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Rent vs buy calculator

Rent vs buy calculator UK: when does buying make more sense than renting?

This model compares the owner's equity path with the renter's invested capital over time. It will not settle the question on its own, but it does make the trade-offs visible.

Illustrative only. Review assumptions and disclaimer details before relying on the outputs.

Quick notes about this tool

Model inputs

  • Editable assumptions for house price growth and rent inflation.
  • Investment return for the capital you keep while renting.
  • Buying and selling costs to avoid a too-perfect ownership story.

What this tool is for

  • Pressure-test a budget before an agreement in principle.
  • Compare simple scenarios without handing data to a lead form.
  • Understand how rates, deposits, and monthly costs change the picture.

Your scenario updates the page URL so you can revisit it later.

Mortgage payment

£1,765

Estimated from the mortgage size, rate, and term above.

Break-even point

2 years

The first year buying catches up with renting in this model.

Buying net worth

£165,676

After simple buying, selling, and maintenance costs.

Renting net worth

£194,035

Assumes the renter invests the available capital difference.

Snapshot over time

Selling costs: 1.5%

YearBuyingRentingMortgage left
1£50,068£56,680£320,291
2£60,739£59,238£315,336
3£71,904£63,047£310,122
4£83,584£68,851£304,636
5£95,800£77,446£298,864

What this means

This tool is most useful for sense-checking how sensitive the answer is to time horizon, growth assumptions, and upfront costs.

  • In this scenario, buying starts to overtake renting around year 2.
  • Short horizons usually favour renting because buying costs, selling costs, and early interest payments take time to unwind.
  • The result can swing quickly if you change house price growth, rent inflation, or investment return assumptions, so test more than one view.

How to use this rent vs buy calculator

Start with your current rent, target property price, expected deposit, and mortgage rate. Then test your time horizon and the growth assumptions instead of treating a single scenario as the truth.

If you want the practical framing first, the renting vs buying guide gives the short version before you model numbers.

What affects the result most

  • Shorter time horizons often make renting look stronger because buying costs have less time to wash through.
  • Deposit size still matters, because it changes both the mortgage payment and the amount of capital tied up in the purchase.
  • House price growth, rent inflation, and investment return assumptions can all swing the result more than many buyers expect.

If you are still working out whether the deposit target itself is realistic, the deposit guide is the best page to pair with this one.

Common questions

Is buying always better than renting in the long run?

Not always. Longer horizons often help the buying case, but upfront costs, selling costs, and your assumptions still matter a lot.

Why can renting come out ahead in this calculator?

Because the model includes buying costs, selling costs, and the possibility that a renter keeps spare capital invested rather than tying it up in the property.

What matters most for first-time buyers comparing renting and buying?

Usually deposit size, time horizon, monthly payment comfort, and whether the assumptions for house prices, rent inflation, and investment returns are realistic.