Rental Yield Calculator: Gross and Net Yield

Rental yield calculator: estimate a property's return before you compare listings or make an offer. Enter the purchase price, monthly rent, vacancy allowance, annual operating expenses, and purchase costs to see gross yield, effective income, net operating income, and net yield on your total cash invested.

Core formula
Gross yield = annual rent ÷ property price × 100

Rental Yield Calculator

Runs in your browser
$
Use the purchase price or current market value you want to evaluate.
$
Enter the expected rent before vacancy and operating expenses.
%
Use a percentage for expected unoccupied time. Enter 0% if you want a full-occupancy illustration.
$
Include recurring costs such as maintenance, insurance, property tax, management, and HOA fees.
$
Optional one-time costs such as closing costs, legal fees, or an initial renovation budget.
Net yield on total cost
Example result
6.46%

With a $250,000 property, $2,000 monthly rent, 5% vacancy, $6,000 annual expenses, and $10,000 purchase costs, the estimated net yield on total cost is 6.46%.

Annual gross rent
$24,000.00
Effective annual rent
$22,800.00
Gross rental yield
9.60%
Net operating income
$16,800.00
Net yield on total cost
6.46%
Monthly operating cash flow
$1,400.00

What the rental yield result means

Use each measure for a different question. Comparing only the headline percentage can hide vacancy, operating costs, purchase costs, financing, and taxes.

Measure How to read it
Gross rental yield A quick screening ratio based on annual gross rent and the property price. It is useful for comparing similar listings, but it ignores vacancy, repairs, management, taxes, insurance, and closing costs.
Effective annual rent The rent left after the vacancy allowance. A 5% allowance reduces a $24,000 annual rent estimate to $22,800, even though the advertised monthly rent has not changed.
Net operating income Effective rent minus the annual operating expenses entered above. NOI does not include loan principal, mortgage interest, income tax, depreciation, or your personal financing structure.
Net yield on total cost NOI divided by the property price plus purchase costs. This denominator makes a renovation or closing-cost budget visible instead of treating the property price as the entire investment.
Monthly operating cash flow NOI divided by 12. It is a pre-financing operating estimate, not a promise of take-home profit or the amount available after debt service.

Rental yield formulas

The calculator shows its assumptions so you can change the denominator or cost inputs when a listing uses a different convention.

Annual gross rent

Monthly rent × 12

This is the advertised annual rent before vacancy or unpaid-rent assumptions.

Gross rental yield

Annual gross rent ÷ property price × 100

Gross yield is a screening measure. It is not the same as a net return after operating costs.

Net operating income

Annual gross rent × (1 − vacancy rate) − annual expenses

The vacancy allowance is applied to rent, while the expense field is subtracted once for the year.

Net yield on total cost

NOI ÷ (property price + purchase costs) × 100

Adding purchase costs makes this result more conservative when you are comparing the cash required to acquire the property.

How to use the rental yield calculator

Start with numbers you can support, then run a second scenario for more cautious rent, vacancy, and expense assumptions.

1

Enter the property price

Use the purchase price for a prospective deal or a current market value for an existing rental. Keep the denominator consistent when you compare properties.

2

Add expected rent

Enter monthly rent before vacancy. If rent is weekly, convert it to a monthly estimate using the convention you use for every property in the comparison.

3

Allow for vacancy and costs

Use the vacancy field for unoccupied time and unpaid rent. Add recurring operating expenses, then include one-time purchase costs if you want a yield on total acquisition cost.

4

Compare both yields

Use gross yield for a quick first pass and net yield to see how operating assumptions change the result. Reset the example whenever you want a clean comparison.

Worked rental yield examples

These rental yield calculator examples show why two properties with the same advertised rent can have different net yields.

$250,000 property at $2,000 per month

5% vacancy, $6,000 annual expenses, and $10,000 purchase costs

Annual gross rent is $24,000, gross yield is 9.60%, and net yield on total cost is about 6.46%.

$180,000 property at $1,500 per month

3% vacancy, $4,500 annual expenses, and $7,000 purchase costs

Annual gross rent is $18,000 and gross yield is 10.00%. After the stated assumptions, NOI is $12,960 and net yield is about 6.93%.

Same rent, higher acquisition cost

$2,000 monthly rent on a $300,000 property with $12,000 purchase costs

The gross yield is 8.00% before any vacancy or expenses. A higher price lowers the yield even when the rent is unchanged.

