Buy or rent a home?
The same home, bought with a mortgage or rented while investing the money you do not put into the purchase: what you would have in each case, year by year, and from when buying pays off.
Which leaves you better off?
The buyer puts in the deposit and costs, and pays the mortgage and owner's costs; the renter invests that deposit and, every year, whatever they pay less.
| Money to start (deposit and purchase costs) | €50,350 |
| Mortgage payment (30 years) | €624 a month |
| First year buying (payment and costs) | €10,488 |
| First year of rent | €12,000 |
| Value of the home after 15 years | €248,986 |
| What you still owe the bank | − €90,355 |
| What the buyer invests in the years they pay less than the rent | €54,853 |
| Wealth if you buy | €213,484 |
| Wealth if you rent and invest | €90,678 |
| Years of rent the home is worth (price-to-rent) | 15.4 years |
It leaves out taxes (income tax on investment gains and any tax relief) and the costs of selling the home. Rent and owner's costs rise 2% a year; the mortgage is over 30 years.
Indicative estimate. Not financial or tax advice.
Next: the full study of your flat
The full calculator
Your flat with everything: the transfer tax of your region, the mortgage, costs, empty months and income tax. Free and without signing up: the verdict, cash flow and return.
What a full study looks like
The analysis of a flat from start to finish: detailed taxes, a 10-year projection, sale scenarios, sensitivity and the IRR. With these figures:
- IRR over 10 years
- 11.5%
- Monthly cash flow
- €169
- Net yield
- 5.3%
Find flats that already pay
Draw a circle on the map and we rank the flats for sale in the area by return, with the estimated rent of each one based on the rents around it.
How buying compares with renting
Comparing the mortgage payment with the rent is not enough. The buyer puts in the deposit and purchase costs up front (transfer tax, notary…), pays the mortgage and owner's costs (council tax, community fees, insurance, repairs) and, in return, gradually owns a home that may rise in value. The renter does not put that money in: if they invest it, their wealth grows too.
The calculator runs both sums year by year. The buyer's wealth is what the home is worth minus what they still owe; the renter's, what they have invested. Each year, whoever spends less invests the difference.
An example
A €250,000 home in Comunidad de Madrid that would rent for €1,000 a month, bought with a 80% mortgage at 3%. If it rises 2% a year and invested money earns 4%, after 15 years the buyer has €222,939 and the renter who invests, €127,512: buying pays off from year 4. If the home did not rise at all, it would be €136,472 against €127,512.
What changes the result most
How many years you stay: buying has costs up front (transfer tax and the notary are not recovered) and needs time to pay off. How much the home rises, against what your investments earn. And the price against the rent (the price-to-rent ratio: how many years of rent the home is worth): the higher it is, the harder it is for buying to pay off.
What the numbers do not show
Buying gives you stability (nobody raises your rent or asks for the flat back) and forces you to save; renting gives you freedom to move and does not tie you to a mortgage. And the sum assumes the renter really invests what they save: if they spend it, buying comes out far ahead.
And if you buy to let
As an investment, the sums are different: the rent you collect, empty months, income tax and the mortgage. Work out the rental return or see what each capital yields.
Reviewed on 10 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to buy or rent a home?
It depends mainly on how many years you will stay, on what the home costs compared with its rent and on how much it rises compared with what your savings earn. For long stays and reasonable prices buying usually pays off; for a few years, renting.
After how many years does buying pay off?
With the example numbers above, from year 4. With yours, the calculator tells you: the higher the purchase costs and the less the home rises, the longer it takes.
What is a home's price-to-rent ratio?
How many years of rent it is worth: the price divided by one year's rent. A €250,000 home that rents for €1,000 a month has a ratio of 20.8. The lower it is, the more buying pays off (and the better it is to let).
Does it count the rise in the home's value?
Yes: enter the yearly rise you expect. Try 0% as well to see the case with no rise.
What does owning a home cost?
Council tax (IBI), community fees, home insurance, repairs and, when they come, special levies. Enter them in the calculator: they change the result quite a lot.
Indicative estimate. Not financial or tax advice.