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Calcimator

Aircraft Lease vs Buy Calculator

Compare the total cost of leasing vs purchasing an aircraft. Factor in loan terms, residual value, and usage hours to find the best option.

Total Lease Cost

$240,000.00

Net Ownership Cost

$109,836.90

Inputs

$
%
years
$
hrs
%

Comparison

Monthly Lease Payment

$2,000.00

Monthly lease amount.

Monthly Ownership Cost

$915.31

Net monthly cost of ownership.

Annual Usage Hours

100

Your planned annual flight hours.

Recommendation (1=Buy, 2=Lease)

1

1 means buying is cheaper; 2 means leasing is cheaper.

Cost Breakdown

How to Use This Calculator
  1. Enter the aircraft purchase price ($) and financing terms (interest rate and loan term in years).
  2. Set the monthly lease rate ($) for the comparable leased aircraft.
  3. Enter annual usage hours and expected residual value at the end of the term.
  4. Review total lease cost vs. net ownership cost over the full term.
  5. Check the break-even annual usage hours — above that threshold, ownership typically wins.

How the result changes with Loan / Lease Term

Loan / Lease TermTotal Lease CostNet Ownership Cost
3.9$93,600.00$78,606.81
11$264,000.00$115,267.29
20$480,000.00$167,915.18
27$648,000.00$213,256.88

What each input means

Purchase Price
Aircraft purchase price.
Loan Interest Rate
Annual interest rate on the aircraft loan.
Loan / Lease Term
Duration of the loan or lease agreement.
Monthly Lease Rate
Monthly lease payment for the aircraft.
Annual Usage Hours
Expected flight hours per year.
Residual Value
Expected aircraft value at end of term as percent of purchase price.

What each result means

Total Lease Cost
Total payments over the lease term.
Net Ownership Cost
Total loan payments minus residual value.
Monthly Lease Payment
Monthly lease amount.
Monthly Ownership Cost
Net monthly cost of ownership.
Annual Usage Hours
Your planned annual flight hours.
Recommendation (1=Buy, 2=Lease)
1 means buying is cheaper; 2 means leasing is cheaper.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

  1. Identify Input Parameters
    4 parameters
    Purchase Price = 150000, Loan Interest Rate = 6, Loan / Lease Term = 10, Monthly Lease Rate = 2000 = 6 input(s) provided
  2. Calculate Total Lease Cost
    Total Lease Cost
    240000 = $240,000
  3. Calculate Net Ownership Cost
    Net Ownership Cost
    109836.9 = $109,836.9
  4. Calculate Monthly Lease Payment
    2000 = $2,000
  5. Calculate Monthly Ownership Cost
    Monthly Ownership Cost
    915.31 = $915.31

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