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Rent vs buy calculator (Germany)

Buy, or rent and invest the difference? This calculator simulates both paths year by year and compares the wealth at the end: on one side the property value minus the remaining debt, on the other the investment pot. The outcome depends entirely on your assumptions — it is a neutral scenario comparison and expressly not a recommendation. It is built around the German market (a mortgage set by interest and initial repayment rate, cold rent, purchase incidental costs) and works in euros. Everything runs in your browser.

This result is entirely assumption-driven and not a recommendation: it compares two paths neutrally (buying versus renting and investing the difference) on your own assumptions. No market forecast, no tax view, no guarantee. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Buying

Renting & investing

What your result means

The cards give the wealth from buying and from renting + investing at the horizon, the difference between them and the starting monthly payment for buying. A positive difference means buying ends wealthier on your assumptions; a negative one means renting + investing does. Because the model is very sensitive to the price-change and investment-return assumptions, treat the sign as fragile — small changes can reverse it. The table traces both paths year by year. It is a comparison, not a recommendation.

How this calculator works

The buying path uses a German-style annuity (monthly interest): the monthly payment comes from the debit interest rate plus the initial repayment rate, and the remaining debt is carried forward each month. The property value grows or falls with your assumption; maintenance is a yearly percentage of the value. Wealth from buying is property value minus remaining debt.

The renting path starts with your equity as an investment pot, growing at the investment return. Following symmetric difference-investing, the monthly difference in spending is invested: whoever pays less to live (housing cost when buying versus the rent) invests the difference. Wealth from renting is the pot. At the horizon the two are set side by side.

The result reacts strongly to the assumptions for price change, investment return, interest and rent growth. Tax, subsidies (such as government home-buying support) and non-money factors — flexibility, security of tenure — are deliberately left out. This is a German-market model and not tax or financial advice.

Formula and variables

Wealth (buy)=Property value − Remaining debt
Wealth (rent)=Pot (equity grown + difference invested)
Difference=Wealth (buy) − Wealth (rent)
Property value
purchase price carried forward with the price-change assumption
Remaining debt
outstanding loan from the annuity
Pot
invested equity plus the invested spending difference
Difference
wealth gap between the two paths at the horizon

Worked examples

A simplified control case (cash purchase, 1 year)

Example inputs
Price / incidental costs€250,000 / 8%
Equity€270,000 (cash purchase)
Maintenance / price change0% / 0%
Cold rent / rent growth€1,000 / 0%
Investment return / horizon0% / 1 year
Example results
Wealth — buying (end)€250,000.00
Wealth — renting + investing (end)€258,000.00
Difference (buy − rent)−€8,000.00
Monthly payment, buying (start)€0.00

With no loan, maintenance, price change or return, the property stays worth €250,000. The renter starts with €270,000 invested and pays a year's rent (12 × €1,000 = €12,000), leaving €258,000. In this deliberately simple case renting + investing is ahead. With realistic assumptions — a mortgage, price growth, a longer horizon — the picture can reverse, which is why every figure is an example assumption.

Assumptions

  • All value-driving figures (price change, investment return, interest, rent growth) are your assumptions.
  • Constant rates in the scenario; symmetric investing of the spending difference.
  • Whoever pays less each month to live invests the difference at the assumed return.

Limitations of this calculator

  • Very assumption-sensitive — small changes can reverse the result.
  • No tax, subsidies or non-money factors (flexibility, security of tenure).
  • No market forecast and no recommendation, only a neutral scenario comparison.
  • German-market model (initial repayment rate, cold rent, incidental costs); not a UK/US mortgage model.

Common misconceptions

  • Reading it as advice: It compares two paths on your assumptions and makes no recommendation; the honest answer depends on figures no one knows in advance.
  • Trusting a single scenario: The result is very assumption-sensitive; change the price growth or investment return a little and the winner can flip.
  • Ignoring the difference-investing: For a fair comparison both paths invest the same budget — whoever spends less on housing invests the rest; leaving that out biases the result.
  • Expecting tax or non-money factors: Tax, subsidies, flexibility and security of tenure are left out; they can matter as much as the numbers.

Frequently asked questions

Does it tell me whether to buy?

No. It sets two paths side by side on your assumptions and makes no recommendation. The result depends heavily on assumptions such as price change and investment return, which no one knows for certain.

What is the 'difference-investing'?

To make the comparison fair, both paths invest the same budget. Whoever spends less on housing invests the difference at the assumed return. That way buying and renting are compared with the same money put in.

Are tax and subsidies included?

No. Tax, government home-buying support and non-money factors are deliberately left out. The calculator is a simplified model, not tax or financial advice.

Does this fit the UK or US?

It is built around the German market — a mortgage set by an interest rate and an initial repayment rate (anfängliche Tilgung), cold rent and purchase incidental costs. A UK or US mortgage is usually specified by a term instead, so the inputs would not line up.

Sources and further reading

Official and independent sources on this topic. The links open each website in a new tab; no content is loaded from them into this page.

Spotted an error in the calculation or the text?

If you notice something that is wrong or unclear: let us know via the contact page. We review every report.

Last reviewed: 28/07/2026 · All calculations run in your browser – inputs are not stored. ·How we check our calculators