Auto Lease vs. Buy Calculator

How this calculator works

Leasing and buying spend money on very different shapes, just like renting and buying a home. Buying pays for the whole car through a loan, but you keep an asset — the car's resale value — at the end. Leasing pays only for the car's depreciation during your term, but you own nothing when it's over and must return the vehicle.

This calculator totals the real cash cost of each path over the number of months you'd keep the car: for buying, that's your down payment plus loan payments minus what the car would be worth (net of any remaining loan balance) when you're done; for leasing, it's the drive-off cost plus your monthly payments the whole time.

Why your quoted lease payment matters

Lease payments are priced from a residual value and a "money factor" that dealers rarely explain clearly. Rather than reverse-engineer that math, this calculator simply asks for the payment you were actually quoted — the number that matters is what leaves your bank account each month, however it was calculated.

What tends to favor each option

• Leasing often wins if you replace vehicles every 2–3 years, want lower monthly payments, or drive under the mileage limit (typically 10,000–15,000 miles/year).
• Buying often wins the longer you keep the car — once a loan is paid off, you drive payment-free, something leasing never allows.

If you're not sure how long you'd keep the car, try the calculator at both 36 and 60 months — the better option can flip depending on the timeline.