Free tool

ADU vs. assisted living calculator

Assisted living is paid every month for as long as it’s needed. An ADU is paid for once — often through a fixed loan payment — and it’s still yours afterwards. Enter your own figures to see how the two compare over the years you expect care to be needed.

Monthly assisted living cost

Years you expect to need it

ADU build cost (all-in)

Monthly ADU loan payment

Enter 0 if paying cash.

Paid in-home help (monthly)

If your parent will need paid help at home, include it here.

Value the ADU adds to the property

Over 8 years, the ADU comes out about $470,400 ahead — and you still own it.

Assisted living over 8 years: $624,000
ADU payments over 8 years: $153,600
Value the ADU adds, still yours afterwards: $200,000
ADU build cost less value added: $50,000

Estimates for comparison only — not financial advice. Facility costs, property value added and financing vary; confirm with local providers, a lender and an appraiser.

How this calculator works

The calculator compares what each option costs over the same number of years:

Assisted living = monthly cost × 12 × years.
ADU = (monthly loan payment + any paid in-home help) × 12 × years. If you pay cash, enter a payment of 0 and compare the build cost directly.
What remains = the value the ADU adds to the property, which is still yours when care is no longer needed.

It deliberately keeps monthly costs flat. In practice facility fees tend to rise over time while a fixed-rate loan payment doesn’t, so a flat comparison is conservative in the facility’s favor.

A worked example

At $6,500 a month for 8 years, assisted living costs about $624,000. A $250,000 ADU financed at $1,600 a month costs about $153,600 in payments over the same period — roughly $470,000 less — and in this example adds an estimated $200,000 to the property. Add $1,000 a month of paid in-home help and the ADU side rises to about $249,600: still well ahead.

What it doesn’t tell you

It doesn’t compare levels of care. If someone needs 24/7 skilled nursing or secure memory care, a home isn’t a substitute.
It doesn’t include property taxes, insurance or utilities for the ADU, or meals and services bundled into facility fees.
Property value added is an estimate. Ask a local appraiser or lender what a permitted ADU adds in your area.

The complete guide · $129

The Age-in-Place ADU Guide

Design a home around the life your parent wants to keep, build it so it holds up as needs change, and pay no more than it should cost.

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