Dubai Rent vs Buy Calculator
Should you keep renting or buy a home in Dubai? Compare what each really costs over the years you plan to stay, including buying fees, mortgage interest and the equity you build, and see when buying breaks even.
Compare the cost of renting and buying
Assumptions
Sensible starting points for Dubai. Change them to test other scenarios.
over 10 years. Buying breaks even after 3 years.
- Down payment and buying costs
- AED 551,020
- Mortgage payments
- AED 1,008,154
- Service charges and upkeep
- AED 275,133
- Return given up on savings
- AED 346,534
- Equity you keep after selling
- −AED 1,491,745
- Net cost of buying
- AED 689,096
Buying costs follow the DLD fee calculator. See the monthly payment with the mortgage calculator.
Leaning towards buying? Talk to an advisor about areas, prices and financing.
The button opens WhatsApp with your figures typed in; nothing is sent until you press send. Estimates only, based on the assumptions you set. Prices and rents can fall as well as rise.
Figures last checked 31 October 2026.
How we compare renting and buying
The calculator adds up what each option costs you over the years you choose. Renting is simple: it is the rent you pay. Buying costs more upfront, but you keep the equity when you sell.
Cost of renting
- The rent you pay each year, rising by the yearly increase you set. The security deposit is refundable, so it is left out.
Net cost of buying
- Upfront: your down payment plus buying costs (4% DLD fee, trustee and agency fees, mortgage registration, bank and valuation fees).
- Every year: mortgage payments over a 25-year term, and service charges and upkeep.
- Return given up: what the upfront cash could have earned if you had invested it instead.
- Minus your equity: the home's value after price growth, less the mortgage still owed and a 2% agency fee + VAT to sell.
Rent increases in Dubai are limited by the official RERA rental index, and property prices can fall as well as rise. The results depend on your assumptions, so try a few scenarios, such as 0% price growth.
Rent or buy questions
Short answers for tenants thinking about buying in Dubai. For your own situation, talk to one of our advisors.
It depends mostly on how long you stay. Buying comes with upfront costs of around 7% of the price on top of the down payment, so it usually pays off only if you stay several years. The calculator shows the break-even point for your own figures.
There is no fixed number. A higher price, a lower rent, a higher mortgage rate or slower price growth all push the break-even point later. Try your own figures and a few scenarios in the calculator.
The down payment and buying costs, mortgage payments, service charges and upkeep, and the investment return you give up on the cash you put in. The equity you keep when you sell is taken off.
Rent increases on renewal are limited by the official RERA rental index, so a landlord can only raise the rent when it is below the market rate for the area. The calculator applies the yearly increase you choose.
Money spent on a down payment and fees could otherwise be invested. Counting the return you give up makes the comparison fair. Set the return to 0 to leave it out.
Yes, as a yearly percentage of the property value, together with upkeep. Service charges in Dubai vary widely by building and community, so adjust the figure if you know the real amount.
More free calculators
All free toolsMortgage calculator
Work out your monthly payment, loan amount and total interest, with UAE down payment rules built in.
DLD fee calculator
Add up the DLD transfer fee, registration, agency and mortgage fees to see the total cash you need to buy.
Rental yield calculator
Work out the gross and net rental yield and ROI of a Dubai property from its price, rent and running costs.