How it works
Rent or buy is the biggest financial fork in most people’s lives, and gut feeling is a poor guide: renting is not “throwing money away” if buying would cost more in interest, taxes and fees than you build in equity — and buying is not automatically a win just because the mortgage payment is below your rent.
This rent vs buy calculator compares the two honestly over the horizon you choose. Renting costs your rent, growing each year. Buying costs your deposit, one-off purchase costs (transfer taxes, notary and agent fees — typically 7–13% of the price in much of Europe) and mortgage payments, minus the equity you hold at the end: the property’s value less the debt you still owe. The longer you stay, the more the maths tilts toward buying, because the one-off costs are spread over more years.
How the comparison works
RentCost = Σ AnnualRent × (1 + increase)^year
BuyCost = Deposit + PurchaseCosts + MortgagePayments − Equity
Equity = HomeValue − RemainingDebtThe home value is projected at ~2% annual appreciation, in line with long-run euro-area averages. Selling costs and returns you could have earned investing the deposit are deliberately not modelled — see the FAQs.