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Rent vs Buy

Compare the real financial cost of renting versus buying.

ⓘ How this works

Deciding whether to rent or buy a home isn't just about the monthly rent versus the EMI (loan installment) — buying ties up your down payment and involves ongoing maintenance, while renting frees that money to be invested elsewhere. This calculator projects both paths over your chosen time horizon and shows which one likely leaves you financially better off.

Your inputs

Monthly rent
₹
Rent escalation / yr
%
Home price
₹
Down payment
%
Loan rate
%
Loan tenure
yrs
Maintenance / yr
%
Expected home appreciation
%
Expected alt. return
%
Horizon
yrs

Your result

Renting is cheaper by
₹10.6L

Over 15 years, in nominal rupees. A negative "net cost" below means you end that period holding more wealth than you paid in.

Net cost of renting over 15 yrs-₹21.9L
Rent paid₹77.7L
Cash invested instead (down payment + monthly surplus)₹38.9L
Investment pot at year 15− ₹1.38 Cr
Net cost of buying over 15 yrs-₹11.3L
Down payment + EMIs + maintenance₹1.28 Cr
Home value at year 15₹1.66 Cr
Loan still owed at year 15₹27.1L
Home equity at year 15− ₹1.39 Cr
How these numbers are built
Each side = everything paid out over 15 years minus what you hold at the end (the home's equity, or the investment pot). Both are in year-15 rupees, not today's purchasing power.
The renter invests the down payment plus any month where the EMI exceeds rent at 10% expected return; the home grows at 5% expected appreciation. Both rates are assumptions, not guarantees — they decide the verdict more than anything else.
This is a financial comparison only. It ignores the non-financial sides of owning (stability, control) and renting (flexibility), transaction costs (stamp duty, brokerage, registration ~5-10% of price), tax breaks on home-loan interest, and vacancy/relocation risk. Property prices can fall.

Risk note · Indicative only. Your actual EMI, fees, prepayment terms and any charges are set by your lender's sanction letter and can differ from these assumptions (e.g. floating rates reset, fees vary by lender and scheme). Interest on bank loans carries no GST; lender fees and charges do.

Disclaimer · finkit is an educational tool, not financial, tax or legal advice. Every result is a projection from the numbers you entered and the assumptions stated on the page — it is not a forecast, a quote, or an offer. Check decisions with a SEBI-registered adviser, your lender, or a tax professional.

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