CostWise
    One engine · eight decisions · honest break-even

    Is It Worth It?

    Compare two options to see which costs less over time, how much you could save, and when the more expensive choice pays for itself.

    Step 1 — What do you want to find out?

    Pick the decision you are weighing up. You will get which option costs less over time, how much you save, and when the pricier one pays for itself — the few fields below are enough to start.

    Does a machine at home beat buying coffee out, at the rate you actually drink it?

    Nothing here is tied to one coffee chain. Enter whatever you actually pay for a cup, whether that is a $7 flat white or a $2.20 filter coffee from the bakery.

    Step 2 — Describe the two options

    $
    $
    $

    Step 3 — Which costs less over 24 months

    Machine at home costs $2,000 less in cash over 24 months — $600 against $2,600.

    The running totals cross after about 3.1 months, around January 2027.

    Machine at home
    $600
    cash over 24 months
    Coffee bought out
    $2,600
    cash over 24 months
    Difference
    $2,000
    in favour of Machine at home
    Break-even
    3.1 months
    about 67.8 coffees
    Machine at home per coffee
    $1.15
    520 in total
    Coffee bought out per coffee
    $5.00
    520 in total
    Machine at home per month
    $25.00
    averaged across the horizon
    Coffee bought out per month
    $108.33
    averaged across the horizon

    Step 4 — How the running totals build up

    Cumulative cost of each option across the comparison period
    AfterMachine at homeCoffee bought outGap
    0 months$300$0$300 for Coffee bought out
    5 months$363$542$179 for Machine at home
    10 months$425$1,083$658 for Machine at home
    15 months$488$1,625$1,137 for Machine at home
    20 months$550$2,167$1,617 for Machine at home
    24 months$600$2,600$2,000 for Machine at home

    The curve shows cash paid as it accumulates. Any resale or recovery value you entered is applied to the final totals above rather than to the curve, because it is money you would only receive at the end.

    Step 5 — What would change the answer

    Effect of changing each key assumption on the cheaper option
    AssumptionYour figure25% lower25% higherChanges the answer at
    Price of a bought coffee$5.00Machine at home cheaperMachine at home cheaper$1.15
    Coffees per week5Machine at home cheaperMachine at home cheaper0.7
    Machine price$300.00Machine at home cheaperMachine at home cheaper$2,287.00

    Each row moves one figure on its own and leaves everything else exactly as you entered it. "No change" means the cheaper option stays the same even if that figure is cut to a fiftieth or multiplied twelvefold.

    What your comparison is showing

    Over 24 months, Machine at home comes out $2,000 cheaper — $600 against $2,600, a difference of 76.9% of the larger total.

    Coffee bought out is cheaper at the start because of what you pay up front, and stays cheaper for about 3.1 months. After that point Machine at home pulls ahead, and the gap keeps widening for as long as the pattern holds.

    Spread across 520 coffees, that is $1.15 each for Machine at home and $5.00 each for Coffee bought out. Per-use figures are usually the fairest way to compare when one option front-loads its cost.

    The most influential assumption is price of a bought coffee: at $1.15 instead of $5.00 the two options cost the same, and past that point the cheaper one changes. That is a 76.9% move from the figure you entered — worth checking before you commit.

    Every figure here comes from the numbers you typed in. Nothing above is advice about what to buy, and the things that often matter most in these decisions — reliability, enjoyment, effort, risk — are not in the arithmetic at all.

    Two comparisons worked through

    A machine that pays for itself twice over

    A $300 machine, 50 cents of beans and milk a cup, $20 a year of descaling, against $5 coffees bought five times a week. The bought habit runs at about $108 a month; brewing at home costs about $12. The $300 is recovered in roughly three months, and across two years the machine option costs about $765 against $2,600 — a gap of around $1,835. Cut the habit to one coffee a week and the same machine takes over a year to break even.

    A repair that has to be bought three times

    A $300 repair expected to last a year against a $900 replacement expected to last eight. Over twelve months the repair is the obvious choice. Over three years it is charged three times — $900 in total — and lands level with the new machine, which still has five years of life left. This is why the life you expect matters more than the price on the invoice, and why it should be an honest estimate rather than a hopeful one.

