HeyKettle

Rent or buy. Buying a typical 3-bedroom house costs less each month than renting one in 3 of 163 towns.

Buying is cheaper in3 of 163towns in England and Wales
In the typical town, buying costs£293a month more than renting
Widest gap, St. Albans£1,452a month more to buy

We compared the monthly mortgage on a typical 3-bedroom house, with a 10% deposit at the Bank of England's average 2-year fixed rate (5.37%, Sep 2026), against the average rent for a 3-bedroom home in the same council.

Buying comes out cheaper each month only in Blackpool (£756 against £798 rent), Manchester (£1,410 against £1,441 rent) and Newcastle Upon Tyne (£1,184 against £1,199 rent). In the typical town the mortgage is £293 a month more than the rent, and the gap is widest in St. Albans, at £1,452.

Every town, cheapest to buy first

TownTypical 3-bed houseMonthly mortgageMonthly rent, 3-bedBuying costs
Blackpool£150,000£756£798£42 less
Manchester£280,000£1,410£1,441£31 less
Newcastle Upon Tyne£235,000£1,184£1,199£15 less
Salford£257,000£1,294£1,291£3 more
Crewe£223,000£1,123£1,115£8 more
Blackburn£158,000£796£783£13 more
Middlesbrough£157,000£791£754£37 more
Pontefract£184,000£927£874£53 more
Stockton-On-Tees£171,000£861£799£62 more
Portsmouth£284,000£1,430£1,366£64 more
Mansfield£183,000£922£854£68 more
Scunthorpe£163,000£821£752£69 more
Telford£204,000£1,028£955£73 more
Ashton-Under-Lyne£227,000£1,143£1,068£75 more
Grimsby£151,000£761£686£75 more
St. Helens£196,000£987£907£80 more
Boston£200,000£1,007£927£80 more
Scarborough£204,000£1,028£945£83 more
Burnley£158,000£796£698£98 more
Gateshead£189,000£952£848£104 more
Newport£213,000£1,073£967£106 more
Rochdale£213,000£1,073£965£108 more
Sunderland£176,000£887£776£111 more
Hartlepool£145,000£730£612£118 more
Bradford£183,000£922£803£119 more
Hull£172,000£866£745£121 more
Darlington£178,000£897£769£128 more
Bolton£225,000£1,133£997£136 more
Doncaster£179,000£902£763£139 more
Oldham£242,000£1,219£1,078£141 more
Weston-Super-Mare£296,000£1,491£1,350£141 more
Barnsley£178,000£897£754£143 more
Lincoln£227,000£1,143£996£147 more
Wigan£197,000£992£842£150 more
Rotherham£178,000£897£747£150 more
Birmingham£257,000£1,294£1,141£153 more
Durham£169,000£851£697£154 more
Carlisle£189,000£952£792£160 more
Liverpool£225,000£1,133£967£166 more
Bristol£385,000£1,939£1,769£170 more
Yeovil£262,000£1,320£1,142£178 more
Thetford£245,000£1,234£1,053£181 more
Peterborough£251,000£1,264£1,082£182 more
Bridgwater£263,000£1,325£1,142£183 more
Great Yarmouth£222,000£1,118£933£185 more
Swansea£216,000£1,088£898£190 more
Wellingborough£251,000£1,264£1,072£192 more
Stoke-On-Trent£197,000£992£800£192 more
Burton-On-Trent£227,000£1,143£948£195 more
Nottingham£249,000£1,254£1,054£200 more
Dover£275,000£1,385£1,184£201 more
Wrexham£208,000£1,048£842£206 more
Preston£212,000£1,068£860£208 more
Newark£220,000£1,108£897£211 more
Nuneaton£242,000£1,219£1,006£213 more
Coventry£255,000£1,284£1,069£215 more
Kettering£257,000£1,294£1,072£222 more
Redditch£255,000£1,284£1,061£223 more
Grantham£227,000£1,143£917£226 more
Bury£257,000£1,294£1,066£228 more
Chesterfield£212,000£1,068£835£233 more
Leeds£275,000£1,385£1,142£243 more
Bridgend£211,000£1,063£818£245 more
Sheffield£242,000£1,219£972£247 more
Keighley£209,000£1,053£803£250 more
Gloucester£293,000£1,476£1,219£257 more
Dudley£238,000£1,199£940£259 more
Bury St. Edmunds£315,000£1,587£1,326£261 more
Plymouth£264,000£1,330£1,069£261 more
Halifax£216,000£1,088£821£267 more
Banbury£348,000£1,753£1,485£268 more
Huddersfield£226,000£1,138£869£269 more
Northampton£286,000£1,441£1,171£270 more
King's Lynn£264,000£1,330£1,054£276 more
Rugby£279,000£1,405£1,126£279 more
Basildon£356,000£1,793£1,513£280 more
Wakefield£230,000£1,158£874£284 more
Walsall£247,000£1,244£960£284 more
Swindon£300,000£1,511£1,227£284 more
Wolverhampton£258,000£1,300£1,014£286 more
Derby£246,000£1,239£949£290 more
Tamworth£259,000£1,305£1,012£293 more
