Buying math
How to calculate cost per use
Cost per use turns a price tag into a more useful question: how much will each realistic use cost over the time you own the product?
Basic formula: net ownership cost ÷ expected uses.
Net ownership cost can include purchase price plus required ongoing costs and maintenance, minus realistic resale value.
Count honestly
- Estimate weekly use conservatively.
- Use a realistic ownership period.
- Include required subscriptions or consumables.
Avoid false precision
- Resale value is an estimate, not a guarantee.
- Unexpected repairs can change the result.
- A low cost per use does not make an unnecessary purchase useful.
Example
A $600 product used three times per week for three years has about 468 expected uses. Ignoring resale and other costs, that is roughly $1.28 per use. If required ownership costs add $150, the figure becomes roughly $1.60 per use.
Cost per use is one input, not a universal measure of product quality or affordability.