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True Cost Calculator

What a car, pet, appliance, home or gadget really costs per year, month and day.

Shown in results only; no conversion is performed.

Pet: purchase or adoption fee.

years

Leave 0 if you pay cash.

%/year
months

Car or appliance: servicing and repairs. Pet: vet visits, vaccinations, medication and other health care.

Pet: health or liability insurance.

Car: e.g. 6 (litres per 100 km). Appliance: e.g. 1.2 (kWh per wash cycle). Pet: e.g. 0.35 (kg of food per day).

E.g. price per litre of fuel, per kWh or per kg of pet food.

E.g. km per year, wash cycles per year, or 365 feeding days for a pet.

Other recurring costs

Taxes, parking, subscriptions, pet supplies, grooming, fees…

Other recurring costs
#CostAmountEvery
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Try an example: Compact car, financed, 6 years · Medium-sized dog, 12 years

How it works

Add the purchase price, financing, expected resale value, recurring costs, maintenance, insurance and energy use. The calculator returns the true total cost of ownership, the cost per year, month and day, the share of each cost bucket, and how many times the sticker price you really pay.

  • Depreciation = purchase price − expected resale value (the money you will not get back).
  • Loan interest is computed from an exact monthly annuity schedule: payment = L·i ÷ (1 − (1 + i)^−n) with i = APR ÷ 12 and n = term in months; only interest falling within the ownership period (years × 12 months) is counted.
  • Recurring costs are annualised: weekly × 365.25/7, monthly × 12, quarterly × 4, yearly × 1; then multiplied by years owned.
  • Energy, fuel or food per year = consumption ÷ (1 or 100) × usage per year × price per unit.
  • True total = depreciation + loan interest + years × (recurring + maintenance or vet care + insurance + energy, fuel or food per year).
  • Per year = total ÷ years; per month = total ÷ (12 × years); per day = total ÷ (365.25 × years). Sticker multiplier = total ÷ purchase price.

For scripts and AI agents

  • JSON API: POST https://usefulweb.site/api/v1/tools/true-cost-calculator/calculate (same calculation as this page)
  • Interface description: OpenAPI 3.1 · AI guide: llms.txt
  • MCP server (Streamable HTTP): https://usefulweb.site/mcp · tool name true_cost_calculator
Example request
curl -s -X POST https://usefulweb.site/api/v1/tools/true-cost-calculator/calculate \
  -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"itemType":"car","itemName":"Compact car","currency":"EUR","purchasePrice":24000,"yearsOwned":6,"resaleValue":9000,"loanAmount":15000,"aprPercent":5.9,"loanTermMonths":48,"maintenancePerYear":600,"insurancePerYear":750,"energyConsumption":6,"consumptionPer":"per-100","energyUnitPrice":1.75,"usagePerYear":12000,"recurring":[{"name":"Vehicle tax","amount":120,"frequency":"yearly"},{"name":"Parking permit","amount":30,"frequency":"monthly"}]}'

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