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Rent vs. Buy Home Calculator

Compare the cost of renting versus buying

By

AARP

Updated May 21, 2025

Published May 05, 2017

/ Updated May 21, 2025

Should you rent or should you buy your home? It takes more than looking at your mortgage payment to answer this question. The Home Rent vs. Buy calculator helps you weed through the fees, taxes and monthly payments to help you make a decision between these two options. This report is based on the original purchase price, fees and taxes payable at that time. Insurance and tax costs can fluctuate from year to year. Click the "View Report" button for a detailed look at the results.

Change the information currently provided in the calculator to match your personal information and view your results.

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Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.

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