Best rental property calculator: what actually matters
Most people who lose money in real estate ran bad numbers before buying. A calculator is only useful if it forces in the expenses you'd rather skip and shows the deal under pressure. Here's the checklist we'd use, and how CapRateGo compares to the spreadsheet most investors start with.
| What matters | CapRateGo | Spreadsheet template |
|---|---|---|
| Time to a first answer | Under 60 seconds on one screen | Rebuild or re-check formulas on every deal |
| Expense lines | Vacancy, maintenance and CapEx are required fields | Easy to leave out — the usual reason a deal looks better than it is |
| Lender metrics | DSCR shown next to cash flow, cap rate and cash-on-cash | Usually a manual add-on |
| Projections | 30 years of cash flow, equity and total return | Depends on the template |
| Stress tests | +2% rates, +10% vacancy, +15% expenses in one click | Manual scenario copies |
| Lender-ready output | Branded PDF pro forma and CSV export | Print the sheet |
| Cost | Free for 3 analyses a month, $19/mo or $149/yr for Pro | Free |
Which one should you use?
If you underwrite one deal a year, a spreadsheet is fine. If you're screening several a week, you want required expense lines, DSCR next to cash flow, stress tests and a PDF you can hand to a lender without reformatting anything. That's what CapRateGo does, and the first three analyses each month are free.
The five checks worth running on every deal
- Cash flow after everything. Not rent minus mortgage. Rent minus mortgage, taxes, insurance, vacancy, maintenance, CapEx and management.
- Cap rate. NOI divided by purchase price, so you can compare two properties that are financed differently.
- Cash-on-cash. Annual cash flow divided by the cash you actually put in — down payment, closing costs and rehab.
- DSCR. NOI divided by debt service. Most lenders want 1.20 or better, so it's the number that decides whether the deal is financeable.
- Stress test. Re-run the same deal at higher rates, higher vacancy and higher expenses before you write the check.
Competitor details reflect their public pricing and feature pages and can change. Check their sites before deciding.