Free break-even calculators · No sign-up
Find the number that settles the decision
Is it cheaper to rent or buy a home? Should I finance my car or pay cash? Instead of asking you to guess the future, each calculator tells you what the future has to look like for each choice to win.
- Runs in your browser
- Every figure adds up
- Share any scenario as a link
To beat renting, this home has to grow at least
1.98% a year
At 4% growth a year, buying comes out $184,725 ahead.
$700,000 home with 20% down, against $2,500 a month in rent, over 10 years.
Calculators
Four decisions, four break-even points
Each compares two choices with the same money over the same time, and counts what the money would have earned the other way.
- Cars Car loan vs cash calculator Paying cash avoids interest but the cash stops earning. Which costs less over the time you own the car? 7.23% return needed for financing a $40,000 car at 7% to beat paying cash Total cost: finance (amber) vs pay cash (blue) Open the calculator
- Homes Rent vs buy calculator Buying ties up a down payment that could be invested. What does each choice really cost, and when does buying pull ahead? 1.98% growth needed for a $700,000 home to beat $2,500 a month in rent Net cost over 10 years: rent (blue) vs buy (amber) Open the calculator
- Investing Property vs savings calculator A rental earns rent and might grow, but costs interest, rates and fees. Does it beat leaving the cash in the bank? 5.49% growth needed for a $2,000,000 rental to match 5% savings Ahead or behind savings at 0% to 10% growth Open the calculator
- Mortgages Mortgage vs invest calculator Overpaying saves interest for certain; investing might earn more. Which leaves you better off over the years? 6.17% return needed for investing $500 a month to beat overpaying a 6% mortgage Net worth over 25 years: overpay (blue) vs invest (amber) Open the calculator
How it works
Enter what you know. Judge what you don't.
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1
Enter what you know
The price, the loan rate, the rent, the running costs: things you can look up today.
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2
Get the break-even
The one unknown, such as price growth or investment return, at which both choices finish level.
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3
Judge whether it is likely
Ask whether this home, this market or your investments will beat that number. That is the real decision.
What the numbers show
Things a simple comparison misses
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7.23%
What a 7% car loan really costs a year once monthly interest is counted. Financing only beats paying cash if your money reliably earns more than that.
Check your loan -
2.56%
The growth the same $700,000 home needs to beat renting if rent never rises. With rent rising 3% a year, it needs only 1.98%.
See it with flat rent -
5.93%
The growth a $2,000,000 rental needs to match savings with a 7.5% loan instead of 6.5%. One point on the rate moves the bar from 5.49%.
Try a different rate
Why trust the numbers
Built to be checked, not believed
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Opportunity cost counted
What the money would have earned the other way is part of every answer, not an afterthought.
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Nothing leaves your device
Calculations run in your browser. No account, and the figures you type are never sent anywhere.
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Every breakdown adds up
Each line item reconciles to the total it explains, checked by automated tests.
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Clear about its limits
Each calculator says exactly what it includes, and what it leaves out, such as tax and fees.
Guides
The questions, worked out
- How much does a house need to appreciate to beat renting? Less than most people assume when rents are high, and far more when they are not. Here is the break-even growth across a range of rents and mortgage rates, and how to work out your own.
- Is it better to pay cash for a car or finance it? It comes down to one comparison: what your cash would earn against what the loan really costs. Here is how to make it properly, and the two offers that can flip it.
- Does a rental property beat a savings account? Only if it grows fast enough to cover the gap between its rent and its interest. Here is how fast that is, across yields and loan rates, before tax.
- Should you pay off your mortgage early or invest? Overpaying earns your mortgage rate for certain; investing has to beat it after tax and risk. Here is where the line falls, and what moves it.
Questions
Are these calculators free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no account and nothing to download. Every calculation runs in your browser, and none of the numbers you enter are sent anywhere.
Why a break-even point instead of a prediction?
Because the input that decides most money questions is the one nobody knows: how fast a home will grow, or what your investments will earn. A calculator that asks you to guess it and then announces a winner is mostly repeating your guess back to you.
A break-even point turns the question around. It tells you what that unknown has to be for each choice to win, so you can judge whether that is likely for your home, your loan or your investments.
What is opportunity cost, and why does it matter here?
It is what your money would have earned if you had used it the other way. Cash spent on a car or a down payment is cash that is no longer invested. Leaving that out is the most common reason simple comparisons point the wrong way.
Every calculator here compares two choices with the same money over the same period, and counts the growth each one gives up.
Do the calculators work for my country?
The arithmetic is the same everywhere, and each calculator has a currency picker. What changes between countries is tax and the fees of buying and selling, such as stamp duty or transfer tax, and these are not included. Each calculator page says exactly what is and is not counted.
How do I save or share a scenario?
Every number you change is saved in the page address. Bookmark it to come back later, or send the link to someone and they will see exactly the same scenario.
Is this financial advice?
No. The calculators do arithmetic with assumptions you control. They do not know your income, your tax position or your other commitments, so use them to frame the decision and take it to a qualified adviser for your circumstances.
Pick a decision and find its break-even
Takes a minute, works on your phone, and every scenario can be shared as a link.