Cost per use

Cost per use is the total cost of an item divided by the total number of times it is used across its ownership period. It reframes purchase evaluation around behaviour rather than sticker price — a high-priced item used frequently can deliver better per-use value than a cheap item used rarely.

The formula

Cost per use = (upfront cost + ongoing costs − resale value) ÷ total uses

All three cost inputs matter. Most amateur analyses use upfront cost alone, which understates total cost for items with subscriptions, maintenance, or consumables, and overstates it for items with meaningful resale value.

Example

A $2,000 espresso machine used daily for five years:

• Upfront: $2,000
• Consumables (beans, descalers): $400/year × 5 = $2,000
• Resale value at year 5: $300
• Total total cost of ownership: $3,700
• Total uses: 365 × 5 = 1,825
• Cost per use: $2.03

A cafe coffee at $4 per cup represents roughly twice the per-use cost of owning the machine — before any value is placed on convenience.

Useful reference points

• Below $1 per use — typically excellent value; per-use opportunity cost is negligible
• $1–$5 per use — reasonable territory for most discretionary goods
• Above $5 per use — the purchase needs disproportionate joy or utility to justify itself
• Above $10 per use — most such purchases are better replaced by paying per individual use

Where it applies and where it doesn’t

The method works best for recurring-use items: appliances, fitness equipment, subscriptions, memberships, tools. It works poorly for safety and insurance-type items (a fire extinguisher used zero times has infinite cost per use but is obviously worth owning) and for items whose value is aesthetic rather than functional. The number is a cost lens, not a value lens — use it to rule out purchases that clearly fail the arithmetic, not to override purchases where non-financial value is high. Use the cost-per-use calculator to pressure-test a considered purchase.