Commercial real estate · local calculation
Commercial lease comparison calculator.
Put two NNN lease offers side by side. Base rent, pass-throughs, escalations, free rent and tenant-improvement money are turned into one effective rent, one total cost and one present value.
The offer with the lower NPV of occupancy cost is cheaper in today's dollars at the discount rate you choose. Headline base rent alone can point the wrong way.
NPV = Σ (monthly base rent + monthly pass-throughs) ÷ (1 + monthly discount rate)month − 1 − TI allowanceTwo offers
Comparison
Enter both offers and press Compare offers.
Worked example
The form loads with this example (5,000 sf, 5 years, 8% discount rate). Offer A: $30.00/sf base rent, 3% escalations, $9.00/sf NNN growing 3%, 3 months free rent, $20/sf TI. Offer B: $27.00/sf, 2.5% escalations, $11.00/sf NNN growing 3%, no free rent, $10/sf TI.
Offer A pays $758,870 base rent plus $238,911 pass-throughs, minus $100,000 TI: $897,781 total occupancy cost, $720,950 NPV. Offer B pays $709,604 plus $292,002, minus $50,000: $951,607 total, $780,736 NPV. Offer B has the lower headline rent, yet A is about $59,786 cheaper in present value.
How the calculator works
Base rent: year-y annual rent = rent per sf × area × (1 + escalation)y−1, paid in 12 equal monthly amounts. Escalations step up on each lease anniversary.
Pass-throughs: NNN / CAM per sf × area, growing at its own annual rate. They are still charged during free-rent months.
Free rent and TI: free months waive base rent only, at the start of the term. The TI allowance is subtracted as money received at move-in; it is not netted against your own build-out spending.
Effective rent: net effective base rent per sf per year = (total base rent − TI) ÷ (area × years). Effective occupancy cost uses base rent plus pass-throughs minus TI.
NPV: months are discounted at (1 + annual rate)1/12 − 1, with each month's payment made at the start of the month. The TI credit is not discounted.
Sources and as-of date: this page uses no market rates, tables or data feeds; every number comes from your inputs and the arithmetic above (time value of money), checked September 30, 2026. It is a cash comparison, not a lease-accounting (ASC 842 / IFRS 16) calculation, so it does not produce a lease liability, right-of-use asset or straight-line rent.
Illustrative arithmetic on entered assumptions, not legal, tax, accounting or brokerage advice. It excludes security deposits, operating-expense caps and audits, base-year stops, percentage rent, renewal options, parking, moving and build-out costs, taxes on rent, and landlord credit risk. Offers with different terms are compared on total NPV, so check the per-sf figures too.
Commercial lease comparison FAQs
What does NNN mean in a commercial lease?
Triple net: the tenant pays base rent plus its share of property taxes, building insurance and common-area maintenance (CAM). Enter that combined estimate as the pass-through per sf.
Why use NPV instead of total rent?
A dollar of free rent or TI at move-in is worth more than a dollar of escalated rent in year five. Discounting weighs when the money moves, so front-loaded concessions are valued properly.
Which discount rate should I use?
Use your own cost of capital or the return you could earn on the cash. Try a few values; if the winner flips, the offers are close and the other terms matter more.
Can I compare offers with different terms?
Yes, but the longer lease accumulates more cost, so total NPV is not like for like. Compare the per-sf yearly figures too.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. All calculation and the CSV export happen in your browser.