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

From day 5. 5 days at the $85 day rate would be $425, but the weekly rate caps it at $340.

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

From day 16. At that point the week-and-day composition reaches the $800 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.

Generator

See the listing →

Chad Beck · Generators - Hybrid

Day: $85
Week: $340
28 days: $800

Daily stops winning on

day 5

5 days at the day rate would be $425. On the week rate it is $340.

Weekly stops winning on

day 16

16 days at the day rate would be $1,360. On the 28-day rate it is $800.

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 Generator, days 1 to 35
Days	At the day rate	On the ladder	Difference	Rate in play
1	$85	$85	—	day
2	$170	$170	—	day
3	$255	$255	—	day
4	$340	$340	—	day
5	$425	$340	you save $85	week
6	$510	$340	you save $170	week
7	$595	$340	you save $255	week
8	$680	$425	you save $255	week
9	$765	$510	you save $255	week
10	$850	$595	you save $255	week
11	$935	$680	you save $255	week
12	$1,020	$680	you save $340	week
13	$1,105	$680	you save $425	week
14	$1,190	$680	you save $510	week
15	$1,275	$765	you save $510	week
16	$1,360	$800	you save $560	28-day
17	$1,445	$800	you save $645	28-day
18	$1,530	$800	you save $730	28-day
19	$1,615	$800	you save $815	28-day
20	$1,700	$800	you save $900	28-day
21	$1,785	$800	you save $985	28-day
22	$1,870	$800	you save $1,070	28-day
23	$1,955	$800	you save $1,155	28-day
24	$2,040	$800	you save $1,240	28-day
25	$2,125	$800	you save $1,325	28-day
26	$2,210	$800	you save $1,410	28-day
27	$2,295	$800	you save $1,495	28-day
28	$2,380	$800	you save $1,580	28-day
29	$2,465	$885	you save $1,580	day
30	$2,550	$970	you save $1,580	day
31	$2,635	$1,055	you save $1,580	day
32	$2,720	$1,140	you save $1,580	day
33	$2,805	$1,140	you save $1,665	week
34	$2,890	$1,140	you save $1,750	week
35	$2,975	$1,140	you save $1,835	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 · 16 days: $800
Rental protection (RPP): $120
Service fee: $80
Estimated total: $1,000

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.