Short answer: For a first long-term rental, start with a free, plain-English score (FirstDoor needs no signup), move to DealCheck if you want comps, data import or flip and short-term rental math, choose BiggerPockets Pro if you also want its community and perks, and use a spreadsheet if you enjoy building and checking your own formulas.
Definition
Rental property calculator is a tool that turns a property's price, financing, rent and operating expenses into monthly cash flow and return metrics such as cap rate, cash-on-cash return and DSCR, so you can judge a deal before you buy.
At a glance
Four ways to run the numbers on a rental. All of them do the core math (cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return). They differ in price, depth and how much they decide for you.
| Checked Oct 16, 2026 | FirstDoor | DealCheck | BiggerPockets | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free option | Full deal score, free, no signup | Starter plan $0, up to 15 saved properties; no credit card | Free account available; unlimited calculator use is a Pro feature | Google Sheets with a Google Account; Excel for the web with a Microsoft account |
| Paid plans | Pro $9/mo or $79/yr | Plus $10/mo · Pro $20/mo (yearly billing offered; see pricing page) | Pro $39/mo, or $390/yr ($32.50/mo), or $672 every 2 years ($28/mo) | Free; some Gemini features in Sheets need a paid Google Workspace plan |
| Free trial of paid plan | No trial; the score itself is free | 14 days on Plus and Pro | 7 days | n/a |
| Built for | Scoring a first long-term rental in plain English | Rentals, BRRRR, Airbnb, flips, multi-family, wholesaling | Rental analysis inside a larger membership (community, education, partner perks) | Anything you can build yourself |
| Return metrics | Cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, 1% rule | Cap rate, COC, ROI, ROE, IRR, GRM, BER, DCR and more | Cash flow, cash-on-cash, cap rate, compound annual growth rate, ROI over time | Whatever formulas you write |
| Verdict | Good / Okay / Pass with red flags | Screens deals against purchase criteria you set | Not listed on the calculator page | You decide |
| Rent estimates & comps | No, you enter the rent | Sales and rental comps, ARV and rent estimates | Not listed on the calculator page | No, you research them |
| Property data import | No, you enter the numbers | From public records and listings | Not listed on the calculator page | No |
| PDF report | Pro: lender-ready PDF | Interactive or PDF reports | Download as PDF and share reports | You build it |
| Compare deals | Pro: 2–3 saved deals side by side | Side-by-side property comparison | Not listed on the calculator page | You build it |
| Phone | Web, works in a phone browser | Web, iOS and Android apps | Not listed on the calculator page | Sheets and Excel both have web and mobile apps |
Prices in USD as shown on each vendor's own pages on Oct 16, 2026; they can change. "Not listed" means we didn't find it on the pages we checked, not that it doesn't exist. Sources are linked at the bottom of this page.
FirstDoor
FirstDoor (this site) is a free deal score for first-time investors. Enter price, financing, rent and expenses and get monthly cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, DSCR, a 1% rule check and a plain-English Good / Okay / Pass verdict with red flags. Every formula and threshold is published on the methodology page.
Good at
- A fast yes, maybe or no on one long-term rental, free and without an account
- Plain-English verdict and red flags for optimistic assumptions (like 0% management)
- Pro ($9/month or $79/year) adds a lender-ready PDF, a line-by-line breakdown, a 5-year equity and total-return projection, a what-if stress test and unlimited saved deals compared side by side
Keep in mind
- No rent estimates, comps or listing import yet: you enter the numbers
- Built for buy-and-hold rentals: no flip, short-term rental or rent-roll calculators
- No separate lines for capital expenditures or owner-paid utilities (fold them into maintenance or HOA)
- No native app (it runs in your phone's browser), and it's a new product
DealCheck
DealCheck is a dedicated deal-analysis app on the web, iOS and Android. Per its pricing page, every account starts on a free Starter plan (no credit card), and paid plans are Plus at $10/month and Pro at $20/month, each with a 14-day free trial. The plans mainly differ in limits: 15, 50 or unlimited saved properties, and 5, 10 or unlimited sales and rental comps.
Good at
- Calculators for rentals, BRRRR, Airbnb, flips, and multi-family/commercial with rent rolls
- Sales and rental comps with ARV and rent estimates, plus property data import from public records and listings
- Many return metrics (cap rate, COC, ROI, ROE, IRR, GRM, break-even ratio, DCR), long-term projections and financing scenarios
- PDF or interactive reports, side-by-side comparison and custom purchase criteria
Keep in mind
- More inputs and metrics than a first deal strictly needs, so there is more to learn
- The free plan holds up to 15 saved properties at a time
- Paid plans mainly raise limits (saved properties, photos, comps, templates), so check which limits matter to you
BiggerPockets
BiggerPockets is a large real estate investing community (it describes itself as the largest in the world) with forums, education and a set of deal calculators, including its Rental Property Calculator. Its membership page lists BiggerPockets Pro at $39/month, $390/year ($32.50/month) or $672 for two years ($28/month), each with a 7-day free trial, and includes unlimited access to the deal analysis calculators with ready-to-share reports. Annual plans add Pro Perks, partner discounts on things like loans, insurance and property management software.
