Rent vs buy calculator
Compare the real cost of buying against renting a similar home over the years you expect to stay — including the equity you'd build.
Buying works out cheaper
£50,842 better off
Compared over 5 years, after selling costs and the equity you'd build.
- Net cost of buying (5y)
- £44,722
- Total rent paid (5y)
- £95,564
- Home equity at the end
- £153,658
Assumptions & how it's worked out
- Buying costs assumed at 5% of price (stamp duty, legal, survey); selling costs at 1.5%.
- Maintenance at 1% of the home's value a year.
- Home value grows 3% a year and rent rises 3% a year — both are assumptions, not forecasts.
- Ignores the return you might earn by investing your deposit instead.
Questions, answered
- Why does buying often win over a longer horizon?
- Up-front buying and selling costs are spread over more years, and the equity you build (plus any price growth) offsets what you've paid in. Over a short stay those one-off costs dominate, so renting can be cheaper.
- What counts as the 'cost of buying'?
- Your deposit and buying costs, plus mortgage payments and maintenance over the period, minus the equity you'd walk away with after selling costs. It's the net cash position, not just the mortgage.
Leaning towards buying?
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