When is it cheaper to rent a Compact Excavator by the week than by the day?

From day 7. 7 days at the $255 day rate would be $1,785, but the weekly rate caps it at $1,530.

When is it cheaper to rent a Compact Excavator on the 28-day rate?

From day 23. At that point the week-and-day composition reaches the $5,100 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.

Compact Excavator

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Michael Howard · Excavators - Mini

Day: $255
Week: $1,530
28 days: $5,100

Daily stops winning on

day 7

7 days at the day rate would be $1,785. On the week rate it is $1,530.

Weekly stops winning on

day 23

23 days at the day rate would be $5,865. On the 28-day rate it is $5,100.

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 Compact Excavator, days 1 to 35
Days	At the day rate	On the ladder	Difference	Rate in play
1	$255	$255	—	day
2	$510	$510	—	day
3	$765	$765	—	day
4	$1,020	$1,020	—	day
5	$1,275	$1,275	—	day
6	$1,530	$1,530	—	day
7	$1,785	$1,530	you save $255	week
8	$2,040	$1,785	you save $255	week
9	$2,295	$2,040	you save $255	week
10	$2,550	$2,295	you save $255	week
11	$2,805	$2,550	you save $255	week
12	$3,060	$2,805	you save $255	week
13	$3,315	$3,060	you save $255	week
14	$3,570	$3,060	you save $510	week
15	$3,825	$3,315	you save $510	week
16	$4,080	$3,570	you save $510	week
17	$4,335	$3,825	you save $510	week
18	$4,590	$4,080	you save $510	week
19	$4,845	$4,335	you save $510	week
20	$5,100	$4,590	you save $510	week
21	$5,355	$4,590	you save $765	week
22	$5,610	$4,845	you save $765	week
23	$5,865	$5,100	you save $765	28-day
24	$6,120	$5,100	you save $1,020	28-day
25	$6,375	$5,100	you save $1,275	28-day
26	$6,630	$5,100	you save $1,530	28-day
27	$6,885	$5,100	you save $1,785	28-day
28	$7,140	$5,100	you save $2,040	28-day
29	$7,395	$5,355	you save $2,040	day
30	$7,650	$5,610	you save $2,040	day
31	$7,905	$5,865	you save $2,040	day
32	$8,160	$6,120	you save $2,040	day
33	$8,415	$6,375	you save $2,040	day
34	$8,670	$6,630	you save $2,040	day
35	$8,925	$6,630	you save $2,295	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: $5,100
Rental protection (RPP): $765
Service fee: $510
Estimated total: $6,375

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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.