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Retirement Calculator
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Enter your savings, expenses, and return rate to calculate when you can reach Financial Independence (FIRE).
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Rent vs Buy Calculator
Enter your numbers to see which option builds more wealth — and when buying overtakes renting.
Buy
Down Payment
%
Mortgage Rate (annual)
%
Uses equal P&I (principal & interest): fixed monthly payment throughout the loan.
Annual Home Appreciation
%
Rent
Annual Rent Increase
%
Annual Investment Return
%
Applied to the down payment and the monthly surplus (mortgage − rent).
Renting leads from year 23 onward
BuyingRenting
Buying
Home Equity
48.5M
At year 30
Post-Mortgage Investments
0
At year 30
Total Buy Expenses
26.8M
0–30 yrs
Renting
Investment Portfolio
55.6M
At year 30
Total Rent Expenses
17.4M
0–30 yrs
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This is a free side project I built in my spare time. If it helped you map out your path to FIRE, buying me a coffee keeps the lights on!
The Rent vs Buy Calculator answers the question everyone asks before signing a lease or a mortgage: which actually builds more wealth over time? Enter the home price, down payment, mortgage rate, monthly rent, expected home appreciation, and the return you'd earn by investing instead. The tool runs a month-by-month simulation — buyer net wealth tracks home equity (home value minus remaining mortgage), renter net wealth tracks the invested down payment plus any monthly savings from lower housing costs. The crossover point, where one strategy permanently overtakes the other, is the break-even year. All calculations run locally in your browser; no data is sent to a server.
This calculator is for educational purposes only. Results are projections based on fixed assumptions and do not account for taxes, transaction costs, or personal circumstances. Consult a qualified financial adviser before making any real estate decision.
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