Financial Calculator

Rent vs Own.

The real break-even question every renter eventually asks. Adjust the sliders to match your situation — results update instantly.

Option A
Renting
Hours flown per year100hrs/yr
Average GA renter flies 60–120 hrs/yr
Wet rental rate$155/hr
C172 avg $140–$175/hr · DA40 $175–$220/hr
Instruction / add-ons per year$800/yr
CFI, IPC, BFR, checkouts
Option B
Owning
Aircraft purchase price$75k
C172 $55–$120k · PA-28 $45–$100k · DA40 $150–$280k
Annual fixed costs$8,500/yr
Hangar + insurance + annual + registration
Variable cost (fuel + mx reserve)$55/hr
Fuel + oil + maintenance reserve per hobbs hour
Financing? Down payment$15k
Set to full purchase price to model cash purchase
Loan interest rate7.5%
AOPA Aviation Finance avg ~7–9% for used aircraft
Loan term15yrs
Standard aircraft loans range 10–20 years
Annual depreciation2%/yr
Typical rate is 5%-10% annually as of 2026
Results — live
Updating
Annual rent cost
$16,300
$163/hr all-in
Annual own cost
$22,174
$222/hr all-in
Break-even hours
159 hrs
You need 59 more hrs/yr
5-year net diff
+$23,422
owning saves this vs renting
→
You need to fly 159 hrs/yr to break even — you're at 100 hrs
Increase annual hours by 59 to make ownership the better financial choice.
Annual cost comparison
Renting
$16,300
Owning
$22,174
Cost per hour by annual hours flown (at your current inputs)
Fixed cost per hour
At 100 hrs/yr, fixed costs alone add $167/hr to ownership.
Cash flow impact
Owning requires $15k upfront plus $556/mo loan payment.
The hidden factor
Owners typically fly 40% more hours than renters — factoring this in often makes ownership cheaper per hour than it appears.