Gera Tools

Canada Rent vs Buy Calculator

Should you rent or buy in Canada? Model the full 10-year financial picture.

Compare renting versus buying a home in Canada over any horizon. Models the mortgage, land transfer tax, CMHC insurance, property tax, maintenance, rent inflation and home appreciation to show which is cheaper in real dollars.

How does the calculator decide whether renting or buying wins?

It sums every dollar each path costs over your horizon. Buying costs the down payment, closing costs, mortgage interest, property tax, maintenance and insurance, then credits back your built equity and the home's appreciation. Renting costs the rent plus the lost investment return on the down payment you did not spend. The lower net cost wins.

A Canada rent vs buy calculator that settles the most expensive decision most people ever make: should you keep renting, or buy a home? It does not just compare your rent to a mortgage payment — that comparison is misleading because it ignores the down payment, closing costs, the equity you build, home appreciation, and the investment return a renter earns on money they did not tie up in a house. This tool models all of it over the horizon you choose and tells you, in real dollars, which path leaves you better off.

How it works

The calculator runs two parallel scenarios over your chosen number of years.

The buying path starts with your upfront cash: the down payment, land transfer tax, legal fees, and — if your down payment is under 20% — a CMHC mortgage default insurance premium added to the loan. Each month it charges mortgage interest, property tax, maintenance (a percentage of home value) and insurance, while a portion of every payment pays down principal and builds equity. At the end it credits you the home’s appreciated value minus the remaining mortgage and an estimated selling cost.

The renting path charges rent that rises with inflation each year, and — crucially — credits the renter the investment return they earn on the down payment and any monthly cost difference they would otherwise have spent on owning.

The verdict is the difference between the two net costs:

Net cost (buy)  = upfront + interest + tax + maintenance + insurance − equity − appreciation
Net cost (rent) = total rent paid − investment return on the down payment saved
Cheaper path    = whichever net cost is lower

Worked example and notes

Suppose a home costs $600,000, you put 10% down, the mortgage rate is 5% over a 25-year amortisation, rent for an equivalent place is $2,400/month, and you expect 3% annual appreciation. Because the down payment is under 20%, CMHC insurance applies and is added to the loan. Over 10 years the tool tallies every flow and reports the cheaper path plus the dollar gap.

Tips: try a 20% down payment to remove the CMHC premium and watch the buying cost drop. Push the invested-savings return up toward 7% and renting becomes far more competitive, because the renter’s down payment compounds untouched. Everything is computed in your browser — no price, rent or income figure leaves your device.