About RentOrBuyCalc
A free rent vs buy calculator that doesn't hand you one answer from one guess about the future. It runs your numbers through every market since 1975, or thousands of simulated ones, and shows how often each choice came out ahead.
Why it exists
Most rent vs buy calculators ask you to pick a single home price growth rate and a single stock return, then tell you which wins. But the answer usually hinges on exactly those numbers, and nobody knows them in advance. Buying in 1979 and buying in 2006 led to very different places.
RentOrBuyCalc asks a different question: across the range of markets that have actually happened, how often did buying beat renting and investing the difference, and by how much? That gives you a sense of the odds and the spread of outcomes, not just a single verdict.
What it compares
Two households start with the same money. The buyer puts down a down payment, pays closing costs and then the mortgage, property tax, insurance, maintenance and any HOA. The renter pays rent and invests the down payment and closing costs in stocks instead. Each month, whichever household has the lower housing cost invests the difference. When you sell, the calculator compares the buyer's home equity (after selling costs and taxes) with the renter's portfolio (after taxes).
It handles the details that often decide the outcome: PMI, the mortgage interest and property tax deductions, the SALT cap, the home-sale exclusion, capital gains tax, and state limits on how fast assessed values can rise. Enter a ZIP code and it fills in a local property tax rate.
Where the data comes from
Home prices come from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, stock returns from Robert Shiller's long-run data, inflation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, mortgage rates from Freddie Mac, and property tax rates from the Census Bureau. Market data is refreshed automatically every week; it was last updated Oct 2, 2026. The methodology page explains exactly how each source is used and what the model leaves out.
What it costs
Nothing. There's no sign-up and no account. Your inputs are saved only in your own browser, and the calculator runs on your device. See the privacy policy for the details.
What it isn't
It's an educational tool, not financial advice. The future won't look exactly like any past window, and your situation has details no calculator captures. Use it to understand the trade-offs, then talk to a qualified professional before making a decision. The terms of use have the full disclaimer.
Get in touch
Found a number that looks wrong, or have an idea? We'd like to hear it. Use the contact page or find us on X at @RentorBuyCalc.