Is it cheaper to rent or buy right now?

Nationally, it costs 37% more per month to own than to rent across all 100 of the largest US metros, according to a LendingTree analysis published via Axios in February 2026. At a national breakeven point of roughly 5 years and 8 months at 6.51% average rates, per a Mortgage-Info.com and Zillow analysis, buying only pulls ahead of renting on total cost once you've stayed long enough for equity and appreciation to overcome that higher monthly outlay. That's the headline. It is also, for most readers, close to useless.

So what for you: the 37% premium and the 5-year-8-month breakeven are national averages built from wildly different local markets, and your own numbers above, not the headline, are what should drive the decision.

Why the national number doesn't apply to you

The rent-vs-own premium isn't close to uniform. New York City runs about 76% more expensive to own than rent, Bridgeport, Connecticut sits near 75%, and Providence, Rhode Island around 67% — while in Detroit, Cleveland, and Memphis, buying is already cheaper than renting on a monthly basis. A calculator that only spits out one national verdict would tell a buyer in Memphis and a buyer in Manhattan the same thing, which is exactly backward.

So what for you: plug in your actual local rent and target purchase price above, not a national median — the gap between "buying wins" and "renting wins" can flip entirely based on which metro you're in.

The variable that changes everything: how long you'll stay

Time horizon does more to the verdict than almost any other input. Closing costs and selling costs are largely fixed regardless of how long you own the home, so a buyer who moves again in two years pays those costs against very little accumulated equity, while a buyer who stays ten years spreads that same fixed cost over a decade of appreciation and principal paydown. That's why the calculator above shows a year-by-year breakeven point rather than a single static verdict — the right answer literally changes the longer you imagine staying.

So what for you: be honest about your time horizon, not optimistic about it. If there's a real chance a job or family change moves you again within three to four years, renting usually wins even in markets where buying looks attractive on paper.

What the calculator accounts for that back-of-envelope math misses

Most rent-vs-buy comparisons people do in their heads only look at the monthly mortgage payment against the monthly rent check, which flatters buying because it ignores everything else. The math above factors in closing costs (typically $8,500 to $15,200 on a $400,000 home), roughly 6% in selling costs whenever you eventually sell, and ongoing maintenance at about 1% of home value per year — costs a landlord absorbs when you rent but that fall entirely on you as an owner.

So what for you: if your mental math says buying is close, run it through the calculator before you decide — closing costs alone often erase what looked like a clear advantage on a shorter time horizon.

The call

The math points toward buying once your time horizon clears roughly five to seven years in most markets, and toward renting if you're not confident you'll stay past three. If you're on the fence, run your numbers above at your actual planned move-out year, not a round number, and check the down payment side of the equation with our mortgage calculator. Most people who run this exercise honestly are surprised by which side of the line they land on — frankly, that surprise is the whole point of doing the math instead of guessing.