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.

26 gallon Kobalt air compressor

See the listing →

John Mello · Compressors - Air Compressors

Day
$100
Week
$150
28 days
$250

Daily stops winning on

day 2

2 days at the day rate would be $200. On the week rate it is $150.

Weekly stops winning on

day 8

8 days at the day rate would be $800. On the 28-day rate it is $250.

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 26 gallon Kobalt air compressor, days 1 to 35
DaysAt the day rateOn the ladderDifferenceRate in play
1$100$100—day
2$200$150you save $50week
3$300$150you save $150week
4$400$150you save $250week
5$500$150you save $350week
6$600$150you save $450week
7$700$150you save $550week
8$800$250you save $55028-day
9$900$250you save $65028-day
10$1,000$250you save $75028-day
11$1,100$250you save $85028-day
12$1,200$250you save $95028-day
13$1,300$250you save $1,05028-day
14$1,400$250you save $1,15028-day
15$1,500$250you save $1,25028-day
16$1,600$250you save $1,35028-day
17$1,700$250you save $1,45028-day
18$1,800$250you save $1,55028-day
19$1,900$250you save $1,65028-day
20$2,000$250you save $1,75028-day
21$2,100$250you save $1,85028-day
22$2,200$250you save $1,95028-day
23$2,300$250you save $2,05028-day
24$2,400$250you save $2,15028-day
25$2,500$250you save $2,25028-day
26$2,600$250you save $2,35028-day
27$2,700$250you save $2,45028-day
28$2,800$250you save $2,55028-day
29$2,900$350you save $2,550day
30$3,000$400you save $2,600week
31$3,100$400you save $2,700week
32$3,200$400you save $2,800week
33$3,300$400you save $2,900week
34$3,400$400you save $3,000week
35$3,500$400you save $3,100week

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

What checkout will quote you

Rental · 8 days
$250
Rental protection (RPP)
$37.50
Service fee
$25
Estimated total
$312.50

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.