Should you rent or buy? This calculator compares the net financial position of two paths over the years you plan to stay: buying with a mortgage and building equity, versus renting and investing your deposit plus any monthly saving. It helps you see which is likely cheaper over your time horizon.
How it works
The calculator models both paths over the number of years you enter.
Buying: it grows the home’s value at your assumed home-price growth rate, tracks the mortgage balance paid down at the mortgage rate, and subtracts ownership costs such as maintenance. Your net buying position is the projected home equity (grown value minus remaining mortgage) less the ownership costs paid along the way.
Renting: it starts the renter with the deposit (and any monthly difference) invested at your assumed investment return, growing that pot over the period, while subtracting the rent paid — with rent rising at your assumed rent-growth rate each year.
It then compares the two end positions and reports which is higher and by how much. For simplicity it ignores purchase taxes, legal and transaction fees, insurance, and tax relief, so treat the result as directional.
Example
Suppose over 10 years the buying path ends with home equity of about £180,000 after ownership costs, while the renting path ends with an invested pot of about £150,000 after rent paid. The tool reports buying ahead by roughly £30,000 for that scenario. Lower the years you stay, raise the investment return, or raise rent growth, and the gap shifts — sometimes flipping to favour renting.
| Lever | Pushes toward |
|---|---|
| Longer stay | Buying |
| Higher home-price growth | Buying |
| Higher investment return | Renting |
| Higher rent growth | Buying |
All inputs and calculations stay in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.