Buying a home against renting a similar one, for as long as you would stay: ONS’s rent for the area and size of home, today’s mortgage rates, stamp duty and every cost of owning and selling, with what you would have at the end either way.
Take a new three-bedroom home at £344,995, the middle asking price of the 7,343 new three-bedroom homes for sale in England on NewHomeSearch, bought with a 10% deposit by a first-time buyer, against renting a similar home at ONS’s average three-bedroom rent in England, £1,497 a month in September 2026.
| Buying | Renting | |
|---|---|---|
| On the day you move in | £43,429 | £1,727 |
| The first month | £1,999 | £1,507 |
| Net cost over 10 years | £84,946 | £185,672 |
Owning costs more in the first month, but the rent rises each year while the mortgage payment does not, part of every payment repays the loan, and the home’s value grows at the 3% a year England’s prices rose over the last ten years. Buying draws ahead after 2 years, and over 10 years leaves the buyer £100,726 better off. Buying comes out ahead whenever a similar home would rent for more than £914 a month.
A new three-bedroom home at each region’s middle asking price on NewHomeSearch, against ONS’s three-bedroom rent there, with a 10% deposit and each region’s own ten-year growth in prices and rents, kept for 10 years. The biggest gain from buying first.
| Region | Rent a month | New home price | Mortgage a month | Buying ahead after | Buying gains over 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North West | £1,063 | £314,995 | £1,539 | 1 year and 7 months | £116,618 |
| Scotland | £1,168 | £285,995 | £1,398 | 1 year and 11 months | £98,728 |
| Wales | £892 | £300,000 | £1,466 | 2 years and 7 months | £79,198 |
| West Midlands | £1,053 | £345,000 | £1,686 | 2 years and 10 months | £65,869 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £918 | £280,000 | £1,368 | 2 years and 4 months | £63,142 |
| South West | £1,305 | £359,995 | £1,759 | 3 years and 4 months | £60,137 |
| East Midlands | £1,000 | £309,473 | £1,567 | 2 years and 10 months | £60,027 |
| North East | £837 | £249,950 | £1,221 | 3 years and 4 months | £38,267 |
| East of England | £1,403 | £399,973 | £2,026 | 7 years and 8 months | £14,728 |
| South East | £1,566 | £475,000 | £2,321 | Not within the stay | -£8,570 |
| London | £2,651 | £717,500 | £3,506 | Not within the stay | -£65,422 |
New homes cost more than older ones, so a resale home or a smaller one changes the answer: pick your own area, size of home and price in the calculator above.
Stamp duty and the fees are paid on the day and the selling costs at the end, so a short stay has little time to earn them back. For the English example, what buying gains (or costs) against renting, by how long you stay:
| Stay | Buying gains |
|---|---|
| 2 years | £656 |
| 3 years | £9,408 |
| 5 years | £29,794 |
| 7 years | £54,452 |
| 10 years | £100,726 |
| 15 years | £208,363 |
| 20 years | £365,584 |
| 25 years | £589,193 |
Two figures move it most: how fast house prices rise, and what your savings would earn if you rented. For the English example, how long until buying draws ahead:
| House prices rise a year | Savings earn 2% | Savings earn 4% | Savings earn 6% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 9 years and 5 months | 11 years and 9 months | 15 years and 4 months |
| 1% | 5 years and 2 months | 6 years and 7 months | 9 years and 3 months |
| 2% | 2 years and 9 months | 3 years and 3 months | 4 years and 1 month |
| 3% | 1 year and 9 months | 2 years | 2 years and 3 months |
| 4% | 1 year and 3 months | 1 year and 5 months | 1 year and 6 months |
The average monthly private rent in September 2026, by size of home, and how much it rose over twelve months (ONS, Price Index of Private Rents, published 21 October 2026; Northern Ireland’s figures lag two months behind).
| Area | All homes | 1 bed | 2 bed | 3 bed | 4+ bed | Over a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | £1,406 | £1,140 | £1,287 | £1,438 | £2,089 | +3.8% |
| England | £1,466 | £1,199 | £1,341 | £1,497 | £2,170 | +4% |
| Northern Ireland | £879 | £623 | £769 | £880 | £1,229 | +1.7% |
| Scotland | £1,011 | £702 | £912 | £1,168 | £1,951 | +0.7% |
| Wales | £848 | £637 | £782 | £892 | £1,252 | +4.1% |
| East Midlands | £928 | £652 | £831 | £1,000 | £1,413 | +3.8% |
| East of England | £1,298 | £900 | £1,153 | £1,403 | £1,987 | +3.8% |
| London | £2,338 | £1,764 | £2,239 | £2,651 | £3,655 | +3.5% |
| North East | £790 | £555 | £698 | £837 | £1,219 | +5.3% |
| North West | £975 | £705 | £887 | £1,063 | £1,507 | +5.7% |
| South East | £1,438 | £1,000 | £1,284 | £1,566 | £2,231 | +3.5% |
| South West | £1,251 | £833 | £1,070 | £1,305 | £1,881 | +4.2% |
| West Midlands | £983 | £711 | £887 | £1,053 | £1,485 | +4.4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £869 | £615 | £772 | £918 | £1,327 | +4.8% |
Across the UK, rents rose 3.9% a year over the ten years to September 2026, and house prices 3.3% a year to August 2026. The calculator starts from each area’s own figures; the past is a guide, not a forecast.
