Gross Lease vs Triple Net (NNN) Lease Calculator
Compare a gross lease with a triple net (NNN) lease on the same commercial space. Enter the two rents and the property’s taxes, insurance and maintenance costs to see the landlord’s net operating income under each, the tenant’s total cost per square foot, and the gross rent that would break even with the NNN offer.
| NNN: Scheduled Base Rent | — |
| NNN: Pass-Throughs Paid by Tenant | — |
| NNN: Expenses Landlord Carries While Vacant | — |
| NNN: Landlord NOI (after vacancy) | — |
| Gross: Scheduled Rent | — |
| Gross: Operating Expenses (landlord pays) | — |
| Gross: Management Fee | — |
| Gross: Landlord NOI (after vacancy) | — |
| NNN vs Gross NOI Difference | — |
| Tenant Total Cost Under NNN | — |
| Tenant Total Cost Under Gross | — |
| Break-Even Gross Rent (same landlord NOI as NNN) | — |
Gross lease vs triple net comes down to who pays the operating costs of the building. Under a gross lease the tenant pays one all-inclusive rent and the landlord pays property taxes, insurance and maintenance. Under a triple net (NNN) lease the tenant pays a lower base rent plus those three expenses on top.
Gross Lease vs Triple Net vs Modified Gross: Who Pays What
The three structures differ only in how expenses are split. The definitions below follow the Cornell Legal Information Institute entries for net lease, gross lease and triple net lease.
| Full-service gross | Modified gross | Triple net (NNN) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the tenant pays | One all-inclusive rent | One rent that covers some expenses | Base rent plus expenses |
| Property taxes | Landlord, inside the rent | Negotiated | Tenant |
| Building insurance | Landlord, inside the rent | Negotiated | Tenant |
| Common-area maintenance (CAM) | Landlord, inside the rent | Negotiated | Tenant |
| Who bears cost increases | Landlord | Tenant above an agreed “stop level” | Tenant |
| Rent level | Highest | In between | Lowest base rent |
This page compares NNN with a full-service gross lease. For the middle option, use the Triple Net (NNN) vs Modified Gross calculator.
Worked Example: $22 NNN vs $32 Gross on 8,000 sq ft
Press Load Example to reproduce this. An 8,000 sq ft building is offered at $22 per sq ft NNN or $32 per sq ft gross. Taxes are $3.50, insurance $0.80 and CAM $4.50 per sq ft ($8.80 in total), the gross-lease management fee is 4% of rent and vacancy is 5%.
| Per year | NNN lease | Gross lease |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled rent | $176,000 | $256,000 |
| Rent after 5% vacancy | $167,200 | $243,200 |
| Operating expenses paid by landlord | $3,520 (only while vacant) | $70,400 |
| Management fee | Not modelled | $10,240 |
| Landlord NOI | $163,680 | $162,560 |
| Tenant total cost | $246,400 ($30.80 per sq ft) | $256,000 ($32.00 per sq ft) |
The NNN lease leaves the landlord $1,120 a year ahead, and the gross rent that would match it is $32.15 per sq ft. The tenant pays $9,600 less under NNN today but takes on any future rise in taxes, insurance and CAM.
How the Calculator Works
- NNN landlord NOI = base rent × (1 − vacancy) − (taxes + insurance + CAM) × vacancy. The tenant pays the expenses while in occupation; the landlord carries them while the space is empty.
- Gross landlord NOI = gross rent × (1 − vacancy) − (taxes + insurance + CAM) − management fee, where the fee is a percentage of scheduled gross rent.
- Tenant cost under NNN = base rent + taxes + insurance + CAM. Under gross it is the gross rent.
- Break-even gross rent = (NNN NOI + expenses) ÷ (sq ft × (1 − vacancy − management fee)).
It is a one-year snapshot: rent escalations, free-rent periods, leasing commissions and capital repairs are not included.
NOI, Cap Rates and Lease Type
Investors value leased property by dividing net operating income (NOI) by a capitalization rate, so the lease type matters twice: it changes the NOI and it changes how predictable that NOI is. For context, The Boulder Group’s net lease research report put average single-tenant net lease cap rates at 6.82% in the second quarter of 2026 (retail 6.60%, industrial 7.25%, office 7.90%), as reported by MBA NewsLink. Compare properties only on NOI calculated the same way.
Pass-Through Reconciliation
NNN landlords usually estimate the year’s taxes, insurance and CAM, bill the tenant in monthly instalments, then reconcile against actual costs after year-end: the tenant pays any shortfall or receives a credit. Whether the tenant can audit that reconciliation, and whether yearly increases in CAM are capped, are negotiated lease terms worth checking before you sign.
Last updated: October 2026. Lease definitions from the Cornell Legal Information Institute; cap-rate figures from The Boulder Group via MBA NewsLink (July 2026). Estimates for general information, not legal or investment advice.