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Buy vs lease a phone
Put your phone price, resale value, lease payment and term in: $999 bought and $400 resold beats $30 a month leased by $121.
★ COMPARISONS · PHONE · BUY VS LEASE
Buy vs Lease a Phone: 24-Month Total Cost Comparison
On the defaults — a $999 phone resold for $400 after 24 months against a $30-a-month lease — buying costs $599 net and leasing costs $720, so buying saves $121 over the 24 months. This is a PHONE comparison, not a car lease: no down payment, no mileage limits, no wear-and-tear inspection at return, just a handset price, a resale value and a monthly lease payment over 24 months — the buy-vs-lease-car page is the CAR version, with a down payment and a 3-year term; the lease-vs-buy-phone page is the same phone comparison framed lease-first; and the repair-vs-replace-phone page is the REPAIR version — fixing the phone you already own instead of buying or leasing.
What does $121 of saving mean?
It means that over 24 months the buyer comes out $121.00 ahead: the buyer pays $999.00, sells the phone for $400.00, and is $599.00 out of pocket, while the leaser pays $30.00 a month for 24 months and is $720.00 out of pocket with no phone to sell. Per month that is $24.96 effective for buying against $30.00 for leasing. The part people get wrong is comparing the $999.00 sticker price against the $30.00 monthly payment: the honest comparison is net cost against total lease cost, and on those numbers buying wins by $121.00. But the verdict is close enough that the resale value decides it — at a $279.00 resale the two options tie exactly.
Three things to check before you trust the number
Is the $400.00 resale realistic? Resale is the whole verdict. A flagship kept in a case with a healthy battery can hold $400.00 after two years; a phone with a cracked screen or a swollen battery may fetch half that, and at $200.00 resale the buy net is $799.00 and leasing wins. Price your exact model and condition, not a headline average.
What does the lease actually include? This calculator compares the lease payment alone. Activation fees, device insurance, early-termination fees and any end-of-lease damage charges all sit outside the $720.00, and any one of them widens the buying advantage. Read the lease terms before treating $30.00 a month as the full price.
How long will you really keep it? The 12-month branch shows the horizon effect: over 12 months the same phone costs $599.00 net to buy against $360.00 to lease, so leasing wins by $239.00. Buying only pulls ahead once the lease payments pass the buy net, which happens in month 20 at $30.00 a month. If you upgrade yearly, lease; if you keep phones for two years or more, buy.
Worked example
On the defaults: $999.00 phone, $400.00 resale, $30.00 a month lease, 24 months.
- Buy net cost: $999.00 minus $400.00 is $599.00.
- Lease total cost: $30.00 × 24 months is $720.00.
- Difference: $720.00 minus $599.00 is $121.00 in favour of buying.
- Per month: $599.00 ÷ 24 is $24.96 effective for buying, against $30.00 for leasing.
And the other way: the resale value at which buying nets exactly the $720.00 lease cost is $279.00, the lease payment at which leasing costs exactly the $599.00 buy net is $24.96 a month, and leasing first costs more than buying in month 20, when the lease total reaches $600.00 against the $599.00 buy net.
Every branch, checked
- $1,299 phone, $500 resale, $35 a month, 24 months: $1,299 phone, $500 resale, $35 a month, 24 months: Buy net $799.00; lease $840.00 — Buying saves $41.00.
- $799 phone, $200 resale, $25 a month, 24 months: $799 phone, $200 resale, $25 a month, 24 months: Buy net $599.00; lease $600.00 — Buying saves $1.00.
- $999 phone, $0 resale, $30 a month, 24 months: $999 phone, $0 resale, $30 a month, 24 months: Buy net $999.00; lease $720.00 — Leasing saves $279.00.
- $1,499 phone, $800 resale, $45 a month, 24 months: $1,499 phone, $800 resale, $45 a month, 24 months: Buy net $699.00; lease $1,080.00 — Buying saves $381.00.
- $999 phone, $400 resale, $20 a month, 24 months: $999 phone, $400 resale, $20 a month, 24 months: Buy net $599.00; lease $480.00 — Leasing saves $119.00.
- $999 phone, $400 resale, $30 a month, 12 months: $999 phone, $400 resale, $30 a month, 12 months: Buy net $599.00; lease $360.00 — Leasing saves $239.00.
The reverses, worked backwards
- Resale value at which buying nets exactly the $720.00 lease cost: $279 — at $279 the figures are Buy net $720.00; lease $720.00 — Exactly even.; at the lower neighbor the figures are Buy net $740.00; lease $720.00 — Leasing saves $20.00.; at the upper neighbor the figures are Buy net $700.00; lease $720.00 — Buying saves $20.00..
- Lease payment at which leasing costs exactly the $599.00 buy net: $24.96 a month — at $24.96 a month the figures are Buy net $599.00; lease $599.04 — Buying saves $0.04.; at the lower neighbor the figures are Buy net $599.00; lease $587.04 — Leasing saves $11.96.; at the upper neighbor the figures are Buy net $599.00; lease $611.04 — Buying saves $12.04..
- Lease months at which leasing first costs more than the $599.00 buy net at $30 a month: 20 months — at 20 months the figures are Buy net $599.00; lease $600.00 — Buying saves $1.00.; at the lower neighbor the figures are Buy net $599.00; lease $570.00 — Leasing saves $29.00.; at the upper neighbor the figures are Buy net $599.00; lease $630.00 — Buying saves $31.00..
