GuideStead.

Car purchase calculator · Buy vs. finance vs. lease

Compare the total cost of paying cash, financing, or leasing the same vehicle over however long you plan to keep it.

How to use this: Enter the vehicle's price and your sales tax rate once — those apply to all three paths. Then fill in the finance and lease terms you're actually being offered (or typical ones, if you're still shopping). The comparison shows total cost over the number of years you enter, not just the sticker price or monthly payment.
Vehicle & trade-in
Applies to all three paths below.
Enter your local sales tax rate, or leave at 0 to exclude it. Leases in some states tax the monthly payment instead of the full price up front — this calculator applies your rate to the monthly payment for the lease path and to the price up front for cash and finance, which won't exactly match every state's method.
Why this matters: with cash or financing you still own the car afterward, so part of what you paid isn't really "spent" — it's converted into a car you could sell. This value gets subtracted from the cash and finance totals below so they represent what owning the car actually cost you, not just what you paid out. A leased vehicle has no resale value to you since you never owned it, so this doesn't apply to the lease total.
This is your own estimate, not a modeled depreciation curve — vehicle depreciation varies too much by make, model, and condition for a general estimate to be reliable. A rough rule of thumb some people use is 15–20% the first year and roughly 10–15% per year after, but check current listings for your specific vehicle for a better number.
Finance option
Lease option
Leases are usually quoted as a "money factor" rather than an APR. If you have a money factor, multiply it by 2,400 to get the equivalent APR to enter here.
This is usually stated in the lease offer itself, not something to estimate yourself.
Cash
Monthly payment
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Cash needed upfrontPrice + tax + fees − trade-in
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Total cost
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Finance
Monthly payment
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Cash needed upfrontDown payment
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Total cost
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Lease
Monthly payment
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Cash needed upfrontDown payment + acquisition fee
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Total cost
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Before you decide: check this vehicle's safety ratings and recall history at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (part of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation) — crash-test ratings and recalls. GuideStead doesn't include this data directly, since it's specific to a make, model, and year, but NHTSA's own lookup tools are free, official, and always current.
The values you enter here are saved in this browser on this device so this calculator remembers them next time. No account or login; use Start fresh to clear.
Educational estimate, not financial advice. This compares financing cost only: vehicle price, sales tax, fees, financing or lease terms, and your own resale estimate. It does not include insurance, maintenance, fuel or charging, parking, registration renewals, or the opportunity cost of cash tied up in a purchase — all of which can matter and differ between paying cash and financing. Lease payments here use a simplified depreciation-fee-plus-rent-charge formula and may not exactly match a dealer's quote, which can include additional dealer-specific fees or adjustments. Sales tax treatment for leases varies by state; this calculator applies your entered rate to the monthly payment, which is a common but not universal method. For an actual purchase or lease decision, compare this estimate with the dealer's real numbers. Full disclaimer.

Why the monthly payment is the wrong number to compare

A lease payment almost always looks smaller than a loan payment — but they aren't the same thing. A lease is a fixed-length commitment on a car you hand back; a loan builds equity in a car you keep. Comparing the monthly figures alone is like comparing rent to a mortgage payment without asking what you own at the end. This calculator compares the total cost over the years you actually plan to keep the car.

How to read the three paths

Each path shows a single “Total cost” for the period you entered, after crediting resale value where you keep the car.

  • Cash: what you paid, minus the car's worth at the end.
  • Finance: total loan payments plus any upfront cash, minus resale value. If the loan is paid off within your period, you own the car outright afterward.
  • Lease: total lease payments plus fees, with no resale credit because you never owned the car. If your lease term is shorter than the period you entered, the total only covers the lease itself — you'd need another vehicle for the remaining years, and the tool flags this.

Why resale value is the hidden variable

A car you paid $35,000 for and sell for $14,000 didn't cost you $35,000 — it cost you $21,000. That difference is why a lease can win on the monthly line and still lose over time: it never gets the resale credit. Getting the resale estimate roughly right matters more than shaving a fraction off the interest rate.

What this doesn't cover

Insurance, maintenance, fuel or charging, registration, and the opportunity cost of cash tied up in a purchase are all outside the math. This compares the financing decision, not the full cost of ownership.

FAQ

The dealer quoted a “money factor,” not an APR.

Multiply the money factor by 2,400 (12 months × 200) to get the equivalent APR — for example, 0.00208 × 2,400 = 5.0% — and enter that.

Whose resale value should I use?

For a lease, use the residual value in your contract. For cash and finance, check current listings for your exact make, model, and year — depreciation varies too much for a single rule of thumb.