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Cost Per Use Calculator

See the true cost per use of an item.

How it is calculated

Cost per use is the purchase price spread over the number of times you use the item: cost per use = price ÷ uses. Price is the total amount paid, uses is how many times you expect to use it over its life; uses must be above zero. The result is a money amount with two decimals. It helps compare a cheap item you replace often with a dearer one that lasts. The simple formula ignores resale value, maintenance, cleaning or energy, and does not include the time value of money. The more uses, the lower the cost per use goes.

Worked example

You buy a pair of boots for 120 and wear them about 80 times. Cost per use = 120 / 80 = 1.50, shown as $1.50. If you wear them 160 times instead, it falls to 120 / 160 = 0.75. Compare a 40 pair worn 20 times: 40 / 20 = 2.00 per use, so the dearer boots turn out cheaper to use.

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Common mistakes

  • Over-estimating uses, which makes a purchase look cheaper than it will be.
  • Leaving out related costs such as repairs, accessories or subscriptions in the price.
  • Comparing items by price alone without dividing by how long each one lasts.
  • Entering the number of years instead of uses, or the reverse.

About this calculator

This calculator divides a purchase price by the number of times you expect to use (or have used) the item — price ÷ number of uses — turning an upfront cost into a per-use figure that's much easier to judge value from than the sticker price alone.

It's commonly used to decide between a cheap pair of shoes worn a handful of times and a pricier pair worn for years, to justify a gym membership or subscription against how often it actually gets used, or to compare a single-use disposable product against a reusable alternative with a higher upfront cost.

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Comments (1)

  • Editorial team

    If you expect to resell the item, enter the price minus the likely resale value, since the formula otherwise charges you for value you get back. Running the numbers twice, once with a hopeful and once with a cautious number of uses, shows how fragile the answer is. The result is shown with a dollar sign whatever currency you type in. What was the last purchase you wanted to put through this test?

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