Finance calculator
Car Lease Calculator
Estimate total lease contract cost from the payments, fees and mileage you enter.
Use this calculator
What your result means
The total shown is the entered initial payment, regular monthly payments and entered fees. It is a contract-cost model and does not assume that you own the vehicle at the end.
Worked example
Using a £900 initial payment, £300 per month for 36 months and no fees:
- Regular payments
- £10,800.00
- Total contract cost
- £11,700.00
No maintenance, insurance, excess-mileage or vehicle-end value is assumed.
Formula
How the monthly lease payment changes total contract cost
The monthly payment is usually the largest repeated cost in the lease model. The table below keeps the other example inputs unchanged and varies only the monthly lease payment.
It is an illustrative contract-cost comparison, not a statement about current vehicle leasing prices.
| Monthly payment | Effective monthly cost | Total contract cost |
|---|---|---|
| £150.00 | £175.00 | £6,300.00 |
| £200.00 | £225.00 | £8,100.00 |
| £250.00 | £275.00 | £9,900.00 |
| £300.00 | £325.00 | £11,700.00 |
| £350.00 | £375.00 | £13,500.00 |
| £400.00 | £425.00 | £15,300.00 |
| £500.00 | £525.00 | £18,900.00 |
| £600.00 | £625.00 | £22,500.00 |
What this lease cost includes
This calculator adds the initial payment, the regular monthly payments and any fees entered. It then shows the total modelled contract cost and an effective monthly equivalent.
It does not automatically add insurance, servicing, maintenance, excess-mileage charges, damage charges, fuel or electricity, or other costs unless they are explicitly represented by the available inputs.
Why the advertised monthly payment is not the full monthly cost
A lease can require a larger payment at the start of the agreement. Looking only at the regular monthly payment can therefore understate the average cost of the contract.
The effective monthly cost spreads the modelled total contract cost across the full lease term, making agreements with different initial payments easier to compare.
Where annual mileage is entered, cost per contracted mile divides the same modelled contract cost by the contracted miles over the term. It does not estimate excess-mileage charges.
Assumptions and limitations
- The vehicle is not treated as an owned asset at the end of the lease.
- Only the entered payments and fees are included.
Helpful questions
How is total car lease cost calculated?
The calculator adds the initial payment, all regular monthly payments over the entered term and any fees entered.
What is effective monthly lease cost?
It is the total modelled lease cost divided by the lease term, so the initial payment and entered fees are reflected alongside the regular monthly payment.
Is the initial rental included?
Yes. The entered initial payment is included in the total contract cost.
Does the calculator include excess mileage charges?
No. It does not assume an excess-mileage rate.
Does this include maintenance and insurance?
No. These are excluded unless explicitly entered through an available cost field.
Is leasing cheaper than buying?
This calculator does not answer that question. It calculates the entered lease contract cost only; a proper lease-versus-buy comparison requires additional ownership assumptions.
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