Tools · Cost Per Use
Cost per use.
What this purchase actually costs.
A $300 jacket worn 3 times costs $100 per use. The same jacket worn 60 times costs $5 per use. The difference is not the price tag. It is whether you actually use the thing. Enter any purchase and your honest expected uses to see what it really costs.
THE QUESTION THAT MATTERS
Will you actually use this the number of times you're imagining right now? Be honest. Most people overestimate future uses by a wide margin. Look at how often you used the previous version of the thing.
YOUR PURCHASE
COMPARE TO ALTERNATIVE (OPTIONAL)
Often the cheaper item lasts fewer uses.
PRESET EXAMPLES
RESULTS
VERDICT
Enter a purchase to see the cost-per-use math.
The honest framing
- Cost per use is not the only metric. A book read once that changes your thinking is worth far more than its cost per use suggests. A gym membership used 3 times before being forgotten costs $200+ per use regardless of motivation.
- The hard question: will you actually use this the number of times you're imagining right now? Look at how often you used the previous version, not how often you intend to use this one.
- "Buy It For Life" makes economic sense when the higher-quality version genuinely lasts proportionally longer. A $120 pair of jeans is worth it if it lasts 80 wears vs 8 for the $30 pair. The "Vimes Boots" theory of inequality describes exactly this dynamic.