Renting and investing is ahead by $89,000 after 10 years.
Should you buy, or rent and invest the difference?
Put your numbers in. Get the honest answer, with every formula public and nothing trying to sell you a mortgage.
Assumes the renter invests the $94,500 not spent on the down payment and closing costs, plus the $922 a month difference, at 7%, averaged over the stay. Rent must be for a place comparable to the home.
+$89,000
Renting and investing ends that far ahead.
That is the difference in what you are worth at the end of the stay - not what you paid, and not what the home is worth.
Where the $89,000 comes from
Both paths at the end of the stay, and the one number that decides which is which.
What you'd be worth if the down payment and the monthly difference are invested at 7%.
Ahead by $89,000Your money with the equity kept and every cost of owning counted.
BehindIf a comparable home rents for more than this today, buying wins - about 0.62% of the home's value a month.
An honest calculator, not a sales tool
Most rent-versus-buy calculators are published by people who profit when you buy. This one has nothing to sell, and it takes the renter's side of the maths as seriously as the owner's.
Symmetric opportunity cost
Whichever path costs less in a given month, the difference is invested by the person on that path. Most calculators only let the buyer build wealth and quietly assume the renter spends the difference.
The full cost of owning
Interest, property tax, insurance, maintenance, HOA, mortgage insurance, closing costs and selling costs. Not just the mortgage payment.
Real tax rules
Standard deduction versus itemising, the $750,000 mortgage-interest cap, the SALT limit, capital gains, and the Section 121 home-sale exclusion.
Honest about uncertainty
Every answer comes with the levers that would flip it. If the result sits on a knife edge, the page says so rather than projecting false confidence.
Where the money actually goes
Every dollar each path spends in an average month of the stay. Solid acid is money that stays yours; grey is money that leaves for good.
Owning keeps $397 a month.
Renting keeps $922 a month.
Both bars total the same on purpose. Whichever path costs less each month, the difference is invested by the person on that path - so the comparison is like for like. What differs is how much stays yours each month: $397 owning against $922 renting. The home's price growth and the renter's invested down payment aren't in these bars; the year-by-year chart counts both.
The year by year
Where each path stands at the end of every year of the stay. The line that is ahead at the end carries the colour; both are labelled, and rent is always listed first.
The two paths never cross inside this stay, and the gap widens.
What would change the answer
No one-point move in appreciation, investment return, rent growth or the rate flips it. One assumption can: this counts on the renter investing the down payment and the monthly difference. Left in cash, buying wins by $36,000; the paths tie at a 2.5% return.
Rates decide the answer
The mortgage rate moves the tipping point more than anything else you can change. Below is the rent at which buying starts to win, at each rate, holding your other assumptions fixed. Your row is highlighted.
| Mortgage rate | Buying wins above | As % of home value / mo | At your rent, who wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.00% | $1,890/mo | 0.45% | Buying by $38,000 |
| 4.50% | $2,003/mo | 0.48% | Buying by $18,000 |
| 5.00% | $2,117/mo | 0.50% | Rent & invest by $3,000 |
| 5.50% | $2,233/mo | 0.53% | Rent & invest by $24,000 |
| 6.00% | $2,350/mo | 0.56% | Rent & invest by $46,000 |
| 6.50% | $2,468/mo | 0.59% | Rent & invest by $67,000 |
| 7.00%your rate | $2,587/mo | 0.62% | Rent & invest by $89,000 |
| 7.50% | $2,708/mo | 0.64% | Rent & invest by $111,000 |
| 8.00% | $2,829/mo | 0.67% | Rent & invest by $134,000 |
Percentages are the tipping rent divided by the home price, not by the loan - a distinction worth keeping straight, since the two differ by the size of your down payment.
Change every assumption
These are the defaults doing the work behind the answer. Every one is editable, and the whole page recomputes as you type. Nothing here is a secret.
The purchase
Cost of owning
Cost of renting
Markets and tax
Keep your result
Your scenario as plain text, with the numbers and the assumptions behind them. Paste it into ChatGPT or Claude to talk through your own situation - the things this page cannot know, like how long you will really stay or how secure your income is.
RENT VS BUY - my scenario (https://rentvsbuymath.com) Monthly rent: $2,100 Home price: $420,000 Mortgage rate: 7.00% Length of stay: 10 years RESULT AFTER 10 YEARS Rent & invest: $331,000 Buy: $242,000 Verdict: renting & investing ahead by $89,000 Tipping rent: $2,587 a month (0.62% of home value) KEY ASSUMPTIONS Down payment 20% · investment return 7% · home appreciation 3% · rent growth 2.5% · property tax 1.1% · maintenance 1% · selling costs 6% · inflation 2.5% Assumes the $922/mo difference is invested every month, averaged over the stay. WHAT I WANT TO TALK THROUGH This model cannot know how long I will really stay, how secure my income is, or what this home means to me beyond the money. Help me think about those.
Audit the math
Every year of the simulation, and what each path is worth at the end of it. Nothing is rounded away and nothing is hidden behind a chart.
| Year | Rent & invest | Buy | Buy minus rent | Home value | Loan balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $115,000 | $74,000 | -$41,000 | $433,000 | $333,000 |
| 2 | $135,000 | $90,000 | -$45,000 | $446,000 | $329,000 |
| 3 | $156,000 | $106,000 | -$49,000 | $459,000 | $325,000 |
| 4 | $177,000 | $124,000 | -$54,000 | $473,000 | $321,000 |
| 5 | $200,000 | $141,000 | -$59,000 | $487,000 | $316,000 |
| 6 | $224,000 | $160,000 | -$64,000 | $502,000 | $311,000 |
| 7 | $249,000 | $179,000 | -$70,000 | $517,000 | $306,000 |
| 8 | $275,000 | $199,000 | -$76,000 | $532,000 | $301,000 |
| 9 | $303,000 | $220,000 | -$82,000 | $548,000 | $295,000 |
| 10 | $331,000 | $242,000 | -$89,000 | $564,000 | $288,000 |
Net worth is what you would hold in cash if you sold up and walked away at the end of that year - equity after selling costs and any tax, plus investments after capital gains.
