Free · Country-Specific · Inflation-Adjusted
Rent vs buy calculators built for the real world — with local tax rules, transaction costs, opportunity cost on every cash flow, and inflation-adjusted results in today's money.
Our Calculators
Each calculator is built from the ground up for its local market — not a generic tool with a currency symbol swapped in. Local transaction taxes, fiscal exemptions, mortgage rules and opportunity cost wrappers (ISA, TFSA, PEA) are all correctly applied.
The benchmark calculation. Models mortgage interest deduction, standard deduction hurdle, $250K/$500K capital gains exclusion, and full opportunity cost on every monthly cash flow.
Nation-aware: correct SDLT for England & NI, LBTT for Scotland, LTT for Wales. First-time buyer relief, PPR exemption, ISA tax-free returns, leasehold service charges.
7.5% notaire fees in the ancien, ADI mortgage insurance, taxe foncière, copropriété charges, full capital gains exemption on primary residence, and PFU 30% on investments.
Province-specific LTT / welcome tax, CMHC insurance premiums, Principal Residence Exemption, TFSA 0% investment returns, FHSA, and the mortgage stress test.
Our Mission
The typical online rent vs buy calculator ignores transaction taxes, assumes a fixed mortgage deduction regardless of your standard deduction threshold, treats investment gains as tax-free, and discounts nothing for inflation. Those omissions can swing the verdict by tens of thousands of pounds, dollars or euros.
Our calculators convert every future payment to present-value money, apply the correct local tax rules for each country, model the real opportunity cost of tying up capital in property rather than the stock market, and let you adjust every single assumption.
How We Calculate
Six principles that make our calculators genuinely different from the competition — and genuinely useful for real decisions.
Every payment — mortgage, rent, tax, insurance — is discounted to today's money at the CPI rate. A pound paid in 10 years is worth less than a pound today. Comparing nominal sums across time is mathematically dishonest.
Most tools only apply opportunity cost to the deposit. We apply it to every monthly payment — if the owner pays more each month, the renter invests the difference and that compounds.
SDLT in England (with FTB relief, additional dwelling surcharge), LBTT in Scotland, LTT in Wales, French notaire fees, Canadian welcome tax by province. All correctly computed.
US: $250K/$500K exclusion. UK: PPR relief (0% on main home). France: full exemption on primary residence. Canada: Principal Residence Exemption. Each jurisdiction modelled correctly.
UK ISA (0% CGT), Canadian TFSA (0%), FHSA, French PEA (reduced tax after 8 years). When renters invest inside these wrappers, the case for renting improves materially.
Mortgage insurance (CMHC/ADI), buildings insurance, council tax, service charges, survey costs — the costs first-time buyers discover too late are all included by default.
Feature comparison by market
| Feature | 🇺🇸 USA | 🇬🇧 UK | 🇫🇷 France | 🇨🇦 Canada |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation-adjusted (PV) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full opp. cost on all flows | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Transaction tax schedule | Closing ~2-4% | SDLT / LBTT / LTT | Notaire 2.5-7.5% | Welcome tax by province |
| Mortgage insurance | PMI (auto) | — | ADI (% of loan) | CMHC (auto, 4 tiers) |
| Capital gains exemption | $250K / $500K | PPR full relief | Résidence principale 100% | PRE (full) |
| Tax-free investment wrapper | Roth IRA | ISA | PEA / assur.-vie | TFSA / FHSA |
| Mortgage interest deduction | ✓ SALT cap 2026 | — abolished 2000 | — abolished 2011 | — never existed |
| Nation / region variants | Federal only | 4 nations | Ancien vs neuf | 10 provinces |
What Drives the Decision
The rent vs buy decision is not primarily about interest rates or property prices — it is about the interaction of several forces.
Transaction costs are one-off and must be amortised. Before ~5-8 years, buying rarely wins. After 15+ years, equity usually tilts the outcome.
If markets return 7% and your property appreciates 3%, the renter's invested deposit grows much faster. At 6%+ appreciation (London, Paris, Vancouver), buying looks very different.
Divide price by annual rent. Below 15: buying often wins. 15-25: horizon-dependent. Above 25: renting is usually better. London, Paris and Vancouver all exceed 30.
At 5% rates, carrying costs are high and renting often wins short-term. If rents rise 6%/year, your fixed mortgage becomes relatively cheaper over time.
The renting case only beats buying if the renter actually invests the difference. Inside a TFSA (Canada), ISA (UK) or PEA (France), all gains are completely tax-free.
Buying in Alberta (no LTT) is completely different from buying in London, Montreal or Paris. Our calculators capture this — most generic tools do not.
Advice for Visitors
Use our calculators as a starting point. Here is how to get the most out of them.
Divide asking price by annual rent for a comparable property. Below 15: worth investigating. Above 25: you need a very long horizon.
Most people overestimate how long they will stay. If there is any realistic chance you move within 5 years, transaction costs alone make buying very risky.
The renting case only holds if you actually invest the difference. If you know you will spend it, set the investment return to zero.
Change appreciation from 1% to 5%. Change investment return from 4% to 7%. If the winner flips easily, non-financial factors should drive your decision.
Max your ISA (UK), TFSA/FHSA (Canada) or PEA (France) before anything else. The tax saved over 10-20 years frequently exceeds any mortgage deduction.
In the UK: service charges on leasehold flats often dwarf insurance. In France: 7.5% notaire fees on a €350K property is €26,250, gone day one. In Canada: CMHC adds up to $26K to your mortgage. Include them all.