Rental Yield & ROI Calculator — gross yield, net yield, cap rate and IRR
Gross yield flatters every property. This calculates the net yield, the cap rate, the cash-on-cash return and the IRR — the numbers that decide whether a deal is actually worth doing.
Gross yield is the number that misleads people
Divide annual rent by purchase price and you get gross yield, the figure quoted in every listing and the reason a lot of poor deals look good. It ignores management fees, service charges, insurance, maintenance, vacancy and — if there is a mortgage — the interest that consumes most of the early years. Two properties with the same gross yield can differ by several percentage points once those are subtracted.
This app works through the full stack: gross yield, net yield after costs, capitalisation rate, cash-on-cash return on the money you actually put in, and then IRR and NPV over a holding period you set.
What the rental yield calculator produces
Enter the purchase, the rent and the running costs once; every metric below comes out of the same set of inputs.
- Yield, cap rate and cash-on-cash. Gross yield, net yield, capitalisation rate and cash-on-cash return are calculated together, so you can see how far the headline figure falls once real costs are applied.
- Cash flow and break-even. Monthly cash flow after all outgoings, plus the break-even point — the occupancy or rent level at which the property stops costing you money each month.
- IRR and NPV over a holding period. Set a holding period, a rent growth rate, an appreciation assumption and a discount rate, and the app returns the internal rate of return and net present value. This is what separates a property that yields well from one that is genuinely a good investment against the alternatives.
- Cash against financed. A single toggle overlays the all-cash purchase against the mortgaged one. Leverage usually raises cash-on-cash return and lowers net yield at the same time; seeing both together is the point.
- Any currency. A currency picker means the same calculator works for a flat in Lisbon, a house in Ohio and an apartment in Kuala Lumpur without mental conversion.
- A portfolio, not just a calculator. Properties you own can be saved with a rent log and occupancy percentage, so the projected numbers can be checked against what actually came in. Optional rent reminders are scheduled locally.
- Compare and a formula sheet. Two properties can be put side by side across every metric, and a formula sheet shows exactly how each figure is derived — useful when you need to defend a number to a partner or a lender.
Built to be checked, not trusted blindly
Investment calculators are only useful if you can see their assumptions. Every metric here has its formula documented in the app, and every assumption — rent growth, appreciation, discount rate, holding period — is an input you control rather than a hidden default. Change one and every downstream figure updates.
It runs entirely offline with no account. There is no property portal attached, no agent introduction and no data collection: the deal you are analysing is nobody else's business.
Who it is for
The core user is someone evaluating a specific property before making an offer, usually with a spreadsheet half-built and a viewing that afternoon. Running the deal here takes a couple of minutes and produces the four or five numbers that matter, including the ones the spreadsheet was going to omit.
It also suits existing landlords with two or three properties who want a consistent way to compare them, and to log actual rent received against what was projected. And it is useful to anyone deciding between paying cash and taking a mortgage — that decision hinges on cash-on-cash return against net yield, and the app puts both on screen at once.
Assumptions and privacy
Every output depends on the inputs you supply; the app does not fetch market rents, tax rates or price data from anywhere. That is deliberate — local rules on rental income tax, stamp duty and allowable deductions vary too much to guess, and a wrong default is worse than no default. Treat the results as analysis of your own assumptions, not investment advice.
Scenarios and property records are stored on the device. Nothing is uploaded and no account is required. The app is free and ad-supported.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between gross and net yield here? Gross yield is annual rent divided by purchase price. Net yield subtracts running costs first — management, insurance, maintenance, service charges, vacancy. The app shows both, and the gap is usually the interesting part.
Does it handle a mortgaged purchase? Yes. A cash-versus-financed overlay compares the two, and the mortgage cost flows through to cash flow, cash-on-cash return and IRR.
Can I use it outside the United States? Yes. There is a currency picker and no country-specific tax rules are hard-coded, so it works anywhere — you supply the local costs.
What is IRR used for in a property calculation? IRR expresses the return as an annualised rate across your whole holding period, including rent, costs and the eventual sale. It is the fairest way to compare a property against a different kind of investment.
Is my data stored anywhere? No. Scenarios and property records stay on the device. There is no account and no sync.