Buy vs Lease Car Calculator
Compare buying a car outright against leasing.
Compare the total cost of buying a car outright against leasing across a matched ownership period. Enter buy price to see net cost of each path over the period.
What this tool does
Enter buy-path numbers (price and expected resale) and lease-path numbers (monthly and term). The tool shows net cost of each path over the period.
Enter Values
Formula Used
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Disclaimer
Results are estimates for educational purposes only. They do not constitute financial advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.
Buy outright, lease for 3 years, then what? Honest comparison needs the same window on both sides. Buy: 25,000 now, keep for 3 years, sell for 15,000 — net cost 10,000 across 36 months = 278/month. Lease: 300/month × 36 = 10,800 with zero at end. In this example lease costs 800 more but saves the upfront capital and the hassle of selling. Neither is always right — depends on cashflow, mileage, and how you feel about always driving something new.
Vehicle-cost comparator.
A worked example
Try the defaults: buy price of 25,000, resale value at end of 15,000, lease monthly of 300, period of 36. The tool returns 800.00. You can adjust any input and the result updates as you type — no submit button, no reload. That's the real power here: seeing how sensitive the output is to one or two assumptions.
What moves the number most
The result responds to Buy Price, Resale Value at End, Lease Monthly, and Period. Two inputs usually tip the answer one way or the other. Identify which ones matter most by flipping each value past a round threshold and watching whether the winning option changes.
The formula behind this
Buy net = price minus expected resale. Lease total = monthly × months. Ignores cost of capital locked up in the buy path. Everything the calculator does is shown in the formula box below, so you can check the math against your own spreadsheet if you want.
Using this to think, not predict
Financial plans are wrong by month six — new information arrives and reshapes the picture. The point of running projections isn't to be right in ten years; it's to be less wrong in the decision you're making this week.
What this doesn't capture
Real plans get re-run against new information every year or two. The result here is a reasonable direction, not a destination. Treat it as a starting point for thinking, not a commitment to a specific future.
Buy vs lease produces a cost comparison based on the inputs provided.
Inputs
This example uses typical values for illustration. Adjust the inputs above to match a specific situation and see how the result changes.
Sources & Methodology
Methodology
Buy net = price minus expected resale. Lease total = monthly × months. Ignores cost of capital locked up in the buy path.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this include maintenance?
What about mileage?
Are there tax differences?
What about holding longer?
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