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
Result
Lease costs this much more than buying
$2,547
Net cost of buying (after resale)
$27,393
Total lease cost
$29,940
Total paid if you buy
$44,393
Purchase monthly payment
$656.56
Effective cost per month of owning
$456.56
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter vehicle price ($).
- 2Enter lease payment ($).
- 3Enter lease due at signing ($).
- 4Enter holding period (months).
- 5Enter purchase down payment ($).
- 6Enter purchase apr (%).
- 7Enter purchase loan term (months).
- 8Enter resale value at end of period ($).
- 9Read your lease costs this much more than buying on the right — it updates as you type.
- 10Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
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.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
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 $
Results
- 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: $456.56
What each field means
Inputs
- Vehicle price ($)
- The vehicle price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 38000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Lease payment ($)
- The lease payment used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 449 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Lease due at signing ($)
- The lease due at signing used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Holding period (months)
- The holding period (months) used in the calculation. Starts at 60 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 12–120.
- Purchase down payment ($)
- The purchase down payment used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 5000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Purchase APR (%)
- The purchase apr used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 7.2 % so you have a working example on load.
- Purchase loan term (months)
- The purchase loan term (months) used in the calculation. Starts at 60 so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 12–96.
- Resale value at end of period ($)
- The resale value at end of period used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 17000 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Lease costs this much more than buying
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Net cost of buying (after resale)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total lease cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total paid if you buy
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Purchase monthly payment
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Effective cost per month of owning
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
How does the lease vs buy a car calculator work?
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.
What do I need to enter?
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.
What does the lease costs this much more than buying result mean?
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.
Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser.
How accurate is the result?
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.
Who is this tool for?
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.
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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Lease vs Buy Car Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lease vs Buy Car Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Lease vs Buy Car Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/lease-or-buy-car) (2026).