Rent vs Buy Calculator
A fair, symmetric comparison for Canada — the buyer builds home equity while the renter invests the down payment and every dollar of cost difference. Semi-annual mortgages, CMHC insurance and the principal-residence exemption are all built in.
Net worth: buying vs renting
Where the two lines cross is your breakeven — buying pulls ahead after that year.
Where a buyer's money goes — year 1
Average monthly ownership cost in the first year, split by category.
Year-by-year detail
Net worth if you sold at the end of each year. The highlighted row is the breakeven year.
| Year | Home value | Mortgage bal. | Buyer net worth | Renter net worth | Advantage |
|---|
How this is calculated
A symmetric comparison
Most rent-vs-buy calculators quietly favour one side. This one treats both fairly. On day one the renter invests exactly the cash a buyer ties up — the down payment + upfront costs (and any CMHC sales tax). Then every year we compute both sides' total cash cost and invest the difference: when owning costs more, the renter invests that gap; when renting costs more (common late in a mortgage), the excess is credited to the buyer's side instead. Neither side gets a free ride.
Buyer net worth (year by year)
net worth = home value − mortgage balance − selling costs + invested surplus. Selling costs are realtor% × sale price + legal. There is no capital gains tax on the home — Canada's Principal Residence Exemption makes the entire gain tax-free.
Renter net worth (year by year)
net worth = investment value − capital gains tax. In a non-registered account, gains are taxed on 50% of the gain (the 2026 inclusion rate) at your capital gains rate. Flip on the TFSA switch and those gains become tax-free.
Canadian mortgage math
Fixed rates compound semi-annually, so the effective monthly rate is (1 + rate/2)^(1/6) − 1. Below 20% down, CMHC default insurance (0.60%–4.00% of the loan by loan-to-value, +0.20% for an insured 30-year amortization) is added to the mortgage; its provincial sales tax in ON, QC, SK and MB is paid in cash at closing. Homes of $1.5M+ need 20% down and can't be insured. Payments stop counting once the mortgage is paid off.
Costs grow over time
Property tax, insurance, utilities and renter costs inflate each year; maintenance is a percentage of the current (appreciated) home value, not the original price; and rent grows at your rent-increase rate. Fixing these was the biggest correction from the old tool.
What this doesn't model
Land transfer tax as a separate line (fold it into upfront costs, or use the land transfer tax calculator), rate changes at renewal, moving between rentals, the emotional value of owning, or leverage risk if prices fall. Pair this with the mortgage calculator and affordability calculator for the full picture. Assumptions use FP Canada and CMHC/OSFI figures verified July 2026.