Buy vs Rent Calculator

Compare buying a home — with a loan or full payment — against renting and investing the difference. See which builds more net worth over time.

How this works

Buying: you pay a down payment (or the full price, in Buy Full Payment mode) plus one-time buying costs upfront. With a loan, you pay a fixed EMI every month for the loan tenure; either way you also pay maintenance and property tax each year, as a % of the home's current value.
The home's value grows every year at your chosen appreciation rate. Your Buy net worth at any point is the current home value minus the remaining loan balance.
Renting: whatever the buyer paid upfront (down payment/full price + buying costs) is instead invested as a lumpsum on day one, growing at your expected return rate.
Every month, if buying costs more than renting that month, the difference is added to that invested corpus — like a step-up SIP — which keeps compounding at your expected return. Rent itself increases every year by the escalation rate you set.
At the end of your comparison period, whichever side — Buy net worth (home equity) or Rent net worth (invested corpus) — is higher is shown as the winner in the banner above the results.

Home purchase

Home price (₹)Allowed range: ₹5L to ₹100Cr | Entered value: ₹60LDown payment (%)Allowed range: 10% to 90% | Entered value: 20%Loan interest rate (% per year)Allowed range: 1% to 20% | Entered value: 8.5%Loan tenure (years)Allowed range: 1 to 30 years | Entered value: 20 yrsBuying cost — stamp duty, registration etc. (%)Allowed range: 0% to 15% | Entered value: 7%Home appreciation (% per year)Allowed range: 0% to 20% | Entered value: 6%Maintenance + property tax (% of value/year)Allowed range: 0% to 5% | Entered value: 1%

Rent & investment

Monthly rent (₹)Allowed range: ₹1K to ₹1Cr | Entered value: ₹20KAnnual rent escalation (%)Allowed range: 0% to 15% | Entered value: 5%Expected return on investments (% per year)Allowed range: 0% to 60% | Entered value: 12%Comparison period (years)Allowed range: 1 to 40 years | Entered value: 20 yrs

Renting builds ₹1.94Cr more net worth over 20 years

Buy: net worth

₹1.99Cr

Rent: net worth

₹3.92Cr

Total interest paid

₹51.97L

Total rent paid

₹79.36L

Net worth (equity)
Loan balance remaining

Invested amount
Returns earned

Year	Home value	Loan balance	Buy net worth	Rent net worth
Year 1	₹63.70L	₹47.04L	₹16.66L	₹21.65L
Year 2	₹67.63L	₹46.00L	₹21.62L	₹27.71L
Year 3	₹71.80L	₹44.87L	₹26.93L	₹34.44L
Year 4	₹76.23L	₹43.64L	₹32.59L	₹41.94L
Year 5	₹80.93L	₹42.30L	₹38.63L	₹50.29L
Year 6	₹85.92L	₹40.84L	₹45.08L	₹59.59L
Year 7	₹91.22L	₹39.25L	₹51.97L	₹69.96L
Year 8	₹96.85L	₹37.53L	₹59.32L	₹81.54L
Year 9	₹1.03Cr	₹35.64L	₹67.18L	₹94.47L
Year 10	₹1.09Cr	₹33.60L	₹75.57L	₹1.09Cr
Year 11	₹1.16Cr	₹31.37L	₹84.53L	₹1.25Cr
Year 12	₹1.23Cr	₹28.94L	₹94.10L	₹1.43Cr
Year 13	₹1.31Cr	₹26.30L	₹1.04Cr	₹1.63Cr
Year 14	₹1.39Cr	₹23.43L	₹1.15Cr	₹1.86Cr
Year 15	₹1.47Cr	₹20.30L	₹1.27Cr	₹2.11Cr
Year 16	₹1.56Cr	₹16.90L	₹1.39Cr	₹2.40Cr
Year 17	₹1.66Cr	₹13.20L	₹1.53Cr	₹2.72Cr
Year 18	₹1.76Cr	₹9.16L	₹1.67Cr	₹3.07Cr
Year 19	₹1.87Cr	₹4.78L	₹1.82Cr	₹3.47Cr
Year 20	₹1.99Cr	₹0	₹1.99Cr	₹3.92Cr

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Frequently asked questions

How does the calculator compare buying and renting?

It compares the buyer's home equity with the renter's invested corpus over the selected period.

What does buy net worth include?

Buy net worth is the projected home value minus any remaining loan balance.

What happens to the buyer's upfront payment in the rent scenario?

The equivalent upfront amount is invested as a lumpsum for the renter.

Does the model include rent increases?

Yes. Rent increases annually by the escalation percentage entered.

Does the calculator account for taxes and selling costs?

No. It focuses on the entered purchase, loan, rent, maintenance, appreciation and investment assumptions.