Rent vs Buy Calculator Australia — Should You Buy or Keep Renting? (2026)

The rent vs buy decision is mostly a financial maths problem with lifestyle factors layered on top. This calculator does the maths honestly — including the opportunity cost of your deposit, full transaction costs, and capital growth — so the final number reflects how each option actually plays out over 5, 10 and 30 years.

What the calculator includes

Buying side:

Mortgage repayments amortised over 30 years
Stamp duty (state-aware via the linked stamp duty calculator)
Conveyancing, inspections, lender fees
Council rates, water, building insurance
Maintenance reserve (1% of property value per year)
Property capital growth on the asset side

Renting side:

Rent payments with annual rent inflation
Renter's insurance
Investment return on the deposit you didn't lock up in property
Investment return on the difference between buying costs and rent (when buying is more expensive cash-flow-wise)

The calculator surfaces the all-in cumulative cost of each option at year 5, year 10, and year 30 — plus the break-even year where buying overtakes renting.

Why most people get this calculation wrong

Three common errors:

Comparing rent to mortgage repayment only. A $700/week mortgage and $700/week rent are not equivalent. Buying adds rates, insurance, maintenance, strata. Renting adds none of those. The honest comparison is total all-in cost.
Ignoring the opportunity cost of the deposit. If you put $150,000 into a deposit, that's $150,000 not earning 6% in shares. Over 30 years, that compounds to roughly $860,000 of foregone return. The calculator subtracts this from the buying side.
Optimistic capital growth. Sydney and Melbourne averaged ~7% over the last 30 years. Most other capitals averaged 4–5%. Regional centres averaged less. Pick the right number for your specific suburb.

How long do you need to stay for buying to win?

Rule of thumb across Australian capital cities at current prices and rates: 5–9 years to break even, depending on the suburb. The shorter end (5–7) applies to high-growth markets; the longer end (8–9) applies to stagnant or slow-growth markets.

If you're confident you'll be in the same area for 10+ years, buying usually wins on the maths. If you're not sure or it's likely <5 years, renting usually wins because transaction costs (stamp duty in, selling costs out) eat the modest equity gain.

When the maths flips

Cases where renting beats buying even over 30 years:

Stagnant or declining markets — capital growth at or below inflation
High loan rates relative to investment returns — when shares return more than borrowing costs
Short stays — under 5 years, transaction costs dominate
High-end properties — stamp duty and ongoing costs scale linearly with price; rent doesn't always

Cases where buying obliterates renting:

High-growth capital city suburbs — 6%+ long-run capital growth
Long stays — 15+ years lets compounding do its work
Low rate environments — every 1% drop in mortgage rate shifts the maths several years earlier
Strong rent inflation — when rents rise faster than mortgage repayments do

Lifestyle factors that override the maths

Buying makes sense even when renting wins financially if:

You want to renovate, garden, or have pets the landlord won't allow
Housing security matters more than financial optimisation
You'd otherwise spend the deposit instead of investing it

Renting makes sense even when buying wins financially if:

Job mobility is critical (career stage, relationships, future relocation)
You'd be over-stretching to buy
You'd rather invest in higher-return assets (your own business, equities)

The calculator gives you the financial answer. The lifestyle answer is yours.

Frequently asked questions

Is buying always cheaper than renting in the long run?

Not always. The maths depends on five things: capital growth, rent inflation, your loan rate, the opportunity cost of your deposit (what it could have earned invested), and how long you stay. In strong-growth suburbs over 10+ years, buying typically wins. In stagnant suburbs over 5 years, renting often wins because the buying transaction costs (stamp duty + selling costs) eat the equity gain.

What's the break-even point?

The break-even is the year where cumulative buying cost (mortgage + rates + insurance + maintenance + stamp duty amortised) equals cumulative renting cost (rent + rent inflation). Most Australian capital city scenarios break even between year 5 and year 9. Below 5 years, buying rarely beats renting once transaction costs are included.

Should I include the opportunity cost of my deposit?

Yes. If you're choosing between buying and renting, the deposit you'd put into the property could otherwise sit in shares or a high-interest savings account. The calculator assumes a default 6% annual return on the renter's invested deposit, which approximates a balanced ETF portfolio. Adjust if you'd actually keep it in cash (lower) or 100% growth equities (higher).

What costs of buying do people forget?

Stamp duty (3–5% of purchase price), conveyancing ($1,500–$3,000), building and pest inspection ($500–$800), loan establishment and valuation fees ($300–$1,000), title transfer and mortgage registration. Plus ongoing: rates, water, building insurance, strata levies, and roughly 1% of property value per year on maintenance. The calculator includes all of these.

What about the lifestyle factors?

Owning lets you renovate, paint, get pets, and provides housing stability. Renting gives flexibility to move for jobs, change suburbs, scale up or down. Neither maths-only nor lifestyle-only is the full answer — but if the maths heavily favours one option, the lifestyle factors need to be substantial to overrule it.

Does negative gearing make buying an investment property different?

Yes — but this calculator compares owner-occupier buying to renting. Investment properties have different maths: rental income comes in, deductions (interest, depreciation, repairs) go out, and the after-tax cashflow is what matters. Use the negative-gearing calculator for that scenario.

How sensitive is the result to capital growth assumptions?

Very. A 1% change in capital growth over 30 years compounds to a roughly 35% difference in final equity. Be honest about your suburb's growth — historic CoreLogic 10-year capital growth data is the cleanest benchmark. Don't use Sydney or Melbourne historicals for a Hobart or Adelaide purchase.