Mortgage vs rent,
the real math.
Buying isn't always better than renting. This calculator includes the opportunity costopportunity costWhat you silently give up when you pick one option over another. Spending $100 today on dinner means giving up whatever that $100 could have grown into if you had invested it instead.Full definition of your down payment, maintenance, property tax, and the full 5% Rule.
The question it answersAm I actually better off buying a house than renting?
Rules: United States. Privacy: runs in your browser. What you enter stays on your device.
If comparable rent is below this, renting is likely better financially. Based on ~5% of home value annually for the three unrecoverable costsUnrecoverable costsHousing costs you never get back: for a renter, all of the rent. For an owner, the 5% rule counts property tax (about 1% of home value a year), maintenance (1%) and cost of capital (3%): mortgage interest plus what the down payment could earn in stocks beyond the home's price growth. On a $350,000 home: $17,500 a year. of ownership.
| Horizon | Buy net | Rent+invest net | Winner |
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This calculator focuses on the financial decision. Homeownership has real non-financial benefits (stability, customization, community) that are not quantifiable here.
Projection, not a promise. The result follows the assumptions you enter. Real results will differ, sometimes by a lot.
What this tool assumes
- Monthly mortgage payment uses the standard P&I amortizationamortizationThe process of paying off a loan through regular payments that cover both principal and interest.Full definition formula.
- Property tax, insurance, HOA, and maintenance stay fixed at today's amounts.
- Opportunity cost uses the investment-return rate you supply.
- Closing costs and selling costs are not modeled.
- Mortgage interest deduction depends on your filing status and itemization; not modeled.
Not financial advice. Based on Ben Felix's 5% rule for unrecoverable costs.
HOW THIS IS CALCULATED
This tool runs entirely in your browser: no data is sent to any server. The assumptions and default values behind the result are listed under “What this tool assumes” on this page. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.
Where to go from here
Sources
Verify badges in the text link to these sources. Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.
- Freddie Mac PMMS ↩
- Tax Foundation, Tax Foundation state property tax data ↩
- YouTube, Ben Felix, CSI ↩
Calculators are educational estimates, not financial advice. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed