Buy vs Rent + Invest Calculator
A realistic side-by-side comparison of buying versus renting + investing, including transaction costs, maintenance and the opportunity cost of your deposit.
Over your time frame
Add your rent, the property price and how long you'd stay — then open the assumptions for a tighter answer.
How it works
This tool compares which option leaves you with more net wealth after your chosen timeframe — not just which one feels cheaper month to month, and crucially not by treating mortgage principal as a cost.
True cost of buying = mortgage interest + stamp duty and one-off fees + maintenance + buildings insurance + selling fees. These are the only amounts that genuinely disappear. Mortgage principal and your deposit are not costs — they convert cash into equity, which you recover when you sell.
Buying wealth at exit = sale value minus the remaining mortgage and selling fees, plus any invested monthly savings when buying's non-equity housing cost happens to be lower than rent. That means the model recognises deposit retained, principal repaid and house price growth as wealth.
Renting + investing assumes your rent rises over time, and that the money you'd otherwise tie up in a deposit and upfront buying costs is invested at a return you choose. If renting + investing is cheaper than buying's non-equity housing cost in a given month, that saving is also added to the renter's investment pot.
The result is directional — small changes in mortgage rate, house price growth, investment return or how long you stay can flip the answer. Treat it as a structured way to pressure-test a decision, not a forecast.