Rent vs Buy Comparison Worksheet

Who this is for

Renting and buying the same kind of home, in two columns. The monthly costs go in one table and the one-off costs of getting in and getting out go in another, and the sheet totals each side over the number of years you choose. The difference is what one route costs against the other on your own figures.

Households deciding whether to keep renting or buy, first-time buyers testing the numbers on a particular area, and anyone comparing a move to rent against buying where they are.

What this helps you track

• The monthly cost of each route, line by line
• The one-off costs of moving in, and of leaving
• The money you expect back at the end, such as a deposit or sale proceeds
• What each route costs over the whole period
• The monthly and total difference between the two

How to use it

1. Write the area, the kind of property and the number of years you want to compare over.
2. Fill the monthly table from real figures: a rent from listings, a mortgage payment from a quote, and your own estimates for the rest.
3. Fill the one-off table with what it costs to move in and to leave each way.
4. Enter what you expect back at the end, such as a returned deposit or the sale proceeds after the mortgage is paid off, as a minus figure.
5. The differences and the summary are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, add each column and multiply the monthly totals by twelve and by the years.
6. Try a second sheet with different figures for the ones you are least sure of.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Why enter money back as a minus figure?

Because it reduces what the route costs you overall. For buying, it is roughly what you would keep after selling and repaying the mortgage; for renting, the deposit returned. Entering it as a minus lets the totals net it off.

Where do the figures come from?

From you: rents from local listings, a mortgage payment from a quote, insurance from real quotes and your own allowance for repairs. The sheet supplies no prices or values, and the answer is only as good as the figures entered.

Does it predict house prices?

No. What you expect a home to be worth at the end is your own estimate, entered in the money back row. Try a cautious figure and a hopeful one on two sheets to see how much the answer depends on it.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is arithmetic on your own figures. Things it cannot weigh, such as security of tenure or flexibility to move, need weighing alongside the totals.