Lease vs Buy Calculator
A lease payment is genuinely lower, and comparing the two payments tells you nothing. What matters is what you are holding at the end. This counts that, so the comparison is fair.
Cheaper over these years
-
- Leasing costs, all in
- $0
- Buying costs, after what you own
- $0
- Your loan payment
- $0
- Car is worth at the end
- $0
- Still owed at the end
- $0
The two routes, all in
Both bars are the whole cost of the period, with what you still own at the end already taken off the buying side.
Move it and watch
-
at {v} for price
And what you can change
Why your own figure may differ
Side by side
The lease row looks better until the last line, which is where owning something shows up.
| Leasing | Buying |
|---|
Leasing costs the up-front payment plus fees plus every monthly payment. Buying costs the deposit plus every payment made, minus what the car is worth at the end after any loan still owed. That last subtraction is the whole comparison.
How the answer changes with time
Leasing suits short spells. The longer you keep a car, the harder buying wins.
| If you keep it | Leasing costs | Buying costs | Cheaper |
|---|
Leasing vs buying a car: real examples
Three cases where the answer changes. Click any card to load it.
- A short spell
Three years in a $35,000 car
A typical lease against a six-year loan.
Leasing costs less month to month, but you finish with nothing. Buying leaves you holding a car - the comparison turns on what that car is worth.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - Keeping it properly
The same car for eight years
Buying and holding on well past the loan.
Buying pulls clearly ahead. Once the loan clears you have no payment and still have a car, while a lease would be onto its third round.
Load this scenario in the calculator → - A car that holds its value
Losing only 10% a year
Same three years, a car that keeps its worth.
Buying looks far better, because the thing you own at the end is still worth a lot. Holding value is what decides this.
Load this scenario in the calculator →
Common questions about leasing vs buying a car
Why does leasing look so much cheaper each month?
Because you are only paying for the part of the car you use up, not the whole car. A lease covers the value it loses while you have it, plus interest. Buying covers the entire car. The monthly figure is genuinely lower. What it does not leave you with is a car.
So what is the fair way to compare them?
Count what you own at the end. Buying costs more month to month, but after the payments you hold a car worth something. Take that value off what you paid and you get the real cost of buying. That is the number this tool sets against the lease.
When does leasing genuinely win?
When you want a new car every few years anyway, when you drive few enough miles to stay inside the limit, and when you would otherwise buy new and sell early. Leasing is a poor deal for people who keep cars a long time, because owning gets cheaper every year past the loan.
What are the traps in a lease?
Mileage limits with a charge for every mile over. Wear and tear charges at the end that you cannot predict. A large payment up front that you lose entirely if the car is written off early. And the plain fact that at the end you have nothing and start again.
Is a lease payment ever negotiable?
Yes. A lease is built from the car's price, the value it is expected to hold, and an interest rate under a different name. The price is negotiable exactly as it is when buying. Agree the price first, then let the lease be worked out from it.
What if I keep the car far longer than the loan?
That is where buying pulls decisively ahead. Once the loan clears you have no payment at all, but you still have a car. Every year after that costs you only running it. Set the years above to eight or ten and watch the gap widen.