Lease vs Buy Car Calculator exists because people deserve accurate, transparent calculations they can trust — not vague rules of thumb. Compare the true cost of leasing versus buying a car — side by side, in your browser.
A small group of finance experts and engineers who believe a number is only useful when you understand where it comes from. We work distributed across the US, constantly refining the math.
Auto Finance Content Reviewers
Our team breaks down the brutal reality of auto finance. We run the exact same mathematical formulas used by dealerships, stripping away the sales pitch so you can compare your leasing and buying options with absolute confidence.
Product & Accessibility
Builds the calculation engine and keeps the site fast, accessible, and privacy-first across every device.
Take a look inside our collaborative workspaces where our financial analysts, auto experts, and software developers build, verify, and maintain our calculators.
Lease vs Buy Car Calculator began as a frustration: most online calculators hand you a number with no explanation, no sources, and a page buried in ads. We wanted the opposite.
What started as one clean tool grew into a robust platform for calculating real auto financing costs — each component built to show its working and respect your privacy.
We turn established auto finance formulas into fast, accurate tools you can use in seconds — then wrap them in plain-English explanations of what the result actually means.
Our guides exist for the follow-up question every calculator should answer: “okay, so what do I do with this number?”
We earn trust through rigorous mathematical proof, verifiable auto finance benchmarks, and absolute transparency regarding the assumptions that power every estimate.
Built-in tax rules for all 50 states, accurately handling upfront full-price taxation (Texas, Georgia), upfront payment-sum taxation (New York, Ohio), and monthly payment taxation.
100% in-browser computation with zero personal data collection, zero financial tracking, and zero transmission of user-entered numbers to third parties or dealerships.
Amortization, rent charges, and disclosure models adhere strictly to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Regulation M (12 CFR Part 1013) and Truth in Lending Act (TILA) guidelines.
All interest rates, money factor tiers, and depreciation assumptions are benchmarked against published figures from the Federal Reserve, Experian Automotive, and Edmunds.
Documented formulas
Each calculator explains the exact equation it uses and how edge values are handled.
Published rate data
Assumptions for money factor, residual values, and depreciation follow published auto finance benchmarks — not figures we invented.
Clear scope boundaries
We calculate, we don't advise. Every result page reminds you to confirm figures with your dealer or lender before signing.
Our commitment to verifiable calculation accuracy, consumer privacy, and transparent automotive finance education:
In states like Texas and Georgia, sales tax is assessed on the full purchase price rather than monthly payments. Our engine accounts for this rule so shoppers don't face thousands in unexpected signing fees.
Dealers frequently pad the wholesale money factor by 0.00040 or more to generate hidden profit. Our tools translate money factors into APR equivalents and quantify the markup over your lease term.
Leasing often offers lower initial monthly payments, but buying builds equity. We calculate the exact breakeven point where loan payoff yields payment-free years that surpass lease savings.
Every calculation runs exact loan amortization and lease rent charge formulas with zero approximations, hidden assumptions, or arbitrary rounding shortcuts.
All calculations execute locally in your browser. No cookies, no email gates, no credit checks, and no selling of user contact information to dealerships.
Depreciation allocations, monthly rent charges, and mandatory fee itemizations conform directly with federal Regulation M statutory disclosure frameworks.
Our calculation methodology and guides are cited and referenced across independent automotive consumer forums, financial communities, and regulatory tools:
The nation's top crowdsourced automotive leasing and dealership deal evaluation platform.
Leading consumer finance community frequently citing true ownership vs lease comparison math.
Verified automotive dealership finance managers and sales representatives discussing dealer lease desk reality.
Federal agency governing automotive finance disclosures and Consumer Leasing Act statutory guidelines.
Benchmark automotive residual values, pricing indices, and national dealer incentives data.
Every result comes straight from the published formula — no rounding shortcuts, no averages standing in for the real calculation.
Rate assumptions follow published auto finance data from Experian, Edmunds, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with sources listed on every relevant page.
The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent to a server, stored, or used to identify you.
Content and FAQs ship as crawlable static HTML. The interactive calculator hydrates on top without replacing the page.
We say where the numbers fall short — high-mileage drivers, early trade-ins, and manufacturer incentives all change the math — instead of pretending one scenario fits everyone.
The formula, the categories, the assumptions — all visible. Check the numbers against your own and verify every step.
Tap a milestone to see what it includes.