Lease vs Buy Car Calculator
Enter your car price, loan and lease terms, and see the true total cost of leasing versus buying side by side.
Use the Lease vs Buy Car Calculator
Vehicle Details
Buy / Finance
Lease
Equivalent APR: 6.9% — editing APR below updates this field
Buy
Lease
Net Cost Breakdown
Net cost = all payments + fees − remaining car equity at the comparison term end.
Fill in the details on the left and click
Compare Lease vs Buy
Summary
Deciding whether to lease or buy a car involves more than comparing monthly payments. This calculator computes the full out-of-pocket cost for both options over the same term, including interest paid on a loan, the equity you retain when buying, and the total lease payments with no residual ownership. Enter the vehicle price, your down payment, financing APR, lease money factor, residual percentage, and term length to get a clear cost comparison.
How it works
- Enter the vehicle sale price and any down payment or cap cost reduction.
- For the buy scenario, enter the loan APR and loan term in months.
- For the lease scenario, enter the money factor (or APR), residual value percentage, and lease term.
- The calculator computes total loan cost (payments + down payment minus remaining equity) and total lease cost (all payments + any fees).
- Review the side-by-side summary to see which option has a lower total cost over the comparison period.
Use cases
- Comparing a 36-month lease to a 36-month loan on the same vehicle.
- Understanding how a higher residual value makes a lease more attractive.
- Evaluating whether a lower monthly lease payment actually costs less in total.
- Planning a car purchase budget by seeing full interest costs upfront.
- Deciding between leasing a new car every 3 years vs. owning long-term.
- Checking the break-even point where buying becomes cheaper than leasing.