Rental Yield Calculator
The simplest way to compare a property's rent against its price — gross and net yield, side by side.
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Gross Rental Yield
9.00%
$2,250/mo gross rent
Benchmark: net rental yield, 0-12%+
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Last updated: August 17, 2026 · Reviewed by the DoCalc team
What Is Rental Yield?
Rental yield expresses a property's annual rent as a percentage of its price — the fastest, simplest way to gauge whether a property's rent justifies its cost. It comes in two forms: gross yield (rent alone) and net yield (rent minus operating expenses), and both are worth checking since they can tell very different stories.
The Formula
Gross yield is the quickest back-of-envelope check, but net yield is closer to cap rate (which uses NOI, a slightly more precise expense accounting) and gives a more realistic picture of actual return.
Worked Example
A $300,000 property renting for $2,250/mo ($27,000/yr) has a gross yield of 9.0%. If annual operating expenses run $8,000, net yield drops to ($27,000 − $8,000) ÷ $300,000 = 6.33% — a meaningfully different, more realistic number than gross yield alone suggests.
Gross Yield vs. Net Yield vs. Cap Rate
| Metric | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Gross Yield | Rent only, no expenses — fastest, roughest estimate |
| Net Yield | Rent minus expenses — closer to the real return |
| Cap Rate | Uses NOI specifically (a more standardized expense accounting) — the investor-standard version of net yield |
Pros and Cons of Using Rental Yield
Pros: gross yield takes seconds to calculate with minimal data, making it useful for quickly screening a long list of properties before deeper analysis.
Cons: gross yield alone can be misleading — a property with high rent but also high taxes, insurance, or maintenance costs can look great on gross yield and mediocre on net yield.
Who Should Use This Calculator
Use it if you're quickly screening properties or comparing listings across a market. Move to Cap Rate or Cash-on-Cash Return once you've narrowed your list and want a more precise, investor-standard evaluation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's a good rental yield?
It varies by market, but gross yields above 7-8% are often considered strong in many US markets, while under 5% is common in expensive, low-yield metros where investors are betting more on appreciation than income.
What's the difference between gross and net rental yield?
Gross yield divides annual rent by price with no deductions. Net yield subtracts operating expenses first, giving a more realistic (and always lower) percentage.
Is rental yield the same as cap rate?
They're closely related — net yield and cap rate are conceptually similar, though cap rate typically uses a more standardized NOI calculation. Gross yield, by contrast, is a rougher, expense-free shortcut.
Does rental yield account for my mortgage?
No — like cap rate, rental yield ignores financing entirely. It measures the property's income relative to its price, not your personal cash return with a loan.
Why would I use gross yield instead of net yield?
Gross yield is faster to calculate when you don't yet have detailed expense estimates — useful for quickly screening many listings before doing deeper diligence on your top candidates.
Can rental yield be negative?
Net yield can effectively be very low or negative if expenses exceed rental income, signaling the property likely won't cash flow. Gross yield, since it ignores expenses, is always positive as long as rent is collected.
Related calculators
Cap Rate Calculator
The investor-standard version of net yield, using NOI.
Calculate → InvestingGross Rent Multiplier Calculator
Price divided by annual rent — yield's inverse-style cousin.
Calculate → InvestingRental Property ROI Calculator
Cap rate, cash flow, and cash-on-cash return together.
Calculate →