Buying vs renting calculator South Africa | Wealthbit
There isn't one answer that works for everyone. Even if the maths works out, owning property might just not be for you. For some people, the freedom and flexibility of renting is worth more. For others, paying off a home loan feels safer and more secure.
This calculator is the web version of the Wealthbit Buying vs Renting tool. It takes you through five steps: what fits your life, whether you're financially ready, what buying would cost you upfront and every month, how both paths play out over 25 years, and what happens if you invested your upfront costs instead. We explain each step in more detail in Buying vs renting: which is smarter for your money and lifestyle?
To be clear, this is about the home you live in, not buying property as an investment. That's a different conversation.
Last updated 30 September 2026. Educational, not personalised financial advice. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Take this tool home
You can get a Google Sheet version of this tool. Save your numbers, come back to them when prices or rates change, and work through it with a partner.
1What fits your life right now?
Your goals shape your housing choice. If you might move to a new city in the next couple of years, renting gives you flexibility. If you're planning to settle down and start a family, buying may feel like the better fit. And if you want the freedom to travel whenever a good deal pops up, renting can make life simpler.
What to do: Tick every statement that feels true for you right now. There are no right answers, and this step doesn't calculate a number. It shows which way your priorities lean before we look at costs.
Your lifestyle check-in
Tick at least four statements to see which way you lean.
2Are you financially ready?
The last thing you want is to overstretch yourself or get stuck with payments you can't keep up with. Think of this as a pre-flight safety check. If you spot a red flag here, it's better to know now than halfway through an offer to purchase.
What to do: Fill in your monthly numbers and what you've saved so far. Your last three months of bank statements are the quickest way to realistic figures. Be realistic. This isn't about perfection, it's about seeing your true picture.
What you earn
What lands in your bank account each month, after tax and other deductions. If it changes from month to month, use an average.
RSide hustles, bonuses or irregular income, as a monthly average. Leave it at 0 if you'd rather not count money you can't rely on.
RWhat you spend each month
These are the costs you pay every month no matter where you live, things like insurance, car payments or subscriptions.
Insurance, subscriptions, rent, utilities and anything else that stays the same each month. Include your current rent here. The tool takes it out again when it works out what buying would change.
RGroceries, transport, eating out and leisure. These move around, so an average of your last three months works best.
RMonthly repayments on personal loans, credit cards, store accounts and car finance. The snapshot compares this with your income.
RWhat goes into your pension, provident fund or retirement annuity each month. Your payslip shows what goes in through work.
RWhat you put away each month for buffers and goals.
RWhat you've saved
Cash you could get to quickly if something unexpected happened. The snapshot compares it with three months of your monthly spending.
RCash savings that give you more choice.
RMoney you've already set aside for a deposit and buying costs. Step 3 checks it against what buying would need.
RYour buying readiness snapshot
Add your income and spending to see what stands out.
3Compare what renting and buying might look like
Buying a home isn't just about wanting to. It's about having a clear picture of what your finances can really afford, including the costs that come with owning. Here we put the two paths side by side.
What to do: Fill in your best estimates for the area you're considering. Don't overthink it, this is about exploring scenarios, not locking yourself in. We've included some benchmarks next to each field, but you'll definitely need to do your own research.
Renting
What you pay today. Leave it at 0 if you don't rent at the moment.
RWhat a similar home would likely rent for where you'd want to live. If you wouldn't move, use your current rent. Compare similar listings on Property24 or Private Property.
RHow much you expect rent to go up each year. For context, national rental growth was 5.2% in Q2 2026 on the PayProp Rental Index, with the Western Cape at 9.7% and Gauteng at 4.4%. TPN had national rent increases at 4.8% in Q3 2025.
%The once-off deposit your landlord holds, often one or two months' rent. We fill in two months for you, so change it if yours is different. It's for your planning only and doesn't change the results.
RBuying: the home and the bond
The purchase price of a home you'd realistically consider.
RThe % of the price you'd pay upfront. Use 0% if you'd apply for a 100% bond. For context, first-time buyers put down 8.9% on average in Q2 2026, according to ooba.
