Rent vs buy calculator.
Renting isn't throwing money away and buying isn't automatically winning. The honest comparison counts what owning costs and what it builds, over the years you'll actually stay.
Simplified model: taxes ~1.25%/yr, insurance ~$120/mo, maintenance ~1%/yr, and it ignores selling costs, tax deductions, and investment returns on the down payment. Directional, not gospel. See our disclosures.
What tips the scale
Time in the home dominates everything. Buying front-loads costs, and equity builds slowly at first because early payments are mostly interest. Stay three years and renting usually wins; stay ten and owning usually does. The crossover point is exactly what this calculator is for.
The other big lever is the rate, which decides both your monthly cost and how fast principal pays down. It's also the one input on this page you can actually negotiate.
Leaning toward buying?
Two minutes puts your scenario in front of lenders who compete for it.
Get matched