“Rent is throwing money away” is a sales pitch. Get the honest math and your personal breakeven year. Free, no sign-up.
Find my breakeven year →Buying isn't automatically better — it's better after a breakeven point, usually 3–6 years in. That's because buying and selling carry enormous transaction costs (2–5% to buy, 6–8% to sell), and early mortgage payments are mostly interest. The honest math counts everything: on the buying side, your down payment, closing costs, full PITI, and maintenance (~1% of home value per year) — minus the equity you build and appreciation you gain. On the renting side, your rent and its annual increases.
It isn't “is buying better?” It's “will I stay long enough for buying to become better?” Stay past your breakeven year and ownership compounds in your favor — equity grows, rent keeps rising, your P&I payment doesn't. Move before it, and renting would have been cheaper. Our calculator finds your personal breakeven using your rent, your market, and honest costs — then shows the year-by-year chart.
No — renting buys flexibility and shelter with no maintenance risk or transaction costs. It's the cheaper choice for short stays. Buying wins when you stay past the breakeven.
Usually 3–6 years, but it swings with your market's prices, rents, and appreciation. High-price/low-rent cities push it later; the reverse pulls it earlier. That's why you run your own numbers.
Yes — maintenance, property taxes, insurance, closing costs on both ends, rent increases, appreciation, and the equity you build. That's the whole point: honest math.
Appreciation is an assumption, not a promise. Try the calculator with 0% or negative appreciation and see how your breakeven moves — good stress-testing before a big decision.