%The rate you'd likely get. Prime has been 10.75% since 25 September 2026 (Moneyweb), and ooba's average approved rate in Q2 2026 was prime less 0.66%. Your own offer depends on your credit profile.
%How many years you'd take to repay, usually 20 or 30. A longer term lowers the monthly repayment but means paying more interest overall.
yearsBuying: running costs
These come with owning, on top of the bond.
Your municipality's residential rate, as a % of the home's value. For 2026/27, Johannesburg charges 0.99% (tariffs) and eThekwini 1.47% (tariffs). Both exempt part of the value, so check your own municipality.
%What you pay the body corporate or estate each month if you buy in a sectional title scheme or estate. Use 0 if there are none. The listing or the agent can tell you.
RFixed monthly charges such as refuse removal. Leave out rates, which you entered above.
RFor a freehold home, buildings insurance is a condition of the bond (Nedbank, Absa). Ask an insurer for a quote and enter the yearly amount.
RThe % of the home's value you'd spend keeping it in shape each year. A June 2026 IOL guide suggests setting aside about 1% to 3%.
%How much you expect the home to grow in value each year. Recent readings were 5.2% (FNB, June 2026) and 4.8% (Lightstone, June 2026). Values can also stay flat or fall, so try a lower number too.
%Buying: once-off costs
You pay these when you buy. Most are a % of the price or the bond, so check them against real quotes once you get serious.
Worked out for you from the SARS table further down. Homes up to R1,210,000 pay none.
RThe transfer attorney's fee, as a % of the price. On the 2026 guideline tariff it's R26,275 before VAT on a R1 million home (tech4law), about 3% once VAT is added. The % gets smaller as the price goes up.
%The attorney's fee for registering your bond, as a % of the bond. On a R2 million bond it's R42,406 including VAT (MJK Inc), about 2.1%.
%The bank's initiation fee for setting up the bond. It's capped at R5,250 before VAT (NCA regulations), which is R6,037.50 with VAT (SA Home Loans).
RAs a % of the price. In a normal sale the seller pays the commission, so enter 0 unless you've agreed otherwise.
%Once-off costs to connect or activate utilities such as water, electricity and sewerage.
RImprovements or major fixes you expect to make, as a % of the price. Use 0 if you'd move straight in.
%Your housing snapshot
Under 25% of your income on housing is usually comfortable. Over 30% means you'll need to plan carefully. A positive change means you'd spend more each month, a negative one means buying would actually cost you less. These are models, not guarantees, but they help you choose either path with your eyes wide open.
Steps 4 and 5 appear once you've added the home price, deposit, interest rate, term and rent in your desired area in step 3.
4How renting and buying stack up over time
Renting isn't "throwing money away", but it does mean paying rising rent without building an asset. Buying isn't automatically better. Alongside your bond, you take on costs like levies, insurance, maintenance and unexpected repairs. This step pulls those factors together so you can see what makes sense for you, not just today, but 5, 10 or 20 years down the line.
What to do: Nothing to fill in here, it uses your numbers from step 3. Equity is the part of the home you'd own: its value minus what's left on the bond. To test a different scenario, change your home value growth or rent increase above.
| Year | Rent you'd pay in your desired area, in total | Bond and other costs you'd pay, in total | Estimated equity | Buying net position (equity minus buying costs) | Renting net position |
|---|
What this shows
Remember: property values can grow, but also stay flat, or even fall, depending on market conditions. Adjust your home value growth to test different scenarios and make sure you're happy to take on the risk.
5What if you invested your upfront buying costs instead?
When you buy a home, you need a big upfront outlay: your deposit, transfer duty and the other once-off costs from step 3. That money isn't lost, but it's tied up in your home instead of being invested elsewhere.
What to do: Add a yearly return you think is realistic. We'll show you how that upfront money could grow over 5 to 25 years if you rented and invested it instead. For this exercise, we assume the full upfront amount is invested straight away.
Your investment return
It depends on where you'd invest instead. For context, ten-year returns before your own fees were 7.2% a year for the Allan Gray Money Market Fund (to June 2026), 8.5% a year for the average SA balanced fund (to April 2026, Allan Gray factsheet) and 9.0% a year for the average SA general equity fund (to June 2026, Allan Gray factsheet). Inflation over those periods was 4.6% to 4.7% a year. Past returns don't guarantee future returns, so try a lower number too.
