Rent vs Buy Calculator – Net Worth After N Years (India)

What your result means

The verdict says which path leaves you with more net worth after the horizon. For the buyer that is the home’s value minus the loan still owed, plus anything the buyer invested in months when renting would have cost more. For the renter it is the invested down payment plus the invested monthly savings, grown at your return. The chart shows both lines year by year, so you can see when (if ever) buying overtakes renting.

Below the chart: the home-loan EMI, total rent paid, total EMIs paid and total maintenance and tax over the horizon.

How to use this rent vs buy calculator

Enter today’s monthly rent for a comparable home and how much it rises each year.
Enter the home price, down payment %, loan rate and tenure.
Set property appreciation and the return on invested money; these two drive the answer, so try a range.
Set maintenance, tax and insurance as a yearly % of the price, and the horizon in years.
Read the verdict and chart; open the year-wise table for the numbers behind each year.

How the simulation works, with a worked example

Every month: the buyer pays EMI + maintenance; the renter pays rent. Whoever pays less invests the difference at the investment return (monthly compounding). The renter also invests the down payment on day one. Each year the home value grows by the appreciation rate and the rent by the rent-increase rate.

Buy net worth (year N)  = home value − loan balance + buyer's investments
Rent net worth (year N) = renter's investments (down payment + monthly differences, compounded)

Worked example (computed by this tool’s own function): rent ₹20,000 rising 5% a year; home ₹60,00,000 with 20% down; loan 8.5% for 20 years; appreciation 5%; investment return 10%; maintenance 1%; horizon 10 years.

Down payment ₹12,00,000, loan ₹48,00,000, EMI ₹41,656
After 10 years: home value ₹97,73,368, loan balance ₹33,59,703
Buy net worth ₹64,13,665 vs rent net worth ₹80,67,217 → renting ahead by ₹16,53,552
Over those years: rent paid ₹30,18,694, EMIs paid ₹49,98,662, maintenance ₹7,54,674

Assumptions used by this calculator

Assumption	Default	Can you change it?
Rent increase per year	5%	Yes
Property appreciation per year	5%	Yes
Return on invested money per year	10%	Yes
Maintenance, property tax and insurance	1% of home value per year	Yes
Renter invests the down payment and every monthly saving	Yes	No (needed for a fair comparison)
Stamp duty, registration, brokerage, taxes, HRA, selling costs	Not included	Add to the price or adjust rates yourself

How the horizon and appreciation change the answer (same inputs otherwise)

Horizon	Buy net worth	Rent net worth	Better

| 5 years | ₹34,27,585 | ₹39,28,773 | Rent | | 10 years | ₹64,13,665 | ₹80,67,217 | Rent | | 15 years | ₹1,04,43,232 | ₹1,44,27,966 | Rent | | 20 years | ₹1,59,19,786 | ₹2,43,21,242 | Rent |

Appreciation	Buy net worth (10 y)	Rent net worth (10 y)	Better

| 3% | ₹47,03,796 | ₹79,75,446 | Rent | | 5% | ₹64,13,665 | ₹80,67,217 | Rent | | 7% | ₹84,43,206 | ₹81,68,306 | Buy | | 9% | ₹1,08,44,479 | ₹82,79,659 | Buy |

Special cases and common mistakes

Short horizons favour renting. Transaction costs (not modelled here) and the interest-heavy early EMIs mean buying rarely wins within 3–5 years.
Appreciation is not guaranteed. Past price growth in a locality is not a forecast. Run the calculator with a low appreciation (2–3%) as well as your hopeful figure.
Rent yield check. If yearly rent is below about 3% of the price, renting the same home is cheap relative to owning it; buying then depends on appreciation.
Lifestyle is not in the numbers. Stability, schools, the freedom to renovate, or the freedom to move for a job all matter and are not priced here.
Leverage cuts both ways. A small price fall on a 80%-financed home wipes out a large share of the down payment; the chart assumes smooth growth.
Selling costs. Brokerage and capital-gains tax on sale reduce the buyer’s realised net worth; the home value shown is before selling.

Frequently asked questions

How does the calculator decide between renting and buying?

It simulates every month for the horizon you choose. The buyer pays EMI plus maintenance and owns a home that appreciates; the renter pays rent that rises each year and invests the down payment plus any monthly saving at your investment return. After N years it compares net worth: home value minus loan balance (plus any buyer investments) against the renter's investments.

Which assumptions matter most?

Property appreciation and investment return, then the rent-to-price ratio. In many Indian cities rent is 2–3% of the home price per year while loan rates are 8–9%, so buying usually wins only with meaningful appreciation or a long horizon.

Are stamp duty, registration and brokerage included?

No. Transaction costs typically add 6–10% to the purchase price and favour renting for short horizons. Add them to the home price yourself for a conservative view.

What does the maintenance percentage cover?

Society maintenance, property tax, insurance and repairs, as a percentage of the home's value each year. 1% is a common planning assumption; change it to your actual figures.

What about tax benefits on a home loan?

In general terms, home-loan interest and principal may qualify for deductions and rent may qualify for HRA exemption. The calculator applies no tax rules; if these matter to you, adjust the inputs (for example a slightly lower effective loan rate or rent).

Does the renter really invest the difference?

That is the assumption behind a fair comparison, and it is where many renters fall short. If you would not invest the saving, the renting line in the chart is too optimistic for you.

Rent vs Buy Calculator – Should You Buy a House or Keep Renting?