Rental Yield Calculator

The rental yield calculator answers the landlord’s and investor’s key question: how much does a rented property actually earn, and which is better — renting it out or putting the same money in a bank deposit. Enter the property price, the monthly rent, your expenses and the deposit rate: the calculator shows how much rent and the deposit bring per year, the gross and net yield and the payback period. All calculations run on your device.

How to use the calculator

Enter four numbers: the property price, the monthly rent, your monthly expenses — utilities, property tax, maintenance, a reserve for vacancy and repairs — and the deposit rate your banks currently offer. The result: two amounts in money — how much the rent brings per year net and how much the deposit brings per year — a verdict on which is better and by how much, plus the gross and net yield and the payback period. The chart below shows how the income accumulates year by year and when the property “pays for itself”.

Gross and net yield

Gross yield is the annual rent divided by the property price, before deducting expenses. It shows the upper limit: in reality part of the rent goes to utilities, taxes, maintenance and empty months. Net yield accounts for all of these and shows what actually stays with you. Example: an apartment for 350,000 $, rent of 1,750 $ a month, expenses of 250 $ — gross yield 6% a year, net 5%, payback in about 19 years.

Rent or deposit

The classic comparison: property yields more than a deposit but demands investment and attention, while a deposit is passive but its rate floats with the central bank’s key rate. The balance differs by country: at high key rates (Turkey, Argentina) a deposit often beats rent, in low-rate countries (Europe, USA) rent is usually better. The calculator shows the difference in money per year — for example, at an average deposit rate of 4.3% the deposit brings 15,050 $ a year versus 18,000 $ of net rent, a difference of 2,950 $. Enter your own numbers and country.

Where the deposit rates come from

The rates used for comparison come from open World Bank data on the deposit interest rate indicator — average annual rates on bank deposits. The data is official but lags 1–2 years: in times of rapid changes in the key rate, check the current offers from banks in your country. For some countries without statistics, estimated values are used.

Rent growth: why to specify it

Rent almost never stands still: over the years it grows along with prices and salaries — in contracts this is called indexation, typically 5–7% a year. If you account for it, the payback picture changes noticeably: with rent growing 7% a year the property pays back several years earlier than with “frozen” rent. The “Rent growth” field applies compound growth: every year the rent rises by the given percentage of the already increased amount — like interest on interest in a deposit. If you plan to keep the rent unchanged, set 0.

What the calculator does not account for

The calculation is simplified: it does not account for the rise or fall of the property price itself, income tax on rent (from 0% to 20%+ in different countries), initial renovation and furnishing costs, agency commissions when buying and finding tenants, or wear and tear. The real return depends on the city, the neighbourhood and the quality of management — the calculator gives a baseline estimate for comparing options.

The calculation is for information only and is not individual investment advice.