PLAN WITH CONFIDENCE · SEE THE WHOLE COST

Rent vs Buy Planner

Compare renting and buying over time with home equity, selling costs, investments and adjustable long-term assumptions.

USD · Editable assumptions · Local calculations · No account required

1Start with a realistic example
2Adjust costs and assumptions
3Compare scenarios and export

Build your scenario

Examples illustrate the calculation; rates are not live market offers. Changes update the results immediately.

Your financial picture

Wealth comparison

What if home prices grow differently?

All other inputs stay the same. This illustrates sensitivity, not future rates or prices.

Compare your options

Scenario name

Keep up to four snapshots. Select a saved name to load its inputs. Download a project to preserve your work.

Year-by-year wealth and cash costs

Displayed dollars are rounded. CSV exports retain cents and include your input assumptions.

How to use Rent vs Buy Planner

Choose an example, then replace its prices, rates and costs with your own estimates or written quotes.
Explore the cost breakdown and sensitivity table. Check every assumption before comparing results.
Name and save a scenario. Change the inputs and save another to compare up to four alternatives.
Download your editable project or export the complete schedule. Open the downloaded HTML report and use your browser’s print dialog to save a PDF. The report contains all schedule rows and saved scenario assumptions.

Method and limitations

Compares up to 40 years, fixed-rate loans, nominal pre-tax wealth and monthly investment differences. Appreciation and returns are assumptions. No tax deductions, forecasts or individualized advice.

Loan interest is calculated monthly on the remaining balance. Extra principal reduces future interest and shortens the loan; actual lenders may use daily accrual and different rounding. Dollar outputs are estimates. Calculations run in your browser; site advertising and analytics are covered by our privacy information.

Using Rent vs Buy Planner

Compare renting and buying over time with home equity, selling costs, investments and adjustable long-term assumptions.

Start with a realistic example
Adjust costs and assumptions
Compare scenarios and export

Example

Use a preset, replace the assumptions and save two scenarios to compare.

Questions & answers

Are the rates current offers?

No. All example rates and prices are illustrative. Enter written lender quotes and local costs.

Can I save my scenarios?

Yes. Download a project JSON to preserve inputs and up to four scenarios. Nothing is automatically stored after the page closes.

What is included in the calculation?

Compares up to 40 years, fixed-rate loans, nominal pre-tax wealth and monthly investment differences. Appreciation and returns are assumptions. No tax deductions, forecasts or individualized advice.

Can I export the results?

Download the full schedule as CSV, save an editable project, or print a report using the browser PDF option.