Rent or buy? Get a straight answer.

A free calculator from a publisher, not a lender. It works out what you can actually afford, uses your real tax bracket, and will tell you to keep renting when that’s the answer.

No email needed. The result lives in the URL, so you can send it to whoever you’re deciding with.

It says “keep renting.”

We sell newsletters, not mortgages, so there is no reason to talk you into a house.

Your real tax bracket.

The mortgage-interest deduction is netted against the standard deduction. Most calculators skip that step.

Every number cited.

Home values, rents, taxes and rates carry a source and a date. The biggest swing factors are editable.

Tools

Ungated, with the working on the page. More are coming; this is the first.

Rent vs buy

Should you buy, or keep renting?

Six questions. We work out what you can actually afford, use your real tax bracket, and tell you which path leaves you better off, including when the answer is stay put, or that buying isn’t reachable yet.

Open the calculator

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