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    Content last updated: September 17, 2026

    How this calculator works, assumptions, and sources

    How this calculator works
    Formula

    One engine, eight presets. Step unit = use, day or month, set by the horizon unit; steps = horizon in years x 12, otherwise the horizon figure. Uses/year = usage figure x (day 365, week 52, month 12, year 1). Steps/year = uses/year for a use-based horizon, 365 for days, 12 for months. Uses/step = 1 for a use-based horizon, otherwise uses/year / steps/year. Recurring/step = recurring amount x its frequency per year / steps per year. Replacements(k) = max(0, ceil(k / lifespan in steps) - 1). Cumulative(k) = upfront x (1 + replacements) - money received now + k x recurring/step + k x uses/step x cost per use + k x upkeep per year / steps per year + any one-off later cost once k reaches its step. Final total = cumulative(N) - resale value. Hours(k) = k x uses/step x hours per use, reported separately and only added to a second total when you enter an hourly figure. Break-even = the first step where the sign of (A - B) flips, interpolated between neighbouring steps and searched to five times the horizon.

    Assumptions
    • Every price, rate, lifespan and usage figure is entered by you; no market averages are assumed on your behalf.
    • Upfront costs are charged once, at the start, unless the useful life you enter is shorter than the comparison period — then the purchase is charged again each time that life runs out.
    • Resale or recovery value is subtracted once from the final total and deliberately excluded from the crossover curve, because it is money received only at the end.
    • Money received now, such as sale proceeds or a trade-in, is subtracted at the start instead.
    • A one-off later cost lands once, in the step you nominate, and is never also counted at the start.
    • Hours are never converted into money unless you switch on the optional hourly figure, and even then the cash total is reported separately.
    • Prices are held flat in today's money; no inflation, interest or investment return is applied anywhere.
    Default values & where they come from
    • Preset starting values are illustrative placeholders chosen to show how each comparison behaves — every one of them is editable and none is presented as a market rate.
    • Lifespans, usage rates and quotes are your own estimates, not published figures.
    Limitations
    • Compares cost only. Quality, reliability, enjoyment, effort and risk are not modelled and frequently outweigh the money.
    • Assumes steady usage and steady prices across the whole period; irregular or seasonal patterns are not modelled.
    • Sensitivity rows move one figure at a time and hold everything else at your entered values.
    • Break-even is found on the cash curves, so a large resale value can change the final totals without moving the crossing point.
    • Lifespan-driven repeat purchases assume the same item at the same price, which ignores price changes and improving efficiency.
    When not to rely on this calculator
    • Not a purchase recommendation.
    • Not a quote, appraisal or valuation.
    • Not an investment or opportunity-cost model.
    Sources

    Corrections welcome — see our corrections policy and editorial policy.

    Break-even and payback questions

    How is the break-even point worked out?
    The calculator builds a running total for each option, step by step — month by month, day by day, or use by use, depending on the decision you picked. The break-even is the first point where the option that started out more expensive becomes the cheaper one, worked out precisely between the two neighbouring steps. If that crossing never happens, no date is shown and the page says so plainly.
    What does it mean when there is no break-even?
    It means the option with the higher upfront cost never catches up under the numbers you entered — usually because the running costs are too similar or the usage is too low. A $300 machine that saves 20 cents a cup at two cups a week needs decades. In that situation the honest answer is that the purchase does not pay for itself financially, whatever else might recommend it.
    Are my hours treated as money?
    Never automatically. Hours are counted and shown as hours. Only if you switch on the optional hourly figure and type in a rate does the page show a second, clearly labelled total that includes it — and that total sits beside the cash figure, never replacing it. No hourly value is guessed from a salary or anything else.
    Why is the same purchase sometimes charged more than once?
    If you enter a useful life that is shorter than the period you are comparing, the item has to be bought again during that period, so the cost is charged again at that point. This is what makes repair-or-replace decisions work properly: a repair lasting a year is charged three times across a three-year comparison, while a replacement lasting eight years is charged once.
    How should I handle resale value?
    Enter it as the amount you would realistically get at the end of the period you are comparing. It is subtracted once, from the final total, and it is deliberately left out of the crossover curve because it is money you would only receive if you sold. Money received now — selling something you already own, or a trade-in — goes in the separate up-front field and is subtracted at the start instead.
    What does the sensitivity section actually test?
    It takes the two or three numbers that matter most for the decision you selected, moves each one up and down on its own while holding everything else at your figures, and reports whether the cheaper option changes. Where it does change, the page searches for the value at which the two options cost exactly the same, so you can see how far your estimate would have to be wrong to change the answer.
    Can it tell me what to buy?
    No, and it does not try. It reports what your own figures imply about cost over the period you chose. Comfort, quality, reliability, enjoyment and risk all matter in these decisions and none of them appear in the arithmetic. Treat the money answer as one input among several.
    The two totals came out almost identical — what then?
    When the totals are within half a percent of each other, the page calls the comparison effectively level rather than declaring a winner on a rounding difference. That is a genuinely useful result: it means the decision is not really a money decision, and you can choose on the things the calculator cannot measure.