Terminal lease cost calculator
A terminal lease is quoted as a small monthly payment over a long term, so the total is easy to agree to and hard to picture. Multiply the payment by the months and the real number appears. Add what the same equipment costs to buy and you can see the gap. No sign-up, nothing stored.
Total is the monthly payment multiplied by the term. It does not include tax, insurance or any end-of-term buyout, so treat the result as a floor rather than a ceiling.
Enter a monthly payment and a term to see the committed total.
Why the monthly number is the wrong one to compare
Leases are sold on the payment, not the total. A payment of $39 a month reads as small. Across a 48 month term it is $1,872, which is a different conversation entirely. The arithmetic is simply payment × months.
None of that makes leasing wrong. It preserves cash, keeps equipment current, and often bundles support and replacement. We offer it, and we think it suits plenty of businesses. What matters is that you pick it with the total in view rather than discovering it in year three. The longer version is in terminal leasing explained, and if you are weighing it against processing costs more broadly, see which merchant account fees are negotiable.
Four things to get in writing
A lease is a financing agreement, and the terms that matter are rarely the ones on the front page. Ask for these four in writing before you commit, from us or from anyone else.
The monthly payment
Including any tax, insurance or service line added on top.
The term in months
This is the number that turns a small payment into a large total.
The cancellation clause
Most equipment leases are non-cancellable for the full term.
What happens at the end
Some agreements roll on, or require a buyout rather than ending.
This calculator multiplies your payment by your term. It does not model tax, insurance, an end-of-term buyout, or the value of keeping cash in the business. Treat the result as the floor on what the agreement commits you to, and read your own paperwork for the rest.
Terminal lease FAQ
How do I work out what a terminal lease really costs?
Multiply the monthly payment by the number of months in the term. A $39 payment on a 48 month lease is $1,872, regardless of what the equipment is worth. That single number is the one to compare against buying the same terminal outright, and it is the number most lease paperwork never puts on the front page.
Why is a lease often several times the purchase price?
A lease bundles financing, and sometimes support, replacement and insurance, into a small monthly figure over a long term. The monthly number looks modest because the term is long. Spreading $39 a month across four years is easy to agree to and hard to picture in total, which is exactly why working the total out first is worth the two minutes.
Can I cancel a terminal lease early?
Usually not. Equipment leases in this industry are commonly written as non-cancellable for the full term, and the remaining payments can fall due as a lump sum if you stop. Read the cancellation clause before you sign, and ask for it in writing if the person selling it cannot point you to it.
Is leasing always the wrong choice?
No. Leasing preserves cash, keeps equipment current, and can include support and replacement that buying does not. For a business that would rather not put several hundred dollars on a card today, a lease can be a reasonable trade. The point of this calculator is not to argue against leasing. It is to make sure you are choosing it with the total in front of you.
What should I ask before signing a lease?
Four things. The exact monthly payment including any tax or insurance line. The full term in months. Whether the lease is cancellable, and what it costs if it is not. And what happens at the end of the term, because some agreements roll on or require a buyout rather than simply finishing.