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Lease vs Buy Calculator

Should I lease or buy?

Enter a lease and a purchase to see what each costs over the same months.

One Click Answers · Lease vs Buy Calculator
oneclickanswers.com/lease-vs-buy-calculator · Printed
About this tool & how to use it

What it does

Compares what leasing and buying cost over the same months from your lease terms, loan terms and resale estimate, without declaring either better.

How to use it

  1. Enter the lease payment, length, amount due at signing, expected extra miles and fees.
  2. Enter the vehicle price, down payment, loan rate and term, tax, fees and your estimate of its resale value when the lease would end.
  3. Read the sentence at the top, then the cost of each over the period.

Your own estimate: this page does not know what the vehicle will be worth.

One click answer

Your answer will appear here.

Fill in the form and your answer appears here as you type.

Assumptions

  • The resale value is your estimate and changes the answer a lot.
  • A lease ends with no vehicle, while buying ends with a vehicle. Insurance, maintenance and registration are left out of both.
  • This does not say which is better for you.

Printed from oneclickanswers.com. Results are estimates based on what was entered; see the assumptions above.

How it works

The lease costs what is due at signing, the payments, any mileage overage and the other fees: $2,000 + 36 x $399 + 1,000 x $0.25 + $495 = $17,109.

Buying costs the cash due now, the loan payments made in those months, and what is still owed at the end, minus the resale value you estimate: $3,000 + $22,090 + $13,845 - $17,000 = $21,936.

Both end on the same date, so the two totals compare like with like.

Formulas and details
  • Lease cost = due at signing + monthly payment x months + extra miles x fee per mile + other fees.
  • Buy cost over the same k months = cash due now + loan payments made in k months + balance still owed after k payments - estimated resale value.
  • Loan payment M = P x r x (1 + r)^n / ((1 + r)^n - 1); balance after k payments B = P x (1 + r)^k - M x ((1 + r)^k - 1) / r.

Assumptions

  • The resale value is your estimate and changes the answer a lot.
  • A lease ends with no vehicle, while buying ends with a vehicle. Insurance, maintenance and registration are left out of both.
  • This does not say which is better for you.

Example

Input: The starting values already in the form

Result: Over the same 36 months, leasing costs about $4,827.00 less under these numbers. They are not the same thing: a lease ends with no vehicle, while buying ends with a vehicle worth the resale value you entered.

Questions

Should I lease or buy?

This page does not decide. It shows what each costs over the same months under your numbers. Your needs, how long you keep a car and how much you drive matter too.

Why does the resale value matter so much?

It is what you could sell the car for at the end. A higher value lowers the cost of buying.

Last reviewed 2026-10-04.

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