How to use this calculator
Enter both alternatives in one currency and one period unit. The break-even mode scans whole terms from 1 through the entered term.
Formula and method
Buy PV = price + annuity PV(ownership cost) − resale/(1+r)^n. Lease PV = upfront + annuity PV(lease payment + other lease cost).
Worked example
Price 10,000, ownership cost 500, resale 2,000, lease upfront 500, lease payment 2,800 and lease cost 100 for four years at 8%: buy PV is about 10,186.00 and lease PV about 10,105.17.
Assumptions and supported scope
Pre-tax only; user-entered contract costs and residual value. Annual or monthly works if all entries use the same period. Resale is held constant across candidate break-even terms. This is not jurisdiction-specific tax or accounting advice.
Method references
Method and worked example checked against the calculator implementation. About our methods · Report a correction