Good at
- A detailed rental report: cash flow, cash-on-cash return, cap rate, compound annual growth rate and ROI over time
- Detailed inputs, including loan points, capital expenditures and owner-paid utilities
- Printable PDFs and shareable reports, plus the forums, education and perks that come with membership
Keep in mind
- Unlimited calculator use is part of a paid membership; see their membership page for what a free account includes
- You are paying for a whole membership, which is good value only if you use the rest of it
- Their page notes that what counts as a good deal depends on your goals, so the judgment call is yours
A spreadsheet (Google Sheets or Excel)
A spreadsheet costs nothing: per Google, anyone with a Google Account can create in Sheets, and Microsoft offers Excel for the web free with a Microsoft account. Both work on phones too, and a spreadsheet is the most flexible option of the four.
Good at
- Total control: model any deal, any assumption, any timeline
- Free, and easy to share with a partner or lender
- Great for learning, because you write every formula yourself
Keep in mind
- You build and check every formula; one wrong cell reference can change the answer and nothing flags it
- Templates found online use their own assumptions, so read them before trusting them
- No comps, no data import and no verdict unless you add them
Tip: Using a spreadsheet? Check it against a second tool. Run one deal through your sheet and through FirstDoor; if the cash flow differs, compare the formulas with our methodology.
What about Stessa?
Stessa comes up in the same searches, but it is mainly for running rentals you already own: bank feeds, rent collection, tenant screening, receipts and tax reports. Per its pricing page, Essentials is free, Manage is $12/month paid annually or $15 monthly, and Pro is $28/month paid annually or $35 monthly; budgeting and pro-forma analysis are on Pro. It is a good fit after you buy, not a replacement for a deal calculator before you buy.
Who should use which
Using more than one is fine: screen quickly in one tool, then dig deeper in another before you make an offer.
Run the same deal everywhere
The fairest test is one deal through every tool. Here is a $200,000 house renting for $2,000/month, 20% down at 7.40% for 30 years (Freddie Mac average, October 15, 2026), $2,400/yr tax, $1,200/yr insurance, 5% vacancy, 5% maintenance, 8% management and $6,000 closing costs. In FirstDoor:
If another tool shows a different cash flow for the same deal, the gap usually comes from assumptions: vacancy, maintenance, capital expenditures, management, or whether taxes and insurance are included. Line them up and the math should match.
Frequently asked questions
Which rental property calculator is best for a first-time investor?
It depends on what you need. For a fast, free, plain-English verdict on one long-term rental, FirstDoor is built for that and needs no signup. For comps, data import and flip, BRRRR or short-term rental analysis, DealCheck goes deeper. BiggerPockets Pro bundles calculators with a community and partner perks. A spreadsheet is free and flexible if you are comfortable building and checking formulas.
Is DealCheck free?
Yes. As checked Oct 16, 2026, DealCheck's pricing page says every account starts on a free Starter plan with up to 15 saved properties and no credit card. Paid plans are Plus at $10 a month and Pro at $20 a month, each with a 14-day free trial.
Is the BiggerPockets rental property calculator free?
Unlimited access to the BiggerPockets deal analysis calculators is part of BiggerPockets Pro, which, as checked Oct 16, 2026, costs $39 a month, $390 a year ($32.50 a month) or $672 for two years, with a 7-day free trial. See their membership page for what a free account includes.
Is FirstDoor free?
Yes. The full deal score (cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, DSCR, the 1% rule and a Good / Okay / Pass verdict with red flags) is free with no signup. FirstDoor Pro is $9 a month or $79 a year and adds a lender-ready PDF report, a line-by-line breakdown, a 5-year projection, a what-if stress test and unlimited saved deals with side-by-side comparison. It renews automatically until you cancel.
Can I just use a spreadsheet to analyze a rental property?
Yes. Google Sheets is free with a Google Account and Excel for the web is free with a Microsoft account. The trade-off is that you build and check every formula yourself, so it is worth checking your sheet against a calculator on at least one deal.
Is Stessa a rental property calculator?
Not mainly. Stessa is built for managing rentals you own: bookkeeping, bank feeds, rent collection and tax reports. As checked Oct 16, 2026, its Essentials plan is free and budgeting and pro-forma analysis are on its Pro plan ($28 a month paid annually or $35 monthly).
Why do rental calculators show different cash flow for the same property?
Usually because of assumptions, not math. Tools differ in default vacancy, maintenance, capital expenditure and management percentages, and in which costs they include. Enter the same assumptions everywhere and the results should line up.
Keep learning
Sources (checked Oct 16, 2026)
FirstDoor publishes this page, so we have a stake in it. We have tried to be fair: competitor prices and features come only from their own pages, checked Oct 16, 2026, and change over time, so confirm on their sites before you buy. FirstDoor is not affiliated with DealCheck, BiggerPockets, Stessa, Google or Microsoft; trademarks belong to their owners. Educational content, not financial advice.