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Mortgage & Home Loans · Essentials & Buying a Home

Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Compare the true cost of renting against buying over the years you plan to stay.

  • Free to use here · embed on the Free plan
  • 14 inputs · 8 results
  • English & Spanish

Try the Rent vs. Buy Calculator

Compare renting and buying — results update as you type.

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Estimates only — not a loan offer or financial advice.

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What this calculator does

What the Rent vs. Buy calculator works out

The Rent vs. Buy Calculator is a free, embeddable calculator from CalcFunnel. Compare the true cost of renting against buying over the years you plan to stay.

You enter 14 inputs: current monthly rent, annual rent increase (%), home price, down payment, interest rate (%), loan term (years), years you plan to stay, home appreciation (%/yr), property tax rate (%/yr), maintenance (%/yr), home insurance (%/yr), closing costs to buy (%), selling costs (%) and return on cash if renting (%/yr).

It returns verdict, total cost to rent, net cost to buy, home equity at sale (after selling costs), total mortgage paid and taxes, insurance & upkeep, plus 2 more figures.

Built for loan officers, brokers and homebuyers. Embedding it on your own website is included on the Free plan (free forever for up to 5 calculators on one domain), as part of the Mortgage & Home Loans category.

Results it shows

  1. 01Verdict
  2. 02Total Cost to Rent
  3. 03Net Cost to Buy
  4. 04Home Equity at Sale (after selling costs)
  5. 05Total Mortgage Paid
  6. 06Taxes, Insurance & Upkeep
  7. 07Closing & Selling Costs
  8. 08Forgone Investment Growth

The first figure — verdict — is the headline result.

Inputs

The inputs it uses

Each field below comes straight from the calculator, with the same help text visitors see when they hover the info icon.

Renting

Current Monthly Rent
What you currently pay in rent each month. This is the baseline cost of continuing to rent.
Annual Rent Increase (%)
The expected annual percentage by which your rent will increase over time.

Buying

Home Price
The purchase price of the home you are considering buying.
Down Payment
The cash you would put down upfront on the home purchase.
Interest Rate (%)
The annual mortgage interest rate you expect to receive on the home loan.
Loan Term (years)
The number of years over which the mortgage would be repaid.
Years You Plan to Stay
How long you plan to live in the home. Buying often becomes more advantageous the longer you stay.

Assumptions

Home Appreciation (%/yr)
The annual rate at which the home value is expected to grow, affecting the equity you build.
Property Tax Rate (%/yr)
Annual property taxes as a percentage of the home value, which add to the ongoing cost of ownership.
Maintenance (%/yr)
Estimated annual maintenance and repair costs as a percentage of the home value.
Home Insurance (%/yr)
Annual homeowners insurance as a percentage of the home value.
Closing Costs to Buy (%)
One-time purchase closing costs (lender fees, title, appraisal) as a percentage of the price — typically 2–5%.
Selling Costs (%)
Agent commissions, transfer taxes and other costs when you sell, as a percentage of the sale price.
Return on Cash if Renting (%/yr)
What your down payment and closing costs could earn if you kept renting and invested them instead. This forgone growth is counted as a cost of buying.

For your website

Embed this calculator on your website

Put the Rent vs. Buy Calculator on your own site with your colors, copy and lead form. Every calculation can arrive in your CRM with the numbers attached.

Works on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, GoHighLevel and plain HTML — paste one line into an HTML or code block. No plugin needed.

Start free How embedding works

Free plan, no card. 14-day trial on Pro & Business.

  1. Inline on any pagePaste the snippet where the calculator should appear. It fills the width of its container and resizes to fit its content.
  2. Popup buttonA button sits on your page; visitors click it and the calculator opens in a popup.
  3. Floating corner widgetPaste once — or in your site-wide footer code — to show a floating calculator bubble in the corner of every page.
  4. Open from your own link or buttonGive any existing link, button or image a class and it opens the calculator when clicked.
  5. Direct linkA full-page link to the calculator for emails, social posts, QR codes or a menu item.

FAQ

Rent vs. Buy calculator FAQs

Still stuck? Ask the team — we reply within one business day.

Q.01What does the Rent vs. Buy Calculator calculate?
Compare the true cost of renting against buying over the years you plan to stay. It returns verdict, total cost to rent, net cost to buy, home equity at sale (after selling costs), total mortgage paid and taxes, insurance & upkeep, plus 2 more figures.
Q.02What information do I need to use the Rent vs. Buy Calculator?
You enter 14 inputs: current monthly rent, annual rent increase (%), home price, down payment, interest rate (%), loan term (years), years you plan to stay, home appreciation (%/yr), property tax rate (%/yr), maintenance (%/yr), home insurance (%/yr), closing costs to buy (%), selling costs (%) and return on cash if renting (%/yr). Every input starts with a sensible default, so you can change only what you know.
Q.03What does “Current Monthly Rent” mean in the Rent vs. Buy Calculator?
What you currently pay in rent each month. This is the baseline cost of continuing to rent.
Q.04What does “Annual Rent Increase (%)” mean in the Rent vs. Buy Calculator?
The expected annual percentage by which your rent will increase over time.
Q.05Is the Rent vs. Buy Calculator free to use?
Yes — you can use it on this page for free, without an account. Embedding it on your own website is included on the Free plan (free forever for up to 5 calculators on one domain), as part of the Mortgage & Home Loans category. Compare plans.
Q.06Can I embed the Rent vs. Buy Calculator on my website?
Yes. Embed it inline, as a popup button, as a floating corner widget, from your own link or button, or share a direct link. It works on WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, Webflow, Shopify, GoHighLevel and plain HTML sites with one line of code — see embedding.
Q.07Is the Rent vs. Buy Calculator available in Spanish?
Yes. Labels, tooltips and result names are available in English and Spanish, and visitors can switch language in the calculator.
Q.08Can the calculator capture leads?
Yes. It can end with a lead form, a Get a Quote form, a Share panel or a button to any URL. Leads are saved with the inputs and results attached and can be forwarded to your CRM by webhook.
Q.09Are the Rent vs. Buy results financial advice?
No. Estimates only. Buying costs include closing and selling costs, property tax, insurance, upkeep and the growth your up-front cash could have earned; tax deductions, PMI and HOA dues are not included. Real outcomes depend on market conditions and how long you actually stay. Consult a financial advisor before deciding.

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Your website does the math. You get the lead.

The Rent vs. Buy Calculator is one of 188 calculators you can brand and embed with one line of code.

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