Free calculator
Rental cashflow calculator.
See whether a rental actually cash flows before you fall in love with it. Enter the price, the rent and the expenses to get monthly cashflow, cash on cash return, cap rate and DSCR.
This page is for anyone sizing up a listing they have found. Your numbers stay in the browser.
This property loses money each month at these numbers. Adjust the price, rent, or costs to see what it would take to break even.
Annual cashflow divided by the cash you put in (down payment plus closing costs).
Annual NOI divided by purchase price. Ignores financing.
Annual NOI divided by annual mortgage payments. Lenders often want 1.20 or higher.
Rent after the vacancy allowance.
Effective rent minus operating expenses, before the mortgage.
Down payment plus closing costs.
Estimates only, for education. Vacancy is netted from rent; maintenance, CapEx, and management are percent-of-rent reserves. Confirm every figure with a lender and the actual property before you offer.
In plain English
What the numbers mean
Monthly cashflow is what the property puts in your pocket after the mortgage, the operating costs and the reserves. If it is negative, the deal loses money at these numbers, and it is telling you to change the price, the rent or your assumptions.
Cash on cash return divides your annual cashflow by the cash you put in, so it tells you how hard your actual dollars are working. Cap rate ignores financing and measures the property on its own. DSCR is what many lenders check before they approve an investment loan.
The reserves matter. Netting vacancy from rent and holding back maintenance and CapEx is what separates a real number from an optimistic one. For how much cushion to keep on top, see how much cash reserves to keep. Thinking about house hacking instead? Use the house hacking calculator, and find where the math works in the best cities for house hacking.
Before you trust a number
Questions people ask first
How do you calculate rental property cashflow?
Cashflow is your effective rent (rent minus a vacancy allowance) minus operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, CapEx, management, utilities) minus the mortgage payment. What is left over each month is your cashflow. This calculator does the full math for you.
What is a good cash-on-cash return on a rental?
Cash-on-cash return is your annual cashflow divided by the cash you invested (down payment plus closing costs). Many investors look for somewhere in the 6% to 10% range on a long-term rental, but the right target depends on your market, your goals, and how much appreciation you expect.
What is the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash?
Cap rate is net operating income divided by purchase price and ignores your financing, so it measures the property itself. Cash-on-cash divides annual cashflow by the actual cash you put in, so it reflects your loan. This calculator shows both.
Should I include vacancy and reserves in my numbers?
Yes. Skipping vacancy, maintenance, and CapEx is the most common way beginners overstate cashflow. This calculator nets vacancy from rent and holds back maintenance and CapEx as a percent of rent, so the result reflects what you will actually keep over time.
Not buying a course today
Take the twenty page guide instead.
Four ways people actually start, what each one asks of you in cash and effort, and six questions that point at the one to start with. It downloads the moment you submit.
What happens next
Run the numbers on a deal you have found.
The 28 day course is the order to do it in: the market, the lender, the analysis, and then the offer.
Was $299now $149 once. Lifetime access. 30 day refund.