Rent vs Buy

Should you buy, or rent and invest the difference?

Most rent-vs-buy calculators compare a mortgage payment to a rent check. That is not the question. The real one is what you are left holding years from now — and that depends on closing costs, property tax, upkeep, the tax deduction you may not even qualify for, and what the down payment would have earned somewhere else.

The method in one line. Two households with the same budget: one buys, one rents. Whoever spends less in a given month invests the difference. At any point, both cash out — and we compare what's left.

What it does

A real model, not a rule of thumb

Month-by-month amortization, PMI that falls away, property tax with optional assessment caps, maintenance and insurance that grow with inflation, and capital gains at the end.

The tax deduction, honestly

Mortgage interest only helps if you itemize. The model compares your best deduction with the house against your best deduction without it, and counts only the difference.

The answer you can act on

The break-even rent, the appreciation the home would need, and the year owning overtakes renting — numbers you can check against an actual listing.

Nothing leaves your phone

No account, no analytics, no network requests. Your price, income, and tax rate stay on your device.

Get it

Coming to the App Store. Get in touch to join the TestFlight beta.

How the numbers work

The full model — every formula, every assumption, and the things it deliberately leaves out — is written up in the methodology.

Estimates only, based on assumptions you supply. Not financial, tax, or investment advice.