Rent vs buy calculator
Compare the total cost of renting a home in the UAE with the net cost of buying it with a mortgage over the years you plan to stay. Buying counts the deposit, each purchase fee, the instalments and service charges, less the equity you hold at the end. Rent, price growth and investment return are your own assumptions.
Your results
Difference over 7 years
AED 370,549
Buying has the lower net cost on these assumptions.
Net cost of renting
AED 745,517Rent paid, less the return on the cash you did not spend on buying.
Net cost of buying
AED 374,968Cash paid out, less your equity in the home at the end.
Break-even year
Year 3From year 3, the net cost of buying is at or below the net cost of renting on these assumptions.
Line by line: buying and renting
Buying, line by line
- Deposit
- AED 400,000
- DLD transfer fee 4% of the price + AED 580 title deed issuance
- AED 80,580
- Mortgage registration 0.25% of the loan + AED 290
- AED 4,290
- Agency commission usually 2% of the price + 5% VAT
- AED 42,000
- Bank processing fee up to 1% of the loan + 5% VAT
- AED 16,800
- Valuation from AED 2,500
- AED 2,500
- Trustee office about AED 4,515
- AED 4,515
- Instalments (AED 8,226 a month)
- AED 690,992
- Service charges
- AED 140,000
- Less equity at the end (AED 2,297,371 value − AED 1,290,662 still owed)
- −AED 1,006,710
- Net cost of buying
- AED 374,968
Renting, line by line
- Rent paid
- AED 919,495
- Less return on the deposit and fees kept
- −AED 173,979
- Net cost of renting
- AED 745,517
Estimate only, not an offer of finance or investment advice. Rent, value change, service charges and return on savings are your assumptions, not market data. Rates as of 3 November 2026, subject to bank approval and eligibility; rates change.
Want your exact figures?
This calculator gives an estimate. An Aknaz advisor works out your real numbers with each bank's current rates and fees, explains every line with you and tells you which banks fit your profile.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Dubai?
It depends on how long you stay, the rent you pay now, how rents and property values move, and your mortgage rate. Buying has large one-off costs (the deposit and purchase fees), so it usually needs several years before the equity you build outweighs them. The calculator shows the year in which that happens on your assumptions, if it does.
Why are rent increases and property price changes "your assumption"?
Nobody knows how rents or property values will move over the next years, so the calculator does not present any figure as a forecast. The starting values are examples only; replace them with the numbers you think are realistic for the area and type of home you are looking at.
What does the return on savings do?
If you keep renting, the cash you would have spent on the deposit and purchase fees stays invested. The comparison takes that into account, so it is fair to both choices. An advisor can run it with you on your own figures.
Are the purchase fees exact?
No. Each fee is worked out from the rule shown next to it, for example a share of the price or the loan plus a flat amount. Agency commission, the bank processing fee and valuation vary by agent and bank, and some can be negotiated or waived.
Results are estimates, not an offer of finance or investment advice. To see how much you could borrow, use the pre-qualification tool.