even is not the year the mortgage is cheaper than the rent. It is the first year the buyer's net cost drops to the renter's: everything the buyer has paid out, less the $35,525.86 of selling costs and the mortgage still owed, against everything the renter has paid out less their investment pot. Both sides put the same $89,600.00 in on day one.
After 10 years the buyer is $166,911.14 down and the renter $152,026.88, a difference of $14,884.26 in favour of renting. The renter's pot is untaxed here and the buyer gets no interest relief, so both sides are flattered slightly.
United States costs. An estimate, not financial advice, providers may calculate differently.
What each costs to run in year 1
| Cost | Per month |
|---|---|
| Rent | $2,000.00 |
| Renter's insurance | $0.00 |
| Renting in all | $2,000.00 |
| Cost | Per month |
|---|---|
| Mortgage payment | $2,022.62 |
| Maintenance | $346.67 |
| Property tax | $381.33 |
| Home insurance | $125.00 |
| HOA dues | $0.00 |
| Owning in all | $2,875.62 |
Owning costs $875.62 a month more to run than renting in year 1, before the mortgage builds any equity or the renter's pot earns anything. The monthly column is a twelfth of the year; later years grow with rent and house prices.
What getting in and out costs
These are the costs the comparison turns on. They are why buying takes years to pay back, and they differ more between countries than mortgage rates do.
Transfer and recording tax
$1,600.00
paid on the way in
Other buying costs
$8,000.00
2% of the price
Selling costs at the horizon
$35,525.86
6% of the value in year 10
Where these figures come from in United States
Transfer and recording tax , $1,600.00, 0.4% of $400,000.00. Transfer tax is set by state, county and sometimes city, ranges from nothing in thirteen states to over 2%, and in much of the country is paid by the seller. 0.4% is a representative buyer-side figure; check your county recorder.
Other buying costs, Lender, title, appraisal, escrow and prepaid items, commonly 2% to 5% of the price.
Selling costs, Agent commission has historically been 5% to 6% and became more negotiable after the 2024 NAR settlement.
With the $80,000.00 deposit, that is $89,600.00 to hand over on completion, and it is the sum buying has to earn back before it beats renting.
- Buying
- Renting
Year by year
| Year | Net cost to buy | Net cost to rent | Buying ahead by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $49,490.68 | $17,728.00 | -$31,762.68 |
| 2 | $64,889.68 | $35,001.44 | -$29,888.24 |
| 3 | $79,770.83 | $51,785.64 | -$27,985.20 |
| 4 | $94,106.56 | $68,043.16 | -$26,063.40 |
| 5 | $107,867.67 | $83,733.59 | -$24,134.08 |
| 6 | $121,023.33 | $98,813.32 | -$22,210.01 |
| 7 | $133,540.98 | $113,235.31 | -$20,305.67 |
| 8 | $145,386.14 | $126,948.78 | -$18,437.35 |
| 9 | $156,522.37 | $139,898.99 | -$16,623.38 |
| 10 | $166,911.14 | $152,026.88 | -$14,884.26 |
Net cost = everything paid out minus what you would walk away with: home equity after selling costs for the buyer, the investment pot for the renter. Both start with the same $89,600.00.
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How this is calculated
Whether owning wins depends on how long you stay, what the home does in value, what rents do, and what the money you did not put into a deposit would have earned elsewhere. This calculator puts both paths on the same footing: identical cash on day one, followed year by year for as long as you plan to stay, each reported as a net cost, everything paid out minus what you would walk away with if you cashed out then. The buyer's up-front cash is the deposit plus the country's transfer tax and buying costs; the renter invests the same sum, plus each year's difference between the buyer's outflow and the rent, so the comparison reduces to one question: is the buyer's equity after selling costs worth more than the renter's investment pot?
Buyer net cost(t)up-front + Σ ownership outflows − equity(t)
Renter net cost(t)Σ rent + Σ money invested − investment pot(t)
Buying is ahead when: Renter net cost − Buyer net cost ≥ 0
- up-front
- the deposit plus the transfer tax and the other costs of buying, paid by the buyer and invested by the renter
- ownership outflows
- mortgage payments, property tax, maintenance, insurance and any building charge, year by year
- equity(t)
- the home's value in year t, less selling costs and less the mortgage balance
- investment pot(t)
- the renter's up-front sum plus each year's difference between the buyer's outflow and the rent, grown at the investment return
What this does not include
- Mortgage insurance on a small deposit; the mortgage calculator includes it.
- Tax relief on mortgage interest and tax on the renter's investment gains.
- First-time buyer reliefs that can remove the transfer tax.
- Security of tenure and everything else that is not money.
How this calculator works
Rent vs buy guide: net cost, equity and the break-even year. How a buyer's equity is set against a renter's investment pot year by year, which levers move the break-even most, and why buying costs are not yours to guess.
This calculator in other countries
Each country has its own rates, thresholds and rules, and its own page that runs the calculator on them and cites the official sources they came from.
Data sources
| Dataset | Authority | Effective | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States property purchase costs and mortgage insurance | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | Within its effective period | |
| United Kingdom stamp duty land tax and purchase costs | GOV.UK | Within its effective period | |
| German Grunderwerbsteuer by Land and purchase costs | Grunderwerbsteuergesetz (GrEStG) section 11 | Within its effective period | |
| Canadian land transfer tax and CMHC mortgage loan insurance | CMHC | Within its effective period | |
| Australian transfer duty and lenders mortgage insurance | Revenue NSW | Within its effective period | |
| Irish stamp duty and purchase costs | Revenue | Within its effective period | |
| Dutch overdrachtsbelasting and Nationale Hypotheek Garantie | Government.nl | Within its effective period | |
| New Zealand property purchase costs | Inland Revenue | Within its effective period | |
| Swedish stampelskatt and purchase costs | Lantmateriet | Within its effective period | |
| Indian stamp duty and registration charges | Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | Within its effective period | |
| Sri Lankan stamp duty on a deed of transfer | Inland Revenue Department | Within its effective period | |
| Finnish varainsiirtovero and purchase costs | Vero.fi | Within its effective period | |
| Japanese property acquisition costs | National Tax Agency | Within its effective period | |
| French droits de mutation and purchase costs | Service-public.gouv.fr | Within its effective period | |
| Spanish ITP by comunidad autonoma and purchase costs | Agencia Tributaria | Within its effective period |
Every document each dataset was read from, its notes and how the figures were checked are listed in the guide's data sources.
This calculator is for general information only and is not financial advice. Results are estimates based on the figures you enter and the stated formula; lenders and providers may round or calculate differently. Check any decision with the institution involved or a qualified adviser.