Rent-to-own cost calculator

By Rent to Own Guide · Published Oct 19, 2026 · How we research

How it works

Enter the numbers from your contract. The calculator adds up everything you'd pay during the term, then shows two outcomes: buying (credits reduce the price still due) and not buying (credits are usually lost). Each dollar of rent or option fee is counted once. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

Contract terms

The starting numbers are a made-up example, not typical or recommended terms. Replace them with your contract's figures.

Purchase price in the contract

The price you'd pay if you exercise the option.

Option fee (upfront)

Paid at signing for the right to buy later.

Share of option fee credited if you buy

Per your contract. 0 if none of it is credited.

Monthly rent

Rent due each month under the lease.

Monthly rent credit

Dollars per month the contract credits toward the price — only if every condition is met.

Months until the option deadline

months

Whole months between signing and the last day to buy.

Other non-refundable fees

Application, admin, or similar fees.

Monthly costs the contract puts on you

Average repairs, insurance, HOA dues, etc.

Refundable security deposit

Shown separately; not counted as a cost.

Rent for a similar home without an option (optional)

Leave blank if you don't know.

Results

If you buy at the end

Contract purchase price: $250,000
Minus credits applied: − $9,800
= Price still due at purchase (cash or a mortgage): $240,200
Plus everything paid during the term (option fee, rent, fees, your costs): $48,200
Total cash outlay, before financing and closing costs: $288,400

$38,400 of what you pay during the term does not reduce the price.

If you don't buy (walk away or can't qualify)

Paid during the term: $48,200
Credits you'd lose: $9,800
Average monthly cost: $2,008

Under most contracts the option fee and rent credits stay with the seller if you don't buy. Your contract and state law control.

Refundable security deposit (not counted above): $1,800.

Not included

Mortgage interest and loan fees, closing costs, property taxes and insurance after you buy, inspection, appraisal, attorney and title costs, moving costs, and what your money could have earned elsewhere. This is arithmetic on the numbers you enter, not advice or a prediction that you'll qualify for a mortgage.

How the numbers are calculated

Paid during the term = option fee + (monthly rent × months) + other fees + (your monthly costs × months).
Credits = (option fee × credited share) + (monthly rent credit × months). Credits only count if you buy, and only up to the purchase price.
Price still due at purchase = purchase price − credits. That's the amount you'd pay in cash or finance.
Total cash outlay if you buy = paid during the term + price still due. Credits aren't subtracted twice: the rent and fee are counted once, as payments, and credits only reduce what's still owed.

What to do with the result

Compare the “don't buy” total with what renting a similar home would have cost.
Ask a lender whether you're likely to qualify for the “price still due” by the deadline — see current credit-score rules and alternatives to rent-to-own.
Not sure what an option fee or rent credit is? Read how rent-to-own works.
Check whether one late payment cancels credits — then rerun with credits set to $0 to see the downside. The checklist covers the other questions.