Lease vs Buy a Car Calculator — Rex's Toolbox

Rex says

Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.

Try a scenario

Click to load — tweak from there.

Inputs

Lease monthly payment($)

Lease fees (acquisition, disposition)($)

Purchase price($)

Down payment($)

Loan APR(%)

Loan term

Years to compare

Resale value at horizon end (% of price)(%)

Result

Lower total cost option

Buy

Buy net cost over horizon

$24,093

Lease total cost over horizon

$25,200

Total cost difference

$1,107

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How to use this

1Enter lease monthly payment ($).
2Enter lease fees (acquisition, disposition) ($).
3Enter purchase price ($).
4Enter down payment ($).
5Enter loan apr (%).
6Enter loan term.
7Enter years to compare.
8Enter resale value at horizon end (% of price) (%).
9Read your lower total cost option on the right — it updates as you type.
10Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

Leasing offers lower monthly payments and a new car every few years but you never build equity, while buying costs more monthly (or requires more cash) but leaves you with an asset once the loan is paid off. This calculator compares total cash outlay over a common time horizon — lease payments plus fees versus loan payments minus the resale value you'd keep after buying.

FormulaLease Total = (Monthly Lease Payment × Months) + Fees. Buy Total = Loan Payments + Down Payment − Resale Value at end of horizon.

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

Lease monthly payment: 400 $
Lease fees (acquisition, disposition): 1200 $
Purchase price: 34000 $
Down payment: 3000 $
Loan APR: 6.5 %
Loan term: 5
Years to compare: 5
Resale value at horizon end (% of price): 45 %

Results

Lower total cost option: Buy
Buy net cost over horizon: $24,093
Lease total cost over horizon: $25,200
Total cost difference: $1,107

What each field means

Inputs

Lease monthly payment ($): The lease monthly payment used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 400 $ so you have a working example on load.
Lease fees (acquisition, disposition) ($): The lease fees (acquisition, disposition) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1200 $ so you have a working example on load.
Purchase price ($): The purchase price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 34000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Down payment ($): The down payment used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Loan APR (%): The loan apr used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 6.5 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–25 %.
Loan term: The loan term used in the calculation. Starts at 5 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–8.
Years to compare: The years to compare used in the calculation. Starts at 5 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–10.
Resale value at horizon end (% of price) (%): The resale value at horizon end (% of price) used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 45 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.

Results

Lower total cost option: Returned as a plain value and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Buy net cost over horizon: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Lease total cost over horizon: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Total cost difference: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.

FAQ

Why does buying usually win over a long horizon?

Once you own the car outright and keep driving it, you stop making payments while a lease requires either a new lease or a purchase at term's end, so buying's advantage grows the longer you keep the car.

Does this include mileage overage fees?

No — leases typically cap mileage at 10,000-15,000/year with penalties beyond that, so add expected overage fees to the lease side if you drive more than average.

What if I always want a new car every 3 years?

In that case leasing can be cost-competitive or even cheaper since you avoid depreciation risk and repair costs on an aging vehicle, even though this model generally favors buying and keeping.

Accuracy and 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.

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Cite this calculator

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APA

RevenueLab. (2026). Lease vs Buy a Car Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-lease-vs-buy-cost

HTML

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-lease-vs-buy-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lease vs Buy a Car Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>

Markdown

Source: [Lease vs Buy a Car Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/car-lease-vs-buy-cost) (2026).