Repair or Replace: What's the Better Choice?
Should you fix your device or buy a new one? Enter what each option costs and how long it's expected to last, and this calculator turns both into a monthly cost so you can compare them fairly — even when the price tags and lifespans are completely different.
- Monthly cost (repair)
- $300 ÷ 12 mo = $25.00
- Monthly cost (new)
- $900 ÷ 36 mo = $25.00
- Break-even repair lifespan
- 12.0 months
What your result means
Repairing costs about $25.00 a month over 12 months, while replacing costs about $25.00 a month over 36 months. On a monthly basis, the two options tie by $0.00 a month, or $0 a year.
Your $300 repair is 33% of the $900 replacement price. Many technicians flag repairs above roughly 50% of replacement cost as a candidate for replacing instead.
The repair only needs to last 12.0 months to match the replacement's monthly cost. You entered 12 months, a cushion of +0.0 months.
Choosing either option over the alternative is worth $0 a year at these numbers.
The comparison here is entirely about monthly cost, not sticker price. Your repair costs $300 up front against a $900 replacement, but because those dollars have to last 12 months and 36 months respectively, the fair comparison is $25.00/month against $25.00/month. That is why neither option has an edge even though the two prices look very different.
The break-even point is the number that should drive your decision: your repair needs to last 12.0 months to be worth doing at all. You estimated 12 months, which is comfortably above that threshold. If a repair technician cannot confidently promise at least 12.0 months of further use, the conclusion flips toward replacing regardless of what the raw prices suggest.
Small changes to either lifespan estimate can flip the result. Shortening the repair life by even a few months, or a replacement that turns out to last longer than expected, moves the monthly figures enough to swap the winner — which is why it's worth asking a technician or checking manufacturer reliability data for a realistic lifespan rather than guessing.
How to improve your result
- Ask the repair shop for a realistic lifespan estimate, not just a priceNeeds ≥ 12.0 months to break even
The repair cost alone tells you nothing without knowing how long it will last. Push for a specific number of months, since that is the figure this whole comparison hinges on.
- Get a second repair quote if the cost is over half the replacement priceYour repair is 33% of replacement cost
Repairs quoted above roughly 50% of a new item's price are commonly flagged as replace-instead territory. A second quote can reveal a cheaper fix or confirm replacement really is the better call.
- Check whether either option is still under warrantyCan drop your real cost to $0
A repair or replacement covered by warranty changes this entire comparison. Confirm coverage before entering a cost, since a covered repair almost always wins outright.
- Factor in resale value if you'd sell the old itemLowers effective replace cost below $900
If replacing means selling the old item, subtract what you'd realistically get for it from the new-item cost before comparing — that resale cash is real money offsetting the purchase.
- Weigh running-cost savings on a genuinely inefficient old itemNot included in the monthly figures above
An old refrigerator, water heater, or washer can cost noticeably more to run than a new one. If that's the case for your item, estimate the annual utility savings separately and add it to the case for replacing.
- Re-run the numbers the moment a repaired item fails againA second $300 repair changes the math fast
A repair that needs redoing within its expected lifespan effectively doubles your monthly repair cost. If that happens, replacement usually becomes the clear winner even if it wasn't originally.
Worked examples
Washing machine — cheap repair, short remaining life
- Repair cost
- $180
- New washer cost
- $650
- Expected life after repair
- 8 months
- Expected life of new washer
- 96 months
Repair: $180 ÷ 8 = $22.50/mo. Replace: $650 ÷ 96 = $6.77/mo. Break-even: $180 ÷ $6.77 ≈ 26.6 months needed, but only 8 months expected.
Even though the repair is far cheaper up front ($180 vs $650), its short 8-month lifespan makes it more than three times as expensive per month. The repair would need to last over 26 months to compete — nearly nine months longer than estimated — so replacing is clearly the better value here.
Laptop — solid repair, long remaining life
- Repair cost
- $220
- New laptop cost
- $1,100
- Expected life after repair
- 24 months
- Expected life of new laptop
- 48 months
Repair: $220 ÷ 24 = $9.17/mo. Replace: $1,100 ÷ 48 = $22.92/mo. Break-even: $220 ÷ $22.92 ≈ 9.6 months needed, and 24 months expected.
The repair only needed to last about 9.6 months to break even, and it's expected to last 24 — a comfortable 14+ month cushion. That combination of a low repair cost and a genuinely long remaining life is exactly when fixing an item beats replacing it.
How this calculator works, assumptions, and sources
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Last reviewed July 9, 2026. Spotted an error? Report it via our corrections policy.