Vocations · Job Skills · Smart buying

The cheap one
might cost the most.

Compare options by what they cost over their whole life, not the price tag. Add the running costs, the upkeep and what you could sell it for, and the calculator ranks them by cost per year.

Compare the optionsWhat you get

The total cost of ownership calculator

The worked example is three made-up home printers. Nothing you type leaves this browser.

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What you get

Vocations · Job SkillsFree

What you finish with
Each option’s total cost of ownership, cost per year and per use, ranked, with the saving against the dearest option and against the lowest price.
Who it is for
Students learning to compare purchases, families choosing an appliance, laptop or bike, and young adults making a first big purchase.
Format
Browser calculator for a phone, tablet or computer, by touch or keyboard. Prints a summary; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); export and import a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Job Skills space in Caveat Vocations.
Support
Questions, a correction or a request: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Pick two to eight options for the same job.
  2. Type each price and how many years you expect to use it.
  3. Estimate yearly running costs and upkeep.
  4. Add a resale value if it will have one.
  5. Read the cost per year, not the price.

Compare the options

How the cost of ownership is worked out

Everything you pay over the years you own it, less what you get back.

The worked example: an ink-tank printer over five yearsPrice$229ink-tank inkjetInk and upkeep+$1705 years × $34Resale−$20at the endCost to own$379$75.80 a yearThe worked example: an ink-tank printer over five yearsPrice$229ink-tank inkjetInk and upkeep+$1705 years × $34Resale−$20at the endCost to own$379$75.80 a year
The cheapest printer at the register is the dearest to own: three years of cartridges cost more than it did.

More than the price

Total cost of ownership adds what it costs to use a thing (energy, ink, fuel, subscriptions) and to keep it working (maintenance, repairs) to the price, then takes off whatever you can sell it for at the end. Energy labels and refill prices are good places to find the running costs.

Per year and per use

A $229 printer that lasts five years and a $79 one that lasts three are not compared fairly by their totals. Dividing by years of use puts them on the same footing; dividing again by uses a year gives a cost per page, per load or per ride. The page does not discount future costs for interest, which matters little for small purchases.

Sources

  1. Federal Trade Commission. EnergyGuide labels: comparing yearly operating costs (consumer.ftc.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Energy. Estimating appliance and home electronic energy use (energy.gov).
  3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. ENERGY STAR product finder (energystar.gov).
  4. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Making a spending plan (consumerfinance.gov).

The worked example is made up; its prices are illustrations. Your entries stay in this browser. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.