Rent vs Buy Calculator
Worked example (the default inputs above): €1,200 rent, €300,000 price, €60,000 deposit, 4% over 25 years, 10-year stay, 2% rent growth, 2% price growth → rent paid about €157,676; buying unrecoverable cost about €71,581 → buying is cheaper by about €86,095 on these assumptions.
Key fact: The fair comparison is not rent versus mortgage payment — it is rent versus the unrecoverable costs of owning: interest, buying costs and maintenance, minus price growth.
What this calculator does
This calculator compares renting and buying over the same stay, on the only fair basis: unrecoverable costs. Rent is money gone; for buying, the mortgage principal you repay is money kept (it becomes equity), while interest, buying costs and maintenance are gone — offset by any rise in the home's value.
→ Mortgage affordability calculator
How to use it
- Enter your monthly rent and the home price you would buy.
- Enter your deposit, mortgage rate and term.
- Enter how long you will stay and your assumptions for rent growth and house-price growth, then read which option is cheaper instantly.
→ Rent affordability calculator
The formula
Rent paid = rent × 12, grown each year by the rent-growth rate. Mortgage payment uses the annuity formula on (price − deposit). Buying unrecoverable cost = mortgage interest paid + buying costs (estimated at 8% of price — see the buying-costs calculator for your country) + maintenance at 1% of price per year − (sale value − purchase price), where sale value grows at the price-growth rate. The lower unrecoverable cost wins.
→ House buying costs calculator
Worked example with real numbers
A family in Lyon pays €1,200 a month in rent and considers a €300,000 flat with a €60,000 deposit and a 4% mortgage over 25 years (payment about €1,267 a month). Over 10 years, rent at 2% annual growth totals about €157,676. Buying costs about €24,000 in purchase costs plus 1% a year maintenance (€30,000) plus mortgage interest of roughly €83,280 in the first 10 years — about €137,280 before price growth — while the flat's value rises by about €65,698 at 2% growth, leaving an unrecoverable cost of about €71,581. On these assumptions buying is cheaper by roughly €86,095 over the decade. But set price growth to 0% and the margin shrinks: buying's unrecoverable cost rises to about €137,280 against 10-year rent of €157,676 — still cheaper, but by only about €20,400 — and with higher buying costs, selling costs or a shorter stay, renting wins. Growth assumptions, not the monthly payment, decide this comparison.
→ Mortgage affordability calculator
Reference table
How the comparison changes with stay length (€1,200 rent, €300,000 price, 4% mortgage, 2% growth on both sides — figures from the calculator's own model):
| Stay | Rent paid | Buying unrecoverable cost | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | €44,070 | €42,419 | Buying |
| 5 years | €74,938 | €52,835 | Buying |
| 10 years | €157,676 | €71,581 | Buying |
| 20 years | €349,882 | €71,036 | Buying |
On these defaults buying wins even at 3 years, because 2% price growth nearly offsets the €24,000 of buying costs. Try 0% price growth or a higher buying-cost assumption in the calculator to see when renting wins — that sensitivity check is the most useful thing this tool does.
→ Rent affordability calculator
Sources and disclaimer
Method: unrecoverable-cost comparison as described in the formula section. Buying costs are estimated at 8% of price as a cross-country illustration — actual costs vary widely (see the house-buying-costs calculator, which breaks them down by country example). Maintenance at 1% of price per year is a common planning rule, not a measured figure. Price growth and rent growth are assumptions you enter, not forecasts, and the result flips quickly if they change — try 0% price growth before deciding.
Estimate only — not tax or financial advice. This tool estimates only. It is not tax, legal or financial advice and does not determine your actual tax, loan or lender decision — check your national tax authority, bank or a qualified adviser for your situation. Always verify current figures with the official source or a qualified adviser before making decisions.
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