Lease vs buy calculator

Lease or buy? This calculator sets the total cost of both routes over the same period side by side — leasing with its deposit, payments and excess-mileage charge, buying with optional financing and your expected resale value. The result is a cost comparison, explicitly not a recommendation. Everything runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Your result

–

–Leasing: total cost
–Buying: total cost (after resale value)
–Difference (Leasing − Buying)
–Leasing: avg. per month

Total cost over the term: leasing and buying

Buying total cost by resale-value assumption (scenarios)
Resale-value assumption	Buying: total cost

This calculator needs JavaScript because the calculation runs entirely in your browser – so your inputs never leave your device. A worked example is shown further down this page.

How this calculator works

The leasing total adds up the initial payment, the payments over the term, the delivery fee, any return/wear costs and the excess-mileage charge (excess km × rate). For buying, a cash purchase counts the purchase price minus the expected resale value; with financing, the sum of the annuity payments over the same term replaces the purchase price, again minus the resale value.

Running costs (fuel, insurance, servicing) are much the same either way and are left out — they would not change the difference. The resale value is the central, clearly flagged assumption: because it is uncertain, a sensitivity table shows the buying cost for several resale-value assumptions. Tax and business aspects are out of scope. It is a simple total-cash comparison — you enter the figures from your own lease and finance quotes, and it does not model country-specific lease structures (such as PCP balloon payments or money-factor leases). Amounts are shown in a currency of your choice (display only); mileage is metric (km).

Formula and variables

Leasing=Deposit + Payment × Term + Delivery + Return + Excess km × Rate

Buying=Purchase outlay − Resale value

Difference=Leasing − Buying

Purchase outlay: purchase price (cash) or the sum of the financing payments
Resale value: expected vehicle value at the end of the comparison (your assumption)
Rate: cost per excess kilometre from the lease contract

Worked examples

Example: three-year lease against a financed purchase

Example inputs
Leasing: deposit / payment / term	2,500 / 320 / 48 months
Leasing: delivery fee	750
Buying: purchase price / resale value	34,000 / 17,000
Financing	5.5% p.a. over 48 months

Example results
Leasing: total cost	€18,610.00
Buying: total cost (after resale value)	€20,954.57
Difference (Leasing − Buying)	-€2,344.57

Leasing = 2,500 + 48 × 320 + 750 = €18,610.00. Buying with financing = €37,954.57 in instalments − €17,000.00 resale value = €20,954.57. Here leasing works out €2,344.57 cheaper — but that flips with the resale value you assume (see the sensitivity table). All figures are example assumptions.

Assumptions

The user's resale-value assumption; identical use on both routes.
Running costs are the same either way (left out).
Constant terms within the scenario.

Limitations of this calculator

The resale value is uncertain and strongly drives the result (see the sensitivity table).
No tax or business aspects, and no live resale values.
No vehicle or leasing recommendation; quoted terms vary.

Frequently asked questions

Why aren't fuel and insurance included?

These running costs are much the same whether you lease or buy and would not change the difference. For your car's overall cost there is a separate car running-costs calculator.

How important is the resale value?

Very. It largely determines the buying cost and is at the same time uncertain, so the calculator shows a sensitivity table with several resale-value assumptions. It is deliberately not a forecast of the actual selling price.

Is anything I enter saved or shared?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Your entries are not stored and are not sent to a server.

Sources and further reading

Official and independent sources on this topic. The links open each website in a new tab; no content is loaded from them into this page.

What should I know about leasing versus buying a car?U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)Consumer explanation of leasing vs buying, residual value and mileage limits. Neutral, no product recommendation.
Financing or Leasing a CarU.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC)Consumer guidance on the cost components of financing versus leasing a vehicle. No provider recommendation.

Spotted an error in the calculation or the text?

If you notice something that is wrong or unclear: let us know via the contact page. We review every report.

Last reviewed: 01/08/2026 · All calculations run in your browser – inputs are not stored. ·How we check our calculators