Free interactive tool
Estimate a rental property’s monthly cash flow, net operating income, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and break-even occupancy. The calculator works instantly in your browser and requires no signup.
Values update instantly. No signup required.
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This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only. Results depend on the accuracy of the information entered and should not be considered financial, investment, tax, accounting, or legal advice. Verify calculations and consult qualified professionals when appropriate. See our Disclaimer.
Each metric answers a different question about the same property. Read them together rather than relying on any single number. Acceptable returns depend on financing, location, risk, property condition, investor objectives, and other factors — this tool does not label an investment as “good” or “bad.”
The full rent plus any other income if every month were collected in full. It is the top of the income statement before any real-world losses.
Gross scheduled income minus the vacancy allowance. This is the income you actually expect to collect, not the best-case number.
Effective income minus operating expenses only. Mortgage payments are deliberately excluded so NOI reflects the property itself, not your financing.
What remains after operating expenses and mortgage payments. This is the spendable cash the property produces in your pocket.
Annual NOI divided by purchase price. It compares the asset independent of financing, which makes it useful for comparing two buildings on equal terms.
Annual cash flow divided by the cash you put in (down payment, closing, renovation). It measures the return on your specific deal with your specific loan.
Annual NOI divided by annual debt service. A DSCR above 1.0 means income covers the mortgage; below 1.0 means it does not. Lenders typically look for a cushion above 1.0.
The occupancy rate at which income exactly covers operating expenses plus debt service. A lower break-even means the property can absorb more vacancy before losing money.
Example for educational purposes only. The numbers below are hypothetical and do not represent any specific property or market.
In this hypothetical deal the financing overwhelms the operating income — a useful signal to revisit the price, the loan terms, or the rent assumption, not a verdict on the property type.
Take your analysis beyond a single property with the free Rental Property Financial Tracker. Track income, expenses, cash flow and property performance in one organized spreadsheet.
Cash flow is the money left over after a rental property pays its operating expenses and its debt service. Positive cash flow means the property produces spendable income; negative cash flow means the owner contributes money to keep it running. It is the single most important number for an owner’s monthly experience of the property, because a building that looks strong on paper but bleeds cash every month is hard to hold through a bad quarter.
Start with gross scheduled income (rent plus other income), subtract a vacancy allowance to get effective gross income, subtract operating expenses to get net operating income (NOI), then subtract mortgage payments to arrive at cash flow. Annual cash flow is simply monthly cash flow multiplied by twelve. Each step is independent, so you can see exactly where money enters and leaves the deal. For the full step-by-step walkthrough with a worked example, see our guide on how to calculate rental property cash flow.
NOI is income minus operating expenses only — it deliberately excludes the mortgage. Cash flow is NOI minus debt service. The difference matters: two identical buildings have the same NOI but very different cash flow depending on how each was financed. NOI describes the asset; cash flow describes your specific deal. Read more in our rental finances hub.
Operating expenses include property taxes, insurance, HOA, management, maintenance, capital expenditure reserves, vacancy allowance, owner-paid utilities, landscaping, pest control, and any other recurring cost of running the property. Mortgage principal and interest are debt service, not operating expenses — keeping them separate is what makes NOI comparable across properties. To estimate operating expenses on their own before adding financing, use the Rental Property Expense Calculator. Our maintenance & repairs resources cover the cost lines behind the reserves.
Vacancy and reserves are the lines that turn a paper winner into a cash drain. A vacancy allowance prices the empty days and turnover costs you will eventually face, and maintenance and CapEx reserves fund the repairs and replacements that always arrive. Charging these lines even when a unit is occupied and nothing is broken is what separates a sustainable rental from a deferred-maintenance problem.
Cap rate is annual NOI divided by purchase price — it measures the asset independent of financing, which makes it the cleanest way to compare two buildings. Cash-on-cash return is annual cash flow divided by the cash you invested — it measures the return on your specific deal with your specific loan. A property can have a strong cap rate and a weak cash-on-cash return when financing is expensive, which is why both numbers belong in the same analysis.
For a structured walkthrough, see our guide to underwriting cash flow before you buy and the rest of our rental property calculators.
No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or saved, and there is no signup required.
Cap rate ignores financing, while cash flow subtracts the mortgage. A property can produce solid NOI but still lose cash each month when debt service is high relative to income.
Most experienced owners charge management to the property even when they self-manage, because your time has a cost and you may hire it out later. The calculator lets you set it to zero if you prefer.
This tool does not recommend a target. In general, a DSCR above 1.0 means income covers debt service and below 1.0 means it does not. Lenders and investors set their own thresholds based on risk and objectives.
Yes. Enter the original purchase price and financing, or substitute current loan balance and remaining term to model the property as it stands today.
This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only. Results depend on the accuracy of the information entered and should not be considered financial, investment, tax, accounting, or legal advice. Verify calculations and consult qualified professionals when appropriate. See our Disclaimer.
