When is it cheaper to rent a light tower by the week than by the day?

From day 3. 3 days at the $125 day rate would be $375, but the weekly rate caps it at $325.

When is it cheaper to rent a light tower on the 28-day rate?

From day 23. At that point the week-and-day composition reaches the $1,200 28-day rate, and the price stops climbing for the rest of the cycle.

Break-even duration

Equipment rents on three rates — a day rate, a week rate and a 28-day rate — and the cheapest one changes as the job runs long. This finds the two days where it changes, on a real listing’s real published rates.

light tower

See the listing →

Kyle Thornton · Lighting - Light Towers

Day: $125
Week: $325
28 days: $1,200

Daily stops winning on

day 3

3 days at the day rate would be $375. On the week rate it is $325.

Weekly stops winning on

day 23

23 days at the day rate would be $2,875. On the 28-day rate it is $1,200.

The working

Whole weeks bill at the week rate; the leftover days bill at the day rate but never add up to more than one extra week; and a whole 28-day cycle never costs more than the 28-day rate. That is the rule, applied one day at a time.

Rental price by duration for light tower, days 1 to 35
Days	At the day rate	On the ladder	Difference	Rate in play
1	$125	$125	—	day
2	$250	$250	—	day
3	$375	$325	you save $50	week
4	$500	$325	you save $175	week
5	$625	$325	you save $300	week
6	$750	$325	you save $425	week
7	$875	$325	you save $550	week
8	$1,000	$450	you save $550	week
9	$1,125	$575	you save $550	week
10	$1,250	$650	you save $600	week
11	$1,375	$650	you save $725	week
12	$1,500	$650	you save $850	week
13	$1,625	$650	you save $975	week
14	$1,750	$650	you save $1,100	week
15	$1,875	$775	you save $1,100	week
16	$2,000	$900	you save $1,100	week
17	$2,125	$975	you save $1,150	week
18	$2,250	$975	you save $1,275	week
19	$2,375	$975	you save $1,400	week
20	$2,500	$975	you save $1,525	week
21	$2,625	$975	you save $1,650	week
22	$2,750	$1,100	you save $1,650	week
23	$2,875	$1,200	you save $1,675	28-day
24	$3,000	$1,200	you save $1,800	28-day
25	$3,125	$1,200	you save $1,925	28-day
26	$3,250	$1,200	you save $2,050	28-day
27	$3,375	$1,200	you save $2,175	28-day
28	$3,500	$1,200	you save $2,300	28-day
29	$3,625	$1,325	you save $2,300	day
30	$3,750	$1,450	you save $2,300	day
31	$3,875	$1,525	you save $2,350	week
32	$4,000	$1,525	you save $2,475	week
33	$4,125	$1,525	you save $2,600	week
34	$4,250	$1,525	you save $2,725	week
35	$4,375	$1,525	you save $2,850	week

Rental rates only. Protection and the marketplace service fee are added on top — see the checkout figure below.

What checkout will quote you

Rental · 23 days: $1,200
Rental protection (RPP): $180
Service fee: $120
Estimated total: $1,500

Pick a listing

The numbers come from one operator’s published rates, so the tool needs to know whose.

Where these numbers come from

The rates are the operator’s own, read live from their listing. The arithmetic is the same best-price billing engine that produces 2Quip invoices — not a second copy written for this page — run on the industry-standard terms: a 28-day cycle, whole weeks at the week rate, leftover days at the day rate capped at one more week.

An operator can agree different terms on an individual rental, and a long rental bills per 28-day cycle rather than in one lump. So treat this as what the rate card says, and the operator’s quote as what you are agreeing to.