Cost Per Use Calculator

Who this is for

What something really costs each time you use it. Enter the price, what it costs to keep each year, how long you would keep it and how often you would use it, and the sheet works out the lifetime cost, the cost per use and the cost per year. Put a purchase, a hire and a subscription on the same sheet to compare them fairly.

Anyone weighing a cheap item against a dearer one that should last longer, deciding between buying, hiring and subscribing, or wondering whether something already owned earns its keep.

What this helps you track

• The full cost of each option over the time you would keep it
• What each use works out at, on your own estimate of use
• The yearly cost of each option
• Which option is cheapest per use and which is dearest
• How much the answer depends on how often you really use it

How to use it

1. Write your name, the date and what you are deciding between.
2. Give each option a row. For a purchase enter the price; for a hire or a subscription leave the price blank and put the yearly cost in running costs.
3. Enter running costs a year, such as servicing, parts, cleaning, fuel or fees, from your own figures.
4. Estimate the years you would keep it and the uses a year honestly; low estimates are more useful than hopeful ones.
5. Lifetime cost, cost per use and cost per year are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, use the note under the table.
6. Compare the options in the summary, then change the uses a year to see where the order changes.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

How do I rank the options?

Sort the browser version or the workbook by the cost per use column, lowest first. The summary shows the lowest and highest cost per use so you can find the two ends at a glance.

How do I compare a subscription with buying?

Leave the price blank for the subscription and enter its yearly cost as running costs, with the years you would keep paying. The sheet then treats it the same way as a purchase kept for that time.

What about selling it on afterwards?

Take what you expect to get back off the purchase price before entering it. It is your own estimate, and a cautious one keeps the comparison honest.

What if I do not know how often I will use it?

Enter a low figure and a high figure on two rows for the same item. If the order of the options does not change between them, the uncertainty does not matter much.