Rent vs Buy Equipment Calculator
Enter your own prices. The calculator compares the yearly cost of owning with renting for the days you actually need, and shows the break-even point.
Owning = (price − resale) ÷ years + interest on the average value + yearly costs. Renting = number of rentals × (cheapest of daily or weekly rate for the rental length + fees). Estimates only; taxes, depreciation deductions and financing terms differ. Your inputs stay in this browser.
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy Equipment?
It depends on how many days a year you need the machine. Owning costs the same whether it works or not (lost value, interest, insurance, repairs, storage); renting costs only when you use it. Below the break-even number of days, renting is cheaper; above it, buying is. Many contractors use roughly 60–70% utilization as a rule of thumb.
Rent or Buy: Common Questions
When is it better to rent equipment than buy?
Renting usually wins when you need the machine for a few days or weeks a year, need different sizes for different jobs, or have nowhere to store and service it. Buying usually wins when the machine would be on rent most working weeks.
What costs of owning do people forget?
Depreciation (the value you lose), interest or the return your cash could earn, insurance, registration, repairs and wear parts, storage, and a trailer and truck to move it. Enter your own estimate for each in the calculator.
What is the 60–70% rule?
A common rule of thumb among contractors: if you would have a machine on rent more than about 60–70% of the working year, owning usually becomes cheaper. It is a starting point; your prices decide.