Folkestone£317,000£1,597£1,298£299 more
Southampton£333,000£1,677£1,363£314 more
Cardiff£303,000£1,526£1,212£314 more
Dagenham£441,000£2,221£1,902£319 more
Harlow£379,000£1,909£1,585£324 more
Taunton£292,000£1,471£1,142£329 more
Warrington£269,000£1,355£1,022£333 more
Kidderminster£247,000£1,244£911£333 more
Stafford£261,000£1,315£979£336 more
Ashford£348,000£1,753£1,414£339 more
Exeter£338,000£1,702£1,362£340 more
Leicester£275,000£1,385£1,043£342 more
London£846,000£4,261£3,912£349 more
Canterbury£343,000£1,728£1,377£351 more
Norwich£297,000£1,496£1,144£352 more
Chester£296,000£1,491£1,132£359 more
Carmarthen£219,000£1,103£744£359 more
Milton Keynes£361,000£1,818£1,455£363 more
Huntingdon£307,000£1,546£1,179£367 more
York£330,000£1,662£1,286£376 more
Ipswich£284,000£1,430£1,054£376 more
Luton£348,000£1,753£1,348£405 more
Worcester£299,000£1,506£1,095£411 more
Rochester£348,000£1,753£1,340£413 more
Dartford£424,000£2,136£1,716£420 more
Eastbourne£345,000£1,738£1,313£425 more
Basingstoke£378,000£1,904£1,471£433 more
Colchester£346,000£1,743£1,306£437 more
Aylesbury£408,000£2,055£1,616£439 more
Shrewsbury£278,000£1,400£959£441 more
Maidstone£380,000£1,914£1,468£446 more
Stockport£343,000£1,728£1,273£455 more
Hereford£283,000£1,425£967£458 more
Gravesend£384,000£1,934£1,476£458 more
Oxford£494,000£2,488£2,030£458 more
Cambridge£470,000£2,367£1,908£459 more
Fareham£358,000£1,803£1,334£469 more
Bicester£389,000£1,959£1,485£474 more
Wirral£275,000£1,385£909£476 more
Poole£391,000£1,969£1,458£511 more
Grays£399,000£2,010£1,484£526 more
Penzance£318,000£1,602£1,073£529 more
Bournemouth£396,000£1,995£1,458£537 more
Chichester£411,000£2,070£1,517£553 more
Bedford£363,000£1,828£1,265£563 more
Reading£448,000£2,257£1,680£577 more
Cheltenham£386,000£1,944£1,364£580 more
Stourbridge£302,000£1,521£940£581 more
Southend-On-Sea£390,000£1,964£1,371£593 more
Hounslow£566,000£2,851£2,254£597 more
Salisbury£365,000£1,838£1,231£607 more
Romford£489,000£2,463£1,851£612 more
Chelmsford£428,000£2,156£1,543£613 more
Leamington Spa£387,000£1,949£1,334£615 more
Hemel Hempstead£456,000£2,297£1,677£620 more
Truro£338,000£1,702£1,073£629 more
Hexham£278,000£1,400£768£632 more
Enfield£544,000£2,740£2,106£634 more
Tonbridge£454,000£2,287£1,639£648 more
Solihull£383,000£1,929£1,268£661 more
Camberley£457,000£2,302£1,621£681 more
Worthing£428,000£2,156£1,432£724 more
High Wycombe£465,000£2,342£1,616£726 more
Slough£488,000£2,458£1,716£742 more
Ilford£543,000£2,735£1,992£743 more
Harrogate£336,000£1,692£945£747 more
Brighton£508,000£2,559£1,806£753 more
Sutton Coldfield£384,000£1,934£1,141£793 more
Tunbridge Wells£501,000£2,524£1,714£810 more
Woking£517,000£2,604£1,770£834 more
Watford£530,000£2,670£1,830£840 more
Sevenoaks£563,000£2,836£1,948£888 more
Harrow£599,000£3,017£2,069£948 more
Winchester£515,000£2,594£1,633£961 more
Uxbridge£579,000£2,916£1,929£987 more
Guildford£572,000£2,881£1,887£994 more
Brentwood£556,000£2,801£1,721£1,080 more
Sutton£614,000£3,093£1,916£1,177 more
Epsom£643,000£3,239£1,896£1,343 more
Leatherhead£652,000£3,284£1,873£1,411 more
St. Albans£690,000£3,475£2,023£1,452 more

How we worked it out

The mortgage is 90% of the typical 3-bedroom house price over 30 years at 5.37%, the Bank of England's average quoted 2-year fixed rate at 90% loan-to-value (Sep 2026). The rent is the ONS Price Index of Private Rents for a 3-bedroom home in the town's council (2026-09). We compare only the monthly payment: not the deposit, upkeep, or the part of each payment that pays off the loan. A buyer's own rate will differ.

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Download the table (CSV)

Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid Data; Energy Performance of Buildings register (MHCLG); UK House Price Index; ONS Price Index of Private Rents; Bank of England quoted household interest rates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.