Finance & Investment · Real Estate
Rent vs Buy Calculator
Compare buying a home with a loan against renting and investing the down payment and monthly difference instead. Includes stamp duty, upkeep, rent increases, home-price growth, selling costs and what your money could earn elsewhere — and shows the year buying starts to win, if it does.
Also listed inLoans & Debt
Your inputs
Quick start — try a typical case
₹ 80 lakh
₹ 22 thousand
What the down payment and savings would earn, e.g. in equity and debt funds.
Your result Live
Renting Leaves You Richer After 15 Years
₹80,87,969
Net worth ₹1,35,91,678 buying vs ₹2,16,79,647 renting and investing
- Buying Breaks Even
- Not within 15 years
- Monthly Cost in Year 1
- Buy ₹59,541 (EMI ₹55,541 + upkeep) vs rent ₹22,000
- Upfront Cash to Buy
- ₹21,60,000 (down payment ₹16,00,000 + costs ₹5,60,000)
- Home Value in 15 Years
- ₹1,66,31,425 · loan left ₹27,07,119
- Total Rent Paid
- ₹56,96,741
Year by year
15 rowsBoth sides spend the same money each month; whoever spends less invests the difference. That's what makes the comparison fair.
Tax benefits on home-loan interest and principal (old regime) and capital-gains tax on the sale aren't included. Owning also brings security and freedom to modify; renting brings flexibility to move.
An estimate from the assumptions you entered, not a guaranteed outcome.
How this is calculated
Net worth (buy) = home value × (1 − selling cost) − loan left + buyer's investments · Net worth (rent) = renter's investments
- Renter's investments
- Down payment + buying costs invested at the start, plus each month's (EMI + upkeep − rent) when positive
- Buyer's investments
- Each month's (rent − EMI − upkeep) when positive — e.g. after the loan is paid off
Buying ties up a large down payment and pays interest, stamp duty and upkeep, but builds equity in an asset that may grow. Renting is usually cheaper month to month, and the money saved can be invested. Which comes out ahead depends mostly on price growth versus investment returns, the rent-to-price ratio and how long you stay — short stays rarely favour buying because of the costs of buying and selling.
Assumptions & sources
- Constant growth rates; returns compounded monthly; no tax effects.
- Upkeep rises with rent; the home is sold at the end (selling costs deducted).
- 1CFA Program Curriculum — Quantitative Methods: The Time Value of Money — CFA Institute
- 2Residex — housing price index — National Housing Bank
Calculator ID FIN-RE-RENTBUY-001 · version 1.0.0
Common questions
Is it better to rent or buy in India?
In many big cities rents are only 2–3 % of the home's price a year, which often makes renting and investing cheaper unless prices grow strongly or you stay a long time. Run your own numbers — the break-even year is the key figure.
Why does the investment return matter so much?
Because the renter invests the down payment and monthly savings. If that money earns more than the home appreciates (after costs), renting wins; if not, buying does.