This isn't a coin flip. The right answer depends heavily on how long you stay, how your home appreciates, what you'd otherwise do with your down payment, and ongoing costs most calculators skip. This worksheet shows the full picture and an approximate break-even year, not a simplistic verdict.
These matter more than almost anything else in this worksheet. Small changes here can flip the answer, that's exactly why we show a sensitivity analysis below.
Enter your rent and home details above to see your comparison.
What leaves your account each month, today, under each path.
Total housing payments made, plus each path's net financial position (home equity net of selling costs, or invested portfolio value) at each milestone.
The buyer's cumulative out-of-pocket cost from move-in to this point: mortgage principal & interest, property tax, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, maintenance, and PMI if it applies, minus any tax benefit. Doesn't include the down payment or closing costs.
A snapshot, not a running total: what the buyer would walk away with if they sold on that date. The home's estimated value at that point, minus selling costs, minus whatever is still owed on the mortgage.
The renter's cumulative out-of-pocket cost from day one to this point: rent plus renters insurance.
Also a snapshot: the value of the renter's invested savings on that date. It starts with what the buyer spent upfront (down payment plus closing costs), then grows with investment returns, plus whatever buying would have cost that month minus what renting actually cost, invested along the way.
The break-even year is only as good as the assumptions behind it. Here's how it shifts if appreciation, investment returns, or maintenance costs come in differently than expected.
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