36-month lease vs 24 months of renting
- Lease: $800 × 36 + $1,000 buyout = $29,800
- Rent: $600 × 24 = $14,400
- Breakeven ≈ $29,800 ÷ $600 ≈ 49.7 months (lease is costlier for 24 months use)
finance calculator
Lease vs Rent Equipment Calculator
Compare total cost to lease equipment (with buyout) versus renting for a given usage period.
Results
- Total lease cost (with buyout)
- $29,800
- Total rent cost
- $14,400
- Lease breakeven (months vs renting)
- 49.67
How to use this calculator
- Enter monthly lease payment and lease term; include buyout if applicable.
- Enter monthly rent cost and how many months you expect to need the equipment.
- Compare total lease cost to total rent cost and see breakeven months.
Inputs explained
- Lease payment
- Monthly payment if you lease the equipment.
- Lease term
- Length of the lease in months.
- Buyout
- Optional end-of-lease purchase amount if you want to keep the equipment.
- Monthly rent
- Cost to rent the same equipment per month.
- Expected months
- How long you plan to use the equipment.
How it works
Total lease = monthly lease × lease term + buyout.
Total rent = monthly rent × expected months of use.
Breakeven months ≈ total lease ÷ monthly rent to see when leasing becomes cheaper than renting.
Formula
Total lease = (Lease payment × Term) + Buyout Total rent = Rent × Expected months Breakeven months ≈ Total lease ÷ Monthly rent
When to use it
- Comparing leasing vs renting for construction tools, vehicles, or machinery.
- Estimating when leasing becomes cheaper than renting for long projects.
- Including buyout to see total cost if you keep the equipment.
Tips & cautions
- Add maintenance/insurance to lease or rent totals if they differ.
- If usage is short-term or uncertain, renting may avoid long commitments.
- Consider residual value if you plan to buy out and resell; subtract expected resale from lease total for a net cost.
- Ignores time value of money and tax treatments (deductions/depreciation).
- Assumes steady monthly rent; doesn’t handle day-rate variability.
- No maintenance/insurance differences unless you add them into payments.
Worked examples
24-month lease with no buyout vs 30 months rent
- Lease: $900 × 24 = $21,600
- Rent: $700 × 30 = $21,000
- Breakeven ≈ 30.9 months
Deep dive
Compare leasing versus renting equipment by entering lease payments, term, buyout, rent cost, and expected use months.
See total cost and breakeven months to decide whether a lease or rent makes more sense for your project duration.
FAQs
- Does this include maintenance or insurance?
- Not by default. Add those costs to lease or rent inputs if they differ.
- Should I include tax benefits or depreciation?
- This is a quick cost comparison; it ignores tax treatments. Consult your accountant for after-tax analysis.
- Can I handle weekly/daily rent?
- Convert to a monthly equivalent for a quick comparison (e.g., weekly rate × 4.33).
- What about interest rates in the lease?
- Lease payment already embeds financing. This tool compares total dollars out, not implicit APR.
- Can I include resale value after buyout?
- Estimate resale and subtract it from the total lease cost manually to get a net ownership cost.
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