Estimates only. Lease payments = equipment cost × money factor. Typical 60-month factors: FMV ≈ 0.0192, 10% PUT ≈ 0.0203, $1 buyout ≈ 0.0217 — adjust the factor to match any quote you receive and the structures compare apples-to-apples.
Leases are not loans, and their math is different: payments are set by a factor rate (or an APR equivalent), the equipment has a residual value at term end, and what happens at the end — return it, buy it at fair market value, buy it for 10%, or buy it for $1 — changes the true cost more than the monthly payment does. This calculator computes all three standard structures side by side (the comparison Fit Small Business’s tool made the benchmark) and shows total lease cost and total cost if you buy at the end. For the decision framework behind the numbers, read leasing vs buying; for loans, the equipment financing calculator.
Estimates only, not a lease offer. Lease approval and factor rates depend on credit tier and equipment.
| Structure | Monthly payment | You pay over term | At the end |
|---|---|---|---|
| FMV lease | ~$1,050 | ~$37,800 | Return it, extend, or buy at fair market value (often ~$10–15k on this profile) |
| 10% buyout lease | ~$1,285 | ~$46,260 | Buy it for $5,000 (10%) — or walk away per contract terms |
| $1 buyout lease | ~$1,455 | ~$52,380 | Buy it for $1 — ownership economics, lease paperwork |
| (Illustrative payments at typical mid-tier factor rates — the pattern, lowest payment ↔ least ownership, is the point Fit Small Business’s three-structure example demonstrates with its own figures: FMV $747.41 vs 10% buyout $1,131.91 vs $1 buyout $1,220.63 on its example equipment.) |
Payment ≈ equipment cost × factor rate. At a 0.021 factor on $50,000: $1,050/month. Factor rates in the market run roughly 0.015–0.040 (equipmentcalculators.com’s range) — lower for strong credit/longer terms on liquid equipment, higher for weak credit and specialised kit. Unlike APR, a factor rate does not decline as the balance falls — multiply it by the term to see the real premium: 0.021 × 36 = 0.756, i.e., you repay about 75.6% of the equipment’s cost in payments over 3 years before any buyout.
What will my monthly payments be? The tool’s first output — the exact label equipmentleasing.org puts on its lease payment calculator. On the default machine: ~$1,050 (FMV) to ~$1,455 ($1 buyout), structure-dependent.
What’s the difference between an FMV lease, a 10% buyout and a $1 buyout? Who owns the equipment risk at the end. FMV: lowest payments, no ownership — you return it or buy at market. 10% buyout: mid payments, a fixed 10% purchase option. $1 buyout: highest payments, ownership for a nominal dollar — economically a purchase (fitsmallbusiness computes all three for this reason).
What is a factor rate on an equipment lease? The multiplier that sets your payment: payment = equipment cost × factor rate (equipmentcalculators.com explains it as the cost per dollar of equipment value, typically 0.015–0.040). It is not an interest rate — converting it honestly requires the full payment stream, which is why this tool also offers APR-equivalent mode.
What will it cost to buy the equipment at the end of the lease? NerdWallet’s lease mode outputs exactly this — “total cost if you buy at the end”: scheduled payments + the buyout (FMV estimate, fixed 10%, or $1). The calculator shows it per structure so the comparison is all-in, not payment-only.
How much can I finance? Leasing covers up to 100% of equipment cost at many lessors, sometimes including soft costs (delivery, installation, tax). equipmentleasing.org’s Budget Estimator is built around this question; your tier and the equipment’s resale market set the real ceiling — soft-cost-heavy deals price that into the factor rate.
Estimates only, not a lease offer. Sources: Fit Small Business lease-structure comparison; NerdWallet loan & leasing calculator (lease outputs); equipmentcalculators.com factor-rate guidance; equipmentleasing.org tool labels (questions). Reviewed 2026-10-22.