%| Year | Buying net position | Investing net position (investment growth minus rent) | Your invested lump sum |
|---|
What this shows
So… which path wins?
The maths can show you which path might build more wealth based on your current inputs, of which at least some are assumptions. But it can't tell you what that path will demand from your life.
Buying often looks better on paper because it builds equity, and it's a nice forcing function for saving, but only if things go according to plan. If property prices stagnate, the area doesn't grow, or life throws a curveball, the payoff might not be as strong. Renting and investing can grow wealth too, but only if you actually invest the lump sum and don't pull out prematurely.
That's why these numbers aren't the whole story. They're here to help you compare, spot what needs strengthening, and prepare for the version of this path you might walk. Use them to pressure-test your plans, not to chase a perfect scenario.
How much is transfer duty in South Africa?
On the SARS table in force from 1 April 2026, there's no transfer duty on a property value up to R1,210,000. Above that, it's charged in bands on the part of the value above each threshold.
| Property value | Transfer duty |
|---|---|
| R1 to R1,210,000 | 0% |
| R1,210,001 to R1,663,800 | 3% of the value above R1,210,000 |
| R1,663,801 to R2,329,300 | R13,614 + 6% of the value above R1,663,800 |
| R2,329,301 to R2,994,800 | R53,544 + 8% of the value above R2,329,300 |
| R2,994,801 to R13,310,000 | R106,784 + 11% of the value above R2,994,800 |
| R13,310,001 and above | R1,241,456 + 13% of the value above R13,310,000 |
Transfer duty is one of several once-off costs. The calculator adds it to your deposit and the other once-off costs you enter, to show how much you'd need in year one.
Questions people ask about buying vs renting
Is it better to rent or buy in South Africa?
There isn't one answer that works for everyone. Even if the maths looks perfect on paper, buying might still not be the best choice for you. It depends on your life stage, your finances, and what feels like the best fit for the way you want to live.
Is renting throwing money away?
Renting isn't throwing money away, but it does mean paying rising rent without building an asset. Buying isn't automatically better. Alongside your bond, you take on costs like levies, insurance, maintenance and unexpected repairs.
Do I need a deposit to buy a house in South Africa?
Not always. ooba reported that zero-deposit home loans made up more than 56.9% of the applications it received in the first half of 2026, and that first-time buyers put down an average deposit of 8.9% in Q2 2026 (Everything Property). You'd still need to budget for once-off costs such as transfer duty, conveyancing fees and the bond raising fee.
Who pays estate agent commission in South Africa?
The seller, in a normal sale. ooba puts standard commission at 5% to 7.5% of the sale price.
How much of my income should go to housing?
In the Wealthbit Buying vs Renting tool, under 25% of your take-home income going to housing is usually comfortable, and over 30% means you'll need to plan carefully. Before you add a bond, it helps to check your debt levels too.
Useful tools
Take this tool home
Knowing what fits your life is a good place to start. It helps you see more clearly how to move forward. Get the Google Sheet version to keep your numbers and come back to them whenever things change.
How the numbers work
This is a web version of the Wealthbit Buying vs Renting tool, with the same inputs, formulas and insight wording, and three corrections: the share of income going to housing now uses your full monthly housing cost, the invest-instead figures for years 15 and 20 use the right inputs, and transfer duty above R13,310,000 follows the SARS table. A 0% deposit is allowed. In the over-time table, buying costs include the bond, running costs and once-off fees, but not the deposit. Levies, municipal charges and insurance rise 6% a year, and property rates and maintenance grow with the home's value, as in the original tool. Investment returns are before tax, and none of the figures include selling costs.
The readiness benchmarks are Wealthbit's own: spending over 65% of your income is tight and over 80% leaves little room, debt repayments over 30% of income are worth watching and over 40% can limit a bond, an emergency fund of at least three months of spending, and at least 10% of income going to retirement.
Education, not advice
We're creating these tools for educational purposes only. They shouldn't be considered personalised financial advice. While we've made every effort to make sure the calculations are accurate, you do need to do your own research before making decisions.
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