Lease vs Buy Calculator

What is Lease vs Buy Calculator?

Compare total lease cost with estimated buy cost after resale.

• Estimate auto loan payments, total interest, and affordable car price.
• Compare how down payment, term, and rate affect car budget.
• Create a loan and cash-flow baseline before buying a car.

Scope and country basis

English pages are intended for English-speaking markets. Use the country/currency selector for United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, or China where available.

Policy-sensitive results vary by jurisdiction. When a local rule is not implemented, the calculator uses your entered rates, deductions, premiums, or assumptions instead of pretending one country fits all.

What each input means

Monthly lease payment

Money field, formatted in the selected currency.

Lease months

Number field: enter the value that matches your scenario.

Car price

Money field, formatted in the selected currency.

Down payment

Money field, formatted in the selected currency.

Annual interest rate

Percentage field: enter 8 for 8%.

Loan term

Number field: enter the value that matches your scenario.

Resale value

Money field, formatted in the selected currency.

Formula and interpretation

The core formula is: Compare lease payments vs loan payments minus resale value. If a country/currency selector is available, money is formatted for that market. Policy-sensitive fields use the selected market where implemented, otherwise they remain user-entered assumptions.

Use the result for first-pass comparison, budgeting, scenario planning, and discussion prep. Before filing taxes, applying for credit, buying insurance, or investing, verify the result against local rules, contracts, and professional advice.

Key concepts

Key inputs for this tool

Lease vs Buy Calculator mainly depends on Monthly lease payment, Lease months, Car price, Down payment. Keep time period, currency, and definitions consistent before comparing outputs.

Total vehicle cost

Price is only one part; insurance, tax, registration, energy, maintenance, parking, and depreciation matter.

Depreciation

Vehicle value declines and affects resale or trade-in.

Monthly budget

Loan payment is only part of car affordability.

How to read the result

• Read the core Lease vs Buy Calculator output first, then the supporting metrics and scenarios rather than cherry-picking one favorable number.
• Judge total cost of ownership before monthly payment comfort.
• Add insurance, fuel/charging, maintenance, and parking.
• Long loans can create negative equity if depreciation is faster than principal repayment.

How to use it

1. Enter car price, down payment, rate, term, or ownership costs.
2. Review auto payment, affordable car price, or ownership cost.
3. Adjust down payment, term, fuel, electricity, insurance, or maintenance assumptions.
4. Before buying, verify insurance, taxes, registration, resale value, and loan terms.

Common mistakes

• Looking only at payment.
• Using unrealistically low energy or repair cost.
• Ignoring negative equity when replacing the car early.

Suggested workflow

1. Calculate loan or energy cost.
2. Add insurance, maintenance, parking, and depreciation.
3. Compare buy, lease, gas, and electric scenarios.

Method and review boundary

This calculator runs a local estimate from the inputs and formula shown on this page. It does not retrieve live rules, rates, underwriting decisions, or quotes from banks, tax authorities, insurers, or other providers. Last reviewed: July 24, 2026.

For tax, lending, insurance, retirement, investment, or contract decisions, verify official guidance, the relevant agreement, and a formal quote for your location. Use this result to compare scenarios and prepare questions, not as financial, tax, investment, or legal advice.

Method notes and official sources

Lease cost is the user-entered monthly lease payment times lease months. The buy estimate is entered down payment plus fixed-rate loan payments made during the shorter of lease months or loan months, minus entered resale value. If the comparison ends before the loan term, the page does not add the remaining loan balance, so the buy figure is incomplete and can materially understate cost. It also excludes amounts due at signing, acquisition or disposition fees, taxes, registration, mileage and wear charges, maintenance, insurance, financing fees, opportunity cost, lease purchase options, and differences in vehicle condition or timing.

The page calculates locally only from user-entered values. It does not connect to lenders, regulators, tax or social-insurance authorities, bank or investment accounts, or other live data sources. Results are estimates, not an approval, offer or quote, tax or statutory-contribution determination, or financial, tax, legal, or investment advice. Currency selection changes formatting only and does not perform FX conversion or load local rates, taxes, or contribution rules.

• FTC: Financing or leasing a car and comparing total costs - Federal Trade Commission
• CFPB: Take Control of Your Auto Loan guide and total-cost comparison - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• CFPB Regulation M: Consumer-lease payment and cost disclosures - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Sources checked July 27, 2026. These are government, regulatory, or first-party references. Laws, loan and lease terms, rates, fees, taxes, social-insurance, and statutory-contribution rules can change; verify the applicable authority, contract, disclosures, and lender before a formal decision.

FAQ