Compare the real cost of renting and buying over the years you plan to stay.
Over 7 years
Renting is cheaper
by about $18,098.41
A simplified comparison: it ignores taxes on gains, tax breaks for homeowners and mortgage insurance, and assumes steady growth. Small changes to price growth or rent increases can flip the answer — try a few.
Last reviewed by the OnlineToolPro team
Compares the net cost of buying a home — deposit, payments, tax, maintenance and selling costs, minus what you get when you sell — with renting and investing the deposit instead. It also finds the year buying starts to win.
How it works
3 simple steps. No experience needed.
Good to know
Buying: deposit, buying costs, mortgage payments, property tax, maintenance and insurance, minus the sale price after selling costs and the remaining loan.
Renting: rent that rises each year, minus the growth you'd earn by investing the deposit and buying costs instead.
FAQ
Buying has big up-front and selling costs. If you move within a few years, those costs often outweigh the equity you build.
How long you stay, how fast home prices grow, and the return you'd earn by investing the deposit instead. Try changing those first.
Step-by-step help for getting more out of the rent vs buy calculator.
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