Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Compare monthly cash and projected net worth when renting versus buying — under the same starting resources, allocated differently.

Neither strategy is assumed to win. Results are arithmetic under your assumptions, not advice.

Inspect the Arithmetic

Core scenario

Starting position

Buying

%
Annual rate, held constant through the mortgage in V1. Future renewals are not modelled separately. Canadian quoted rates use semi-annual compounding via the shared mortgage engine. Full detail is in Inspect the Arithmetic.

Renting

Growth assumptions

%

Annual nominal. Switch to inflation-linked under Advanced assumptions.

%
CMHC rental-market data

Rent growth varies by location, rent-control rules and tenant turnover. Use a rate appropriate to the market you are modelling. CMHC Rental Market Survey data tables · CMHC Rental Market Report

%

Annual nominal. No fees or tax drag.

%

Annual rate.

Refine ownership costs Tax · Upkeep · Insurance · Utilities · Sale %
$/year

How this works

The 1% figure is only a starting-dollar helper. After entry, this amount grows with general inflation — not with home-price appreciation.

Legal fees, inspections, land-transfer taxes, and similar upfront buyer costs.

%

Deducted from realizable equity throughout the model.

Mortgage insurance

Other ownership expenses

Refine rental costs Insurance · Utilities · Upfront
What to include

Optional one-time, non-refundable costs to begin renting. Do not include refundable deposits or prepaid rent that remains yours.

Other renter expenses

Advanced assumptions Appreciation mode, invest-the-difference
Home-price appreciation mode

When on, whichever strategy requires less cash that month invests the difference.

Projected net worth

Showing nominal dollars

Line chart of projected buyer and renter net worth over the selected horizon.

Buying
Renting
Crossover

    Where the money is at year 10

    Showing nominal dollars

    Buying

    Total projected net worth $—

    Renting

    Total projected net worth $—

    Nominal investment-account history

    Starting capital, cumulative cash contributions, and investment earnings are historical nominal cash-accounting quantities. They reconcile to the nominal investment account and are shown separately from the selected-year balance sheet above.

    Buying

    Renting

    Monthly cash required at year 10

    Buying
    $—
    Renting
    $—

    Standard snapshots

    Buyer net worth includes net realizable home equity after estimated selling costs, plus investments.

    Positive = buying ahead · Negative = renting ahead

    Mortgage payoff — final payment means the last mortgage payment occurs at that point; mortgage cash requirements fall the following month.

    Point Buyer NW Renter NW Difference

    Break-even analysis

    At the selected comparison year, what rates make projected net worth approximately equal?

    Break-even nominal home appreciation

    —

    —

    Break-even investment return

    —

    —

    Related calculators

    Educational arithmetic only. This calculator does not provide financial, tax, or legal advice, and does not recommend renting or buying. Assumptions are yours; results are projections under those assumptions, not forecasts.