Housing decisions · Research and practical tools

Stay or move calculator

Compare renewal and relocation costs, refundable deposit cash and the time needed to recover moving expenses.

Compare the cost of renewing with a potential move using actual offers. Enter recurring monthly costs separately from additional moving expenses. Refundable deposits belong in the cash plan, not automatically in the expense total.

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What belongs in each amount

Use the offered renewal rent for staying, not the rent you paid last year. For the alternative, use the rent in the specific offer you are considering. Other monthly costs can include utilities, parking, insurance and incremental commuting expenses. Use the same categories on both sides. Exclude any utility already included in the stated rent so you do not count it twice.

The moving expense should include the full anticipated bill, including a reservation payment that is part of that bill. Do not add the reservation payment again under fees. Put unavoidable additional lease overlap in its separate field. The monthly model starts when the new tenancy begins; overlap is additional rent outside that modeled cost. This tool does not determine whether a landlord may charge a particular fee.

Use credits only when they are documented, incremental to the move and not already reflected in the monthly rent input. The total cost calculation treats the entire credit as received during the selected period. If payment happens later, remove it for this horizon or use the cash planner to model its timing. Refundable deposits are displayed separately and excluded from expense totals. Money you might lose from an old deposit should be added as an expense if you choose to model that scenario.

A transparent worked example

Suppose renewal rent is $2,200 and other monthly costs are $350. Staying costs $2,550 each month. A new home at $1,900 plus $400 in other costs totals $2,300 each month. Moving saves $250 in recurring costs. These figures are illustrative and do not describe any city market.

Assume $900 in moving costs, $200 in additional fees and $500 in overlapping rent. With no credit, additional moving expenses are $1,600. Over twelve months, staying costs $30,600 and moving costs $29,200, excluding refundable deposits. The modeled cost difference is $1,400. Recovering $1,600 through $250 monthly savings takes 6.4 months, so the first whole month at or beyond that point is month seven.

A $1,900 refundable deposit still needs funding even though it is excluded from those expense totals. If your old deposit arrives after you pay the new one, the temporary cash requirement can be larger than the eventual net cost. Use the dated cash planner to check the gap.

Formulas and limitations

Staying total equals monthly staying cost multiplied by months. Moving total equals monthly moving cost multiplied by months, plus moving expenses, fees and overlap, less credits. The difference is staying total minus moving total. A positive difference means moving costs less under the entered assumptions.

When moving has lower recurring costs, divide additional net moving expenses by monthly savings and round up to identify a whole recovery month. Zero or negative net moving expenses produce month zero. If moving has equal or higher recurring costs, the tool reports no ongoing monthly saving. An initial credit can still make a short period cheaper, so read the period total as well.

The model holds monthly costs constant. It excludes interest, taxes, financing costs, future rent changes and differences in quality or convenience. A longer commute, unsuitable layout or unstable lease term can matter more than the calculated dollar difference. Use this result to identify questions before signing, not to choose a home automatically.

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