Car Lease vs Buy Total Cost Calculator
Use the Car Lease vs Buy Total Cost Calculator to compare a written lease with a purchase loan over one common ownership horizon.
Car Lease vs Buy Total Cost Result
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Versioned calculationFormula v1.0.0
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Report a calculation issue Car Lease vs Buy Total Cost Calculator: purpose and method
Compare lease and financed-purchase cash outflow over the same horizon, including fees, mileage, loan balance and estimated resale value.
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Method and test recordFormula v1.0.0
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- Not recorded
- Publisher
- CalculatorGeek
- Recorded review date
- Not recorded
- Next source review
- Not scheduled
- Definition fixtures
- 1 configured scenarios
- Published examples
- 1 shown below
Recorded method
No tool-specific review method has been recorded.
These records describe the published model and reference tests. A test-case count is not a certification of every possible input or an independent specialist review. Editorial policy
Known limitations
Method sources
- CFPB — Take control of your auto loan
- FTC — Financing or leasing a car
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Financing a car
Latest model update
2026-10-10 - Completed missing semantic entities, relationships, answer targets, query themes, questions, and visible input/output meaning without changing the calculation model.
Reference inputs and expected results
Up to 12 examples from the configured definition fixtures are shown. Expected values use the stated output units; invalid inputs are intended to be rejected.
| Case | Inputs | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| Reference case | Market and currency: us; Common comparison horizon: 36 count; Lease cash due at signing: 3000 currency; Lease monthly payment: 400 currency; Lease disposition and expected end fees: 600 currency; Expected excess-mileage and wear cost: 0 currency; Purchase out-the-door price: 36000 currency; Purchase down payment: 6000 currency; Purchase annual rate: 0 pct; Purchase loan term: 60 count; Purchase cash fees not in price: 0 currency; Estimated vehicle value at horizon: 22000 currency | Lease total cash cost: 18000; Estimated purchase-loan payment: 500; Purchase-loan balance at horizon: 12000; Estimated buy equity at horizon: 10000; Buy net cost after resale: 14000; Difference in net cost: 4000 (allowed numeric tolerance: 1.0E-6) |
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What this calculator answers
Compare leasing and buying over the same months. The purchase side must subtract realistic resale value and remaining loan balance; the lease side must include all signing, payment, mileage and return costs.
Compare a written lease with a purchase loan over one common ownership horizon.
Method and calculation order
Lease cost sums signing cash, monthly payments and entered end charges. Buy cost sums down payment, payments and cash fees, adds the remaining loan payoff, then subtracts estimated resale value.
To compare this result with another relevant method, open the Personal Loan Calculator. Related calculation for the next planning step.
Worked reference example
Over 36 months, a lease costing 3,000 upfront plus 400 monthly and 600 at return totals 18,000. A zero-rate purchase with 10,000 equity at that horizon has a modeled net cost of 14,000.
How to use the result
Use written lease and retail installment figures. Stress resale value, mileage and wear. Consider how long you actually keep vehicles; serial leases and long ownership are different decisions.
Continue the workflow: Use the All In Car Payment Calculator to related calculation for the next planning step. Then use the Auto Refinance Calculator to related calculation for the next planning step.
What the calculator cannot know
The model excludes tax rules not already in entered payments, opportunity cost, maintenance differences, insurance, incentives, early termination, lease buyout financing and market-value uncertainty.
Inputs, outputs and result meaning
Compare lease and financed-purchase cash outflow over the same horizon, including fees, mileage, loan balance and estimated resale value.
Inputs
- Market and currency
- Selects currency formatting and market terminology only; it does not insert tax, eligibility, underwriting, or product rules. Available choices are United States (USD), United Kingdom (GBP), Canada (CAD), Australia (AUD), New Zealand (NZD), and Ireland (EUR).
- Common comparison horizon
- Use the same number of months for both paths. Supported units are months.
- Lease cash due at signing
- All lease cash paid at or before delivery. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Lease monthly payment
- Written monthly lease payment including entered taxes. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Lease disposition and expected end fees
- Disposition, purchase-option or other expected end charges. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Expected excess-mileage and wear cost
- Scenario amount; use zero if none. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Purchase out-the-door price
- Complete financed purchase price before down payment. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Purchase down payment
- Cash applied to purchase. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Purchase annual rate
- Written note rate. Supported units are percent (%).
- Purchase loan term
- Number of scheduled monthly payments. Supported units are months.
- Purchase cash fees not in price
- Cash costs outside the financed amount. Supported units are selected market currency.
- Estimated vehicle value at horizon
- Scenario resale or trade value, not a quote. Supported units are selected market currency.
Outputs
- Difference in net cost
- This is the primary result. The display rule uses up to 2 decimal places.
- Lease total cash cost
- The display rule uses up to 2 decimal places.
- Buy net cost after resale
- The display rule uses up to 2 decimal places.
- Estimated purchase-loan payment
- The display rule uses up to 2 decimal places.
- Purchase-loan balance at horizon
- The display rule uses up to 2 decimal places.
- Estimated buy equity at horizon
- The display rule uses up to 2 decimal places.
Lease cost sums signing cash, monthly payments and entered end charges. Buy cost sums down payment, payments and cash fees, adds the remaining loan payoff, then subtracts estimated resale value. Keep the result label, unit, selected mode, and stated limitations together when sharing the answer.
Frequently asked questions
Why add the remaining loan balance?
It must be cleared to realize the entered resale value.
Is a lower monthly payment cheaper?
Not necessarily. Compare total net cost and horizon equity.
Primary sources and review status
- CFPB — Take control of your auto loan
- FTC — Financing or leasing a car
- Financial Consumer Agency of Canada — Financing a car
Sources and model boundaries checked 2026-10-08. CalculatorGeek Editorial Team verified this page for publication on 2026-10-16. Existing formulas, source dates, model boundaries, and professional-advice limitations remain in force.