Quick answers
The questions people ask most. Twenty more are answered with numbers on the FAQ page.
Is it cheaper to rent or buy right now?
At 7.00% on a $420,000 home with $2,100 rent over 10 years, renting and investing comes out $89,000 ahead in net worth. Change the rate and that can flip - the table above shows where.
How does this decide which side wins?
It simulates both paths month by month for your whole stay: the buyer pays the mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance, and PMI and builds equity; the renter pays rent and invests the down payment plus every month’s cost difference. Whichever side is cheaper in a given month invests the surplus — both directions. At the end, both sides "cash out" (selling costs and taxes included) and we compare net worth.
What rent makes buying the better deal?
At your numbers, $2,587 a month - about 0.62% of the home's value per month. Below that, renting and investing the difference stays ahead.
Does it account for taxes?
Yes — with current US rules: the standard deduction versus itemizing (mortgage interest capped at $750,000 of loan, property tax capped by the $40,400 SALT limit), capital-gains tax on the investment portfolio, and the Section 121 home-sale exclusion ($250k single / $500k married). Outside the US, set the tax fields to zero and use it as a pre-tax comparison in any currency.
Why do most calculators favour buying?
Three common shortcuts: they compare a mortgage payment to rent while ignoring taxes, maintenance, and selling costs; they don’t invest the renter’s down payment; and they never credit the buyer’s surplus when renting is dearer, or the renter’s when owning is dearer. We model the opportunity cost symmetrically and document every formula on the methodology page.
Is this financial advice?
No. It’s an educational model driven entirely by your assumptions — small changes can flip the answer, which is why we show a sensitivity table with every result. Use it to understand the trade-off, then talk to a professional who knows your situation.
Is there a free alternative to the NYT rent vs buy calculator?
Yes. The calculator above implements the same core model The Upshot popularized — whichever side pays less each month invests the difference, and the headline answer is the rent at which the verdict flips — free, with no paywall, account, or email required. It adds an automatic sensitivity table, an open-source engine, and currency-agnostic inputs. We are not affiliated with the Times.
Only the Times and RentVsBuyMath compute a tipping-point rent and invest both sides' savings symmetrically. Only the Times charges for access. Only RentVsBuyMath publishes its full engine and runs an automatic sensitivity analysis. Snapshot as of July 2026:
| Feature | RentVsBuyMath | NYT / Upshot | NerdWallet | Zillow |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paywall or signup | None | Subscription | None (lead-supported) | None (lead-supported) |
| Live answer as you type | Yes | Yes | Form-based | Form-based |
| Tipping-point rent | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Symmetric opportunity cost | Yes | Yes | Not documented | Not documented |
| Open methodology | Full write-up + open-source engine | Assumptions explained; code closed | Brief notes | Brief notes |
| Currency support | Any (taxes can be zeroed) | USD | USD | USD |
| Sensitivity analysis | Built-in ±1-point grid | Manual (drag sliders) | No | No |
| Inflation-adjusted display | No (nominal dollars) | Yes | Yes (today's dollars) | No |
"Form-based" means you fill in fields and read a results panel; the verdict doesn't reprice under your cursor. Competitors change their tools, so treat this as a mid-2026 snapshot — including the last row, where the Times beats us.
What does the NYT calculator still do better?
Two real things: inflation-adjusted display and editorial polish. The Times can present results in today's dollars, which makes 25-year comparisons far more intuitive; our engine reports nominal dollars, so the figures above overstate their present-day purchasing power. And a decade of newsroom craft shows in their prose, defaults, and slider feel. If you subscribe, use both: two tools built on symmetric opportunity-cost accounting should agree directionally, and where they differ you'll learn something about defaults — their maintenance and closing-cost assumptions versus ours.
RentVsBuyMath.com is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to The New York Times Company in any way. "The New York Times" and "The Upshot" are its trademarks; we name them only to credit and compare. The original interactive lives at nytimes.com and requires a subscription — if you have one, it is still worth using.
Go deeper
The calculator answers one scenario. These answer the questions it raises - the shortcuts worth knowing, and how this model differs from the ones you have already tried.
Is it better to rent or buy?
The whole argument in order: the five things that decide it, and why the mortgage payment is not the cost of owning.
DataRent vs. buy by metro
Zillow's typical home value and rent for the largest US metros, run through the engine: who wins where, and the rent that would flip it.
ComparisonThe calculators compared
What each of the big rent-vs-buy calculators models, and where each one stops.
ToolThe 5% rule
The 30-second screen for whether owning is cheaper this year - and the rate at which it becomes a 7% rule.
ToolPrice-to-rent ratio
Turn a price and a rent into one number you can compare across any two markets.
ToolMortgage vs. rent
The payment against the rent, then the full cost of owning against it - and the rent at which buying starts to win.
GuideWhen does buying beat renting?
The break-even year for real scenarios - and the three levers that pull it closer or push it out of reach.
DataThe numbers, in one place
Tipping rents, ten-year gaps, and the ratio matrix - every figure recomputed from the engine on deploy, none typed by hand.
DataRates and the Fed
Where the 30-year stands, the FOMC meetings left this year, and what a cut would actually do to the verdict.
More guides
The math
Rates & timing
Taxes
Myths