{
  "slug": "lease-or-buy-car",
  "title": "Lease vs Buy Car Calculator",
  "heading": "Lease vs Buy a Car Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car",
  "summary": "Total cost of leasing compared with buying and keeping.",
  "description": "Leasing looks cheaper monthly because you only pay for depreciation over the term. Buying wins once you keep the car past the loan, since the payment stops and the asset does not.",
  "formula": "Compare total outlay minus residual equity across the same holding period.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=lease-or-buy-car",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "price",
      "label": "Vehicle price",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 38000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "leasePayment",
      "label": "Lease payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 449,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "leaseDown",
      "label": "Lease due at signing",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "months",
      "label": "Holding period (months)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 12,
      "max": 120
    },
    {
      "id": "buyDown",
      "label": "Purchase down payment",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 5000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "rate",
      "label": "Purchase APR",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 7.2,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "term",
      "label": "Purchase loan term (months)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 12,
      "max": 96
    },
    {
      "id": "resale",
      "label": "Resale value at end of period",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 17000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "diff",
      "label": "Lease costs this much more than buying",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "buyNet",
      "label": "Net cost of buying (after resale)",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "leaseTotal",
      "label": "Total lease cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "buyTotal",
      "label": "Total paid if you buy",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "buyPayment",
      "label": "Purchase monthly payment",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "buyPerMonth",
      "label": "Effective cost per month of owning",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Vehicle price: 38000 $",
      "Lease payment: 449 $",
      "Lease due at signing: 3000 $",
      "Holding period (months): 60",
      "Purchase down payment: 5000 $",
      "Purchase APR: 7.2 %",
      "Purchase loan term (months): 60",
      "Resale value at end of period: 17000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Lease costs this much more than buying: $2,546.52",
      "Net cost of buying (after resale): $27,393.48",
      "Total lease cost: $29,940.00",
      "Total paid if you buy: $44,393.48",
      "Purchase monthly payment: $656.56",
      "Effective cost per month of owning: $456.56"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter vehicle price ($).",
      "Enter lease payment ($).",
      "Enter lease due at signing ($).",
      "Enter holding period (months).",
      "Enter purchase down payment ($).",
      "Enter purchase apr (%).",
      "Enter purchase loan term (months).",
      "Enter resale value at end of period ($).",
      "Read your lease costs this much more than buying on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "price": 23000,
        "leasePayment": 270,
        "leaseDown": 1750,
        "months": 36,
        "buyDown": 3000,
        "rate": 7.2,
        "term": 36,
        "resale": 10000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "price": 38000,
        "leasePayment": 450,
        "leaseDown": 3000,
        "months": 60,
        "buyDown": 5000,
        "rate": 7.2,
        "term": 60,
        "resale": 17000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "price": 61000,
        "leasePayment": 720,
        "leaseDown": 4750,
        "months": 96,
        "buyDown": 8000,
        "rate": 7.2,
        "term": 96,
        "resale": 27000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the lease vs buy a car calculator work?",
      "a": "Leasing looks cheaper monthly because you only pay for depreciation over the term. Buying wins once you keep the car past the loan, since the payment stops and the asset does not. The underlying maths is: Compare total outlay minus residual equity across the same holding period."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "8 values: vehicle price, lease payment, lease due at signing, holding period (months), purchase down payment, purchase apr, purchase loan term (months), and resale value at end of period. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the lease costs this much more than buying result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/auto-loan-payment",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-depreciation"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Lease vs Buy Car Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car)"
}