Business Finance Calculators
Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
Calculate the total cost of owning an asset over its life, including running costs, maintenance and resale value.
- Runs in your browser
- Nothing uploaded
The tool
Enter your numbers below. Results update as you type, and nothing leaves your browser.
Everything you enter stays on your own machine. Nothing is sent to us or to anyone else, which you can confirm in your browser network tab.
What people use it for
- Comparing vehicles, machines or IT equipment
- Lease versus buy decisions
- Procurement evaluations
- Budgeting asset replacement
About this tool
What the Total Cost of Ownership Calculator does
Total cost of ownership (TCO) looks past the purchase price to everything an asset costs while you own it: running costs, maintenance and financing, minus what you get back when you sell it. Comparing TCO, not sticker price, often changes which option is cheaper.
Formula
- TCO = purchase price + financing + (running + maintenance) × years − resale value
- Present-value TCO discounts running costs and resale value at the discount rate
Worked example
Using the starting values in the calculator above:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $30,000 |
| Years of ownership | 5 |
| Annual running costs | $2,500 |
| Annual maintenance | $1,200 |
| Total financing costs | $2,000 |
| Resale value at the end | $8,000 |
| Discount rate (optional) | 0% |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total cost of ownership | $42,500 |
| Cost per year | $8,500 |
| Cost per month | $708 |
| TCO in today’s money | $42,500 |
How to read the result
When comparing a cheap option with an expensive one, the cheaper purchase often has higher running costs or lower resale value. TCO puts them on the same basis.
Use the same ownership period for every option you compare.
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Questions
Questions about this tool
The things clients actually want to know — costs, timelines, ownership and what happens after launch.
The full cost of acquiring, using and disposing of an asset over the time you own it.
Money you recover when you sell the asset reduces its true cost.
For long ownership periods or large sums, yes; it reflects that money spent later is worth less than money spent today.
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