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.

8000-Watt Gas-Powered Portable Generator

See the listing →

Riccardo Marino · Generators - Portable

Day
$70
Week
$350
28 days
$1,000

Daily stops winning on

day 6

6 days at the day rate would be $420. On the week rate it is $350.

Weekly stops winning on

day 19

19 days at the day rate would be $1,330. On the 28-day rate it is $1,000.

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 8000-Watt Gas-Powered Portable Generator, days 1 to 35
DaysAt the day rateOn the ladderDifferenceRate in play
1$70$70—day
2$140$140—day
3$210$210—day
4$280$280—day
5$350$350—day
6$420$350you save $70week
7$490$350you save $140week
8$560$420you save $140week
9$630$490you save $140week
10$700$560you save $140week
11$770$630you save $140week
12$840$700you save $140week
13$910$700you save $210week
14$980$700you save $280week
15$1,050$770you save $280week
16$1,120$840you save $280week
17$1,190$910you save $280week
18$1,260$980you save $280week
19$1,330$1,000you save $33028-day
20$1,400$1,000you save $40028-day
21$1,470$1,000you save $47028-day
22$1,540$1,000you save $54028-day
23$1,610$1,000you save $61028-day
24$1,680$1,000you save $68028-day
25$1,750$1,000you save $75028-day
26$1,820$1,000you save $82028-day
27$1,890$1,000you save $89028-day
28$1,960$1,000you save $96028-day
29$2,030$1,070you save $960day
30$2,100$1,140you save $960day
31$2,170$1,210you save $960day
32$2,240$1,280you save $960day
33$2,310$1,350you save $960day
34$2,380$1,350you save $1,030week
35$2,450$1,350you save $1,100week

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

What checkout will quote you

Rental · 19 days
$1,000
Rental protection (RPP)
$150
Service fee
$100
Estimated total
$1,250

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.