The Rental vs. Portfolio Calculator
"Rentals are how the wealthy get rich." "Just buy index funds." Both camps are half right. Run the honest math on the same down payment invested two ways - a leveraged rental versus a portfolio, including the mortgage, appreciation, depreciation, and the taxes nobody mentions until you sell.
See My True Numbers - Free →"Rentals build real wealth." "Just buy the index and never think about it." Each camp quotes the number that flatters their side. Here's what actually decides it.
"Tenants pay your mortgage."
"Depreciation makes it tax-free."
True - but they quote appreciation on the whole property while forgetting the mortgage, the repairs, the vacancies, and the tax bill at sale.
"Stocks beat real estate and you never fix a toilet."
Also true - but they compare an all-cash rental to the market, quietly ignoring the one thing that makes rentals powerful: leverage. 25% down controls 4× the asset.
I don't sell real estate, and I don't sell funds.
I'm a CPA & CFP® - I model both honestly, on your numbers, and tell you which fits your life.
- John Eiduk, CPA, CFP®
A rental's superpower is that your down payment controls a property several times its size - so appreciation and loan paydown work on the full price. That same leverage magnifies losses when values dip, and the wealth is locked up until you sell. A portfolio gives up the leverage but stays liquid and hands-off.
So the real question isn't "which one wins?" It's "which one wins for you - given your down payment, your market, and how much you want to be a landlord?"
Tell us the deal and your income - we'll estimate your federal bracket and open the full calculator with your scenario loaded and our growth portfolios' actual returns on the invest side.
Your inputs carry straight into the tool. Nothing to re-type.
This isn't an anti-real-estate page - a good rental in the right hands builds serious wealth. Here's where the math tips toward the rental.
Because leverage applies appreciation to the whole property, even 4–6%/yr growth on a financed home can outrun a portfolio on your down payment. The calculator shows exactly where that line sits.
A property that clears its mortgage and expenses throws off cash you can reinvest - on top of appreciation and loan paydown. In cash-flow markets that stacks up fast.
Some people enjoy controlling a hard asset, forcing appreciation through improvements, and building equity they can see. If that's you - and the numbers hold - a rental is a genuinely great fit. The math just has to pencil first.
Real estate, portfolio, entity structure, and tax strategy under one roof - built by a CPA & CFP® who manages both sides of this calculator, so neither answer is hypothetical.
Trusted by business owners, dentists, chiropractors, veterinarians, high-earning W-2 professionals, and rental property owners.
Your down payment, your market, your financing, your tax picture. Bring the property you're weighing to a free consultation - we'll model it live.
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