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Buy vs rent calculator

Compare the net cost of buying with a mortgage versus renting over a chosen time horizon.

The model invests your down payment (at the given return) in the renting scenario, but it does not reinvest the month-to-month cash-flow difference between the mortgage payment and the rent. If one option leaves you more free cash each month, its real outcome may be better than shown here.

Price of the home you would buy.
Taxes and purchase costs (transfer tax/VAT, notary, registry…). Usually 10-12% of the price.
Capital you put down upfront. The rest is financed with a mortgage.
Annual nominal rate of the mortgage.
Years over which you repay the mortgage.
Property tax, community fees, insurance and maintenance per year, as % of price (around 1%).
How much you expect the home to appreciate each year. A key assumption.
What you would pay to rent an equivalent home.
How much the rent rises each year.
Return on investing the down-payment money if you rented instead of buying.
How many years you compare the two options over.
Cost of selling at the end (agency, municipal capital-gains tax…), as % of value. Reduces the equity you recover if you sell.
Result

Buying is cheaper: you save about €20,516 over 10 years.

Net cost of buying
€63,713
Net cost of renting
€84,230
Net equity if you sell at the end
€137,472
Total rent paid
€131,397

Information, not tax or financial advice.

How the buy vs rent calculator works

There's no universal answer to "buy or rent?": it depends on the numbers and, above all, on two assumptions: how much the home will appreciate and what return you'd get investing the down-payment money.

How to read the result. We compare the net cost of each option over the horizon you pick. Buying adds the down payment, instalments and costs, then subtracts the equity you build. Renting adds the rent and subtracts what you'd earn investing the capital you don't tie up.

How to use it (from the default values). With 2 % appreciation and a 5 % investment return, move those two figures: if the home appreciates 6 %, buying usually wins; if it barely rises and markets give you 9 %, renting and investing can win. The verdict changes before your eyes.

An important note. The result is highly sensitive to the appreciation and return assumptions, which nobody knows in advance. Use it to understand the levers, not as a prediction.

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