Rent vs buy calculator
Type the price, deposit, mortgage rate and rent. It compares the cost of buying with renting over the years you choose, using the same model as Calm Money Home.
Estimate · figures checked 23 Oct 2026 · guidance, not advice · sources
- Legal, search, survey and mortgage fees are Calm Money Home's typical figures. Type your own to use those.
- Selling costs aren't counted, and the mortgage rate stays the same.
Cost each place
Calm Money Home uses this rent vs buy model, with council tax, bills and moving costs for each place you're looking at.
Calm Money Home: UK Moving Costs · £10.79 on Etsy
What buying costs here
Mortgage interest, running costs, stamp duty and fees, and what the deposit could have earned, less any rise in the home's price. The part of each payment that repays the loan isn't a cost: it stays yours in the home.
What renting costs here
The rent, with any yearly rise you type. Bills you'd pay either way, such as council tax and energy, are left out of both sides.
Which comes out ahead
Whichever costs less over the years you choose. Short stays usually favour renting, because stamp duty and fees are paid up front; longer stays give a rising price more time to count.
A worked example
A £250,000 house in England, a first home, with a £25,000 deposit and a 25-year mortgage at 4.5%, against £1,200 a month in rent, over 5 years. The home's price rises 2% a year and the deposit could earn 3%. Buying costs about £41,554: £47,718 in interest, £12,500 in maintenance, £2,911 in fees and £4,445 the deposit and fees could have earned, less £26,020 from the rise in price. Renting costs £72,000. Buying comes out about £30,446 ahead.
Questions
What goes in running costs?
What owning adds: maintenance (1% of the price a year to start), and any service charge, ground rent or buildings insurance. Bills you'd pay either way are left out of both sides.
Does it agree with Calm Money Home?
Yes, it's the same model. Rent rises are extra here; with none, the two give the same answer.
Where the figures come from
The rates in force, checked 23 October 2026:
- Stamp Duty Land Tax rates, England and Northern Ireland
- Land and Buildings Transaction Tax rates, Scotland
- Additional Dwelling Supplement: 8% in Scotland
- Land Transaction Tax rates, Wales
- Land Registry fees
Updated
Related calculators
Comparing places? Home costs by council adds council tax, energy and water to the rent.