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If you buy

Property price (₹) Down payment (%)Banks typically require at least 20% Stamp duty, registration and legal (%)Varies by state — commonly 5% to 8% of the price Home loan interest rate (% p.a.) Loan tenure (years) Maintenance, property tax and insurance (% of price, per year)Society charges, repairs, municipal tax. Usually 0.8% to 1.5% Expected property appreciation (% p.a.)Indian residential has been low single digits in many cities since 2015. Be sceptical of 10%

If you rent instead

Rent for an equivalent home (₹ per month) Rent increase (% per year)Typically 5% to 10% in Indian metros Expected SIP return (% p.a.)Long-run Indian equity has been around 11–13% nominal, with big swings. Returns are not guaranteed

Both paths

Compare over how many years?Anything under 7 years usually favours renting once you count stamp duty

Path A

Buy the flat

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net worth after 20 years

Path B

Rent and invest the difference

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net worth after 20 years

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The full working

Every figure, so you can check it or change an assumption and watch what moves.

What this calculator deliberately does not price

The value of not being asked to move. A landlord can end your tenancy. Nobody can end your ownership. For a family with school-age children that is worth real money and this model gives it none.

Forced saving. An EMI arrives whether or not you feel like investing this month. A SIP can be paused, and in practice often is. The rent-and-invest path only wins if you actually invest the difference, every month, for the whole period — most people do not.

Liquidity and concentration. A flat is one undiversified asset in one city that can take months to sell at a price you like. A SIP portfolio can be sold on a Tuesday.

Tax. Home loan interest and principal carry deductions under the old regime, and capital gains rules differ between property and equity. Both effects are excluded here — see the tax calculator if you are weighing regimes.

How this model works and where it stops. It amortises the loan monthly, grows rent at your stated rate, compounds the invested surplus monthly, and grows the property value at your stated appreciation rate. In the buying path, net worth is the property value minus the loan balance outstanding. In the renting path, it is the down payment and transaction costs invested from day one, plus every month's surplus invested when the cost of owning exceeds the rent. It excludes income tax deductions on home loans, capital gains tax on either path, brokerage, GST on under-construction property, prepayment, and rental yield if you let the flat out. Investment returns are assumptions, not forecasts — equity returns are volatile and past performance does not predict future results. This is general information for comparison, not investment advice; consult a SEBI-registered adviser before acting.

The thinking behind it

SIP vs real estate, in fullThe long-form comparison with Indian data and the cases where property still wins. The wealth frameworkHow to sequence emergency fund, debt, SIP and property without guessing. Tax regime calculatorHome loan interest only counts under the old regime — check which one you should be on.

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