What the defaults assume
The defaults are a $999.00 phone, a $400.00 resale after 24 months, a $30.00 monthly lease and a 24-month term, so the headline is a flagship held for a full two-year lease cycle. The model is two subtractions and one multiplication: buy net is price minus resale, lease total is monthly payment times months, and the verdict is their difference. The resale reverse is checked at $20.00 either side, because $20.00 of resale is $20.00 of buy net; the lease-payment reverse is checked at $0.50 a month either side, because $0.50 times 24 months is $12.00 of lease total. The model does not include taxes, fees, insurance, interest on financing, or the value of having a phone to sell after the term ends — those belong to the actual offer documents, not to the headline arithmetic.
Output · formula · meaning
| Output | Formula | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Buy net cost | phone price − resale value | $599.00 — $999.00 − $400.00. |
| Lease total cost | lease payment × term in months | $720.00 — $30.00 × 24. |
| Saving from buying | lease total − buy net | $121.00 — $720.00 − $599.00. |
| Buy cost per month | buy net ÷ term in months | $24.96 — $599.00 ÷ 24. |
| Break-even resale value | phone price − lease total | $279.00 — $999.00 − $720.00. |
| Break-even lease payment | buy net ÷ term in months | $24.96 — $599.00 ÷ 24. |
| $1,299 phone, $500 resale, $35 a month, 24 months | same model | Buy net $799.00; lease $840.00 — Buying saves $41.00. |
| $799 phone, $200 resale, $25 a month, 24 months | same model | Buy net $599.00; lease $600.00 — Buying saves $1.00. |
| $999 phone, $0 resale, $30 a month, 24 months | same model | Buy net $999.00; lease $720.00 — Leasing saves $279.00. |
| $1,499 phone, $800 resale, $45 a month, 24 months | same model | Buy net $699.00; lease $1,080.00 — Buying saves $381.00. |
| $999 phone, $400 resale, $20 a month, 24 months | same model | Buy net $599.00; lease $480.00 — Leasing saves $119.00. |
| $999 phone, $400 resale, $30 a month, 12 months | same model | Buy net $599.00; lease $360.00 — Leasing saves $239.00. |
| Resale value at which buying nets exactly the $720.00 lease cost | reverse | $279: Buy net $720.00; lease $720.00 — Exactly even. |
| Lease payment at which leasing costs exactly the $599.00 buy net | reverse | $24.96 a month: Buy net $599.00; lease $599.04 — Buying saves $0.04. |
| Lease months at which leasing first costs more than the $599.00 buy net at $30 a month | reverse | 20 months: Buy net $599.00; lease $600.00 — Buying saves $1.00. |
| Resale equal to the price ($999) | same model | Buy net $0.00; lease $720.00 — Buying saves $720.00. |
| $0 lease payment | same model | Buy net $599.00; lease $0.00 — Leasing saves $599.00. |
| Negative resale value | same model | Resale value — $0 or more. |
| 0-month term | same model | Lease term — more than 0 months. |
Who uses this
- A buyer choosing between the carrier store and the lease plan — $599.00 net against $720.00 leased, with the $279.00 break-even resale as the decision line.
- Someone who upgrades every year — the 12-month branch shows leasing winning by $239.00 on a short horizon.
- A family comparing two lines at once — the $1,499.00 branch shows how a pricier phone with strong resale still favours buying by $381.00.
- A student weighing a refurbished buy against a lease — the $799.00 branch is nearly even, a $1.00 buying edge, so fees and condition decide it.
Accuracy & limitations
Figures are the model’s own arithmetic on the numbers you type, computed from unrounded values and displayed rounded HALF_UP to 2dp. The main limitation is the resale estimate, not the arithmetic: resale values move with model, condition, battery health and market timing, and a $100.00 miss in resale moves the verdict by exactly $100.00. Taxes, carrier fees, insurance and financing interest are not modelled, and this page is a calculation tool, not buying advice.
Cite this calculator
Buying a $999 phone and reselling it for $400 after 24 months costs $599 net, against $720 to lease at $30 a month. Source: Bright Side Kit, https://brightoolbox.com/buy-vs-lease-phone/, accessed 28 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How is the buy net cost calculated?
Phone price minus resale value. $999.00 minus $400.00 is $599.00 net.
What resale value makes buying exactly even with leasing?
$279.00. At a $279.00 resale the buy net is $720.00, exactly the lease total; below $279.00 leasing wins.
What lease payment makes leasing exactly even with buying?
$24.96 a month. At $24.96 a month the 24-month lease total is $599.00, exactly the buy net.
After how many months does leasing cost more than buying?
Month 20 at $30.00 a month. Through 19 months the lease total is $570.00, below the $599.00 buy net; in month 20 it reaches $600.00.
Why is buying cheaper on the defaults?
Because the resale value is strong. A $400.00 resale leaves only $599.00 of net cost, and $30.00 a month for 24 months adds up to $720.00.
Does the lease total include fees and taxes?
No. The lease total is the monthly payment times the term only. Activation fees, insurance and end-of-lease charges would add to the lease side.
What if I keep the phone longer than 24 months?
Buying gets better every extra month. The buy net stays $599.00 while a lease keeps charging $30.00 a month, so each month past month 20 widens the buying advantage.