| Area | Rents a year | House prices a year | Average price |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 3.9% | 3.3% | £273,037 |
| England | 3.8% | 3% | £293,525 |
| Northern Ireland | 5% | 5.5% | £202,487 |
| Scotland | 3.9% | 3.9% | £198,397 |
| Wales | 4.4% | 4.6% | £216,363 |
| East Midlands | 4.7% | 3.8% | £241,955 |
| East of England | 4% | 2.3% | £337,848 |
| London | 3.3% | 0.9% | £554,430 |
| North East | 3.7% | 3.3% | £165,640 |
| North West | 4.8% | 4.7% | £220,393 |
| South East | 3.7% | 2% | £379,953 |
| South West | 4.3% | 2.9% | £304,139 |
| West Midlands | 4.3% | 3.9% | £250,731 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 3.9% | 3.9% | £209,266 |
Two households start with the same money and spend the same in all. One buys; one rents a similar home. Whoever spends less on their home in a month saves the difference, and so does whoever pays less on the day they move in. At the end the buyer sells: what each then has is the fair comparison. Council tax, energy and water are left out, as both pay them.
A new home changes some of the sums. Its price usually carries a new-build premium over similar older homes, which can shrink as it becomes one. Builders often offer a deposit contribution or pay stamp duty, which the calculator counts for a home you open it from (compare builder offers). Upkeep is usually lower in the first years, under the builder’s warranty, while a new estate can carry an estate charge. Moving up from a home you own? The part exchange calculator sets the builder’s offer against selling it yourself.
It depends on how long you stay, what the home costs against the rent, and how prices and rents move. For a new three-bedroom home in England at its middle asking price of £344,995, against ONS’s average three-bedroom rent of £1,497 a month, buying leaves you £100,726 better off over 10 years, and buying draws ahead after 2 years. The calculator works it out for your area, home and stay.
Month by month, renting often costs less at first: in England the new three-bedroom home above costs £1,999 a month to own in its first month (the mortgage, upkeep and insurance) against £1,507 to rent. Over the years the rent rises while a mortgage payment does not, the mortgage is paid off, and the home’s value changes, which is why the answer turns on how long you stay.
Long enough for the home’s growth and the mortgage you repay to outweigh stamp duty, the buying and selling costs and what your deposit would have earned. For the English example above that is 2 years; staying 2 years, buying is ahead by £656. The shorter the stay, the more the costs of buying and selling weigh.
A mortgage payment is only part of owning: upkeep, insurance and any charges come on top, and part of each payment repays the loan, which comes back to you when you sell. For the English example the mortgage is £1,686 a month against £1,497 rent, and buying comes out ahead over 10 years whenever a similar home would rent for more than £914 a month.
£1,406 a month in September 2026, 3.8% more than a year earlier (ONS, Price Index of Private Rents). By size: £1,140 for one bedroom, £1,287 for two, £1,438 for three and £2,089 for four or more. England’s average is £1,466.
No more than mortgage interest, upkeep and stamp duty are: each pays for a home to live in. Renting keeps your deposit free to earn, costs little to move, and leaves repairs to the landlord; buying builds a stake as the loan is repaid and the home’s value changes. The calculator sets the two side by side as money, which is one part of the choice.
In England a tenancy deposit can be no more than 5 weeks’ rent while the rent is under £50,000 a year, and 6 weeks’ from £50,000 to £100,000; a landlord can also ask for up to 1 month’s rent in advance. The deposit is protected in a government scheme and paid back at the end, less any agreed deductions.
Under the Renters’ Rights Act a landlord in England cannot raise the rent more than once a year, and a tenant can challenge a rise above the open market rent. The calculator raises the rent once a year, by the rate you choose.
What your deposit and spare cash would really earn after tax if you rented instead. The calculator starts at Bank Rate, close to what cash savings pay; a higher return makes renting look better, a lower one buying.
Yes: stamp duty (or LBTT in Scotland, Land Transaction Tax in Wales) at today’s rates, first-time buyer relief if you tick it, legal fees, a survey and mortgage fees, less any cash offers a new home’s builder states. Selling costs come off at the end.
Rents: ONS, Price Index of Private Rents, UK. House prices: HM Land Registry, UK House Price Index. Both under the Open Government Licence. Insurance: the Association of British Insurers’ premium tracker. The tenancy deposit cap: GOV.UK.