Gross yield versus net yield

Gross yield answers a fast comparison question. Net yield is closer to an operating return because it accounts for assumptions that reduce collected income or increase running costs.

Gross yield is easy to calculate: divide one year of advertised rent by the property price. It is useful when you are scanning many listings quickly, but it can make a property with high maintenance or frequent turnover look better than it performs.

Net yield starts with rent that is more likely to be collected, subtracts recurring operating expenses, and divides the result by the total acquisition cost used in the calculator. It still does not model mortgage payments, loan fees, income tax, depreciation, capital improvements, or changes in market rent.

For a stronger comparison, keep the same assumptions across every property. If one listing uses a full-occupancy rent estimate while another includes a vacancy allowance, the percentages are not directly comparable. Run a base case and a conservative case rather than treating one estimate as certain.

A yield is an estimate, not a guarantee

Before making an investment decision, verify rent, insurance, taxes, maintenance history, local rules, financing terms, and property-specific costs. A positive operating yield can still produce negative cash flow after debt service.

Rental yield edge cases

The calculator accepts realistic boundaries, but unusual inputs should be investigated rather than hidden.

Zero rent

A zero-rent scenario returns zero gross yield and zero effective rent. This can help illustrate a vacant or non-income-producing property, but it is not a normal rental forecast.

100% vacancy

At 100% vacancy, effective annual rent and NOI reflect no collected rent. The property may still have insurance, taxes, utilities, and maintenance to pay.

Expenses exceed rent

The calculator allows negative NOI and net yield when annual costs exceed effective rent. That is a warning about the operating assumptions, not a calculation error.

Purchase costs are separate

Purchase costs are added to the total-cost denominator but not subtracted as an annual expense. Enter recurring costs in annual expenses and one-time acquisition costs in their own field.

Limitations and privacy notes

Use the result as a transparent first-pass estimate, then replace assumptions with property-specific evidence.

No live market data

CalcBit does not maintain a live database of rents, property taxes, insurance, vacancy rates, or local regulations. You supply the assumptions.

Financing is excluded

Mortgage principal, interest, lender fees, refinancing, and debt service are not included in NOI or monthly operating cash flow. Use a mortgage repayment calculator for a separate loan estimate.

Taxes and capital work vary

Income tax, depreciation, major repairs, renovations, and sale costs can materially change an investment return. Check local rules and professional advice for a real purchase.

Browser-based calculation

The calculation runs in this page's JavaScript. The form is not submitted to a CalcBit server, so avoid entering private information that is not needed for the estimate.

Rental yield calculator FAQ

Answers to common questions about gross yield, net yield, rent, vacancy, and property costs.

There is no universal good yield. It depends on location, property type, vacancy risk, financing, taxes, maintenance, and the return available from comparable investments. Use the same assumptions across properties and investigate any unusually high percentage.

For gross yield, multiply monthly rent by 12, divide by the property price, and multiply by 100. For a more complete estimate, reduce rent for vacancy, subtract annual operating expenses, and divide NOI by the property price plus any purchase costs you want to include.

Gross yield uses rent before vacancy and operating costs. Net yield uses a vacancy-adjusted rent estimate, subtracts recurring operating expenses, and can include purchase costs in the denominator. Net yield is more informative for comparing operating assumptions.

Not in the NOI calculation used here. Mortgage interest, principal, and lender fees depend on your financing and are usually analyzed separately as cash flow after debt service. A property can have a positive operating yield but negative financed cash flow.

Use recurring costs that belong to operating the property, such as maintenance, insurance, property tax, management, HOA fees, utilities paid by the owner, and a reasonable reserve. Do not also enter one-time closing costs as an annual expense.

Yes, for a focused income-yield estimate. It calculates rent, vacancy-adjusted income, expenses, NOI, gross yield, net yield, and operating cash flow. It is not a complete property valuation, tax, mortgage, or rent-comparison model.

Negative net yield means the vacancy-adjusted rent is lower than the annual expenses under the values entered, or that the total acquisition cost is large compared with NOI. Review the rent, vacancy, expense, and purchase-cost assumptions before comparing the property.

Test a conservative rental scenario

Run the rental yield calculator with lower rent, increase vacancy, or add a maintenance reserve to see how sensitive the yield is before you rely on a listing headline.

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