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Machinery hire vs buy calculator
Work out what a machine costs an hour to own and run, from its price, life, resale value, fuel, operator and maintenance, against the rate to hire one, and the hours a month at which owning becomes cheaper.
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Compare owning with hiring
Choose the machine, then check the price, the hours it will work, its running costs and the hire rate you are quoted. The cost an hour both ways, and the hours at which owning pays, follow as you type.
Hire or buy
- To own, an hour
- Rs 5,079Rs 7.62 lakh a month
- To hire, an hour
- Rs 5,629Rs 8.44 lakh a month
- Owning pays above
- 109 hoursA month, about 14 days of 8 hours
- Difference
- Rs 82,463A month, saved by owning
Buy the excavator if you can keep it working at least 109 hours a month, about 14 days of 8 hours, averaged over the year. At 150 hours owning saves about Rs 82,463 a month.
Owning, an hour at 150 hours a month
- DepreciationRs 56 lakh over 10 years
- Rs 311
- Cost of money15.43% on Rs 52 lakh tied up
- Rs 446
- MaintenanceRs 6.4 lakh a year
- Rs 356
- OperatorRs 52,000 a month
- Rs 347
- Fuel9 litres at Rs 402.24
- Rs 3,620
- To own and run
- Rs 5,079
Hiring, an hour
- Hire rate
- Rs 5,629
- To hire
- Rs 5,629
| Hours a month | Own (Rs) | Hire (Rs) |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 7,997 | 5,629 |
| 100 | 5,809 | 5,629 |
| 150 | 5,079 | 5,629 |
| 200 | 4,714 | 5,629 |
| 250 | 4,496 | 5,629 |
Diesel as of 30 September 2026. Hire rates the calculator opens with are the Punjab Finance Department's schedule for public works, read as including the operator and fuel; private quotes differ. Transport, a yard, breakdowns and the price you get on resale are left out.
Reference
Hire or buy, machine by machine
Each machine at the figures the calculator opens with: what it costs to buy, to hire and to run, and the hours a month at which owning pays.
| Machine | To buy | Hire an hour | Fuel an hour | Own an hour | Owning pays above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Excavator (about 100 hp) | Rs 80 lakh | Rs 5,629 | 9 litres | Rs 5,079 at 150 hours | 109 hours a month |
| Wheel loader (2 to 2.5 m³) | Rs 85 lakh | Rs 6,628 | 9 litres | Rs 5,149 at 150 hours | 76 hours a month |
| Dumper (10 to 12 tons) | Rs 75 lakh | Rs 4,428 | 7 litres | Rs 4,289 at 150 hours | 137 hours a month |
| Tractor with trolley | Rs 25 lakh | Rs 1,799 | 3.5 litres | Rs 2,241 at 120 hours | 256 hours a month |
| Concrete mixer (1 bag, diesel) | Rs 5 lakh | Rs 625 | 1.2 litres | Rs 598 at 100 hours | 81 hours a month |
| Poker vibrator (electric) | Rs 25,000 | Rs 523 | Electric | Rs 19 at 60 hours | 2 hours a month |
Hire rates are the Punjab Finance Department's schedule for public works, 1 July to 31 December 2026, taken as including the operator and fuel. Prices are what machines were listed at in September 2026, diesel is Rs 402.24 a litre (30 September 2026) and money costs 15.43% a year. Your own figures will differ: use the calculator.
How it is worked out
The cost of an hour, owned or hired
Owning a machine costs money every month whether it works or not, and a little more for every hour it does. The fixed part is depreciation, the cost of money and maintenance, and the operator's pay; the running part is fuel. Take the example, a used 100 hp excavator bought for Rs 80 lakh, kept 10 years and sold for 30% of the price, Rs 24 lakh.
Depreciation is the price less the resale value, spread over the life: Rs 56 lakh ÷ 10 = Rs 5.6 lakh a year. The cost of money is charged on the average amount tied up in the machine, halfway between the price and the resale value: Rs 52 lakh × 15.43% = Rs 8.02 lakh a year, whether it is a bank's markup or what the cash could have earned. Maintenance and repairs add Rs 6.4 lakh a year. Together that is Rs 1.67 lakh a month, and the operator Rs 52,000 more.
Spread over 150 hours a month, those come to Rs 1,459 an hour. Fuel follows the hours: 9 litres at Rs 402.24 is Rs 3,620 an hour. So owning costs Rs 5,079 an hour against Rs 5,629 to hire with an operator and diesel.
The hours at which the two cost the same are the fixed costs a month, operator included, divided by what the hire rate leaves over after the fuel: (Rs 1.67 lakh + Rs 52,000) ÷ (Rs 5,629 - Rs 3,620) = 109 hours a month, about 14 days of 8 hours. Below that, hire; above it, owning is cheaper, as long as the machine really works those hours across the year and does not stand idle between jobs.
Terms
Words in a hire quote
- Wet hire
- A hire rate that includes the operator and the fuel: you pay by the hour and nothing else.
- Dry hire
- The machine alone: you find the operator and buy the fuel.
- Depreciation
- What the machine loses in value each year, from its price down to what it sells for.
- Cost of money
- The markup on a machine bought on finance, or what the cash could have earned. Priced here from KIBOR, the rate banks lend to each other at.
- Break-even hours
- The hours a month at which owning and hiring cost the same. Above them owning is cheaper.
- Utilisation
- How many hours a machine actually works. An owned machine standing idle between jobs still costs its fixed costs.
Questions
Hire or buy questions
Still have a question?
Ask our team during Pakistan business hours, in English or Urdu.
+92 333 2466662Chat on WhatsAppWhat is the rent of a concrete mixer per day?
The Punjab Finance Department's schedule for public works, July to December 2026, prices a one-bag mixer at Rs 625 an hour, Rs 5,000 for an 8-hour day, and a two-bag mixer at Rs 716 an hour. Private hire varies by city and by what comes with it, so ask whether the rate includes diesel and a man to run it. A new one-bag diesel mixer costs Rs 3.5 to 6.7 lakh, and at 100 hours a month owning one costs about Rs 598 an hour, so a site that mixes most days does better owning.
What is the rent of an excavator per hour in Pakistan?
Rs 5,629 an hour for a 100 hp excavator in the Punjab Finance Department's schedule for public works, July to December 2026, which the calculator reads as including the operator and diesel. Private quotes vary with the machine's size, the city and the length of the job. Put the quote you get into the calculator and compare it with what owning would cost at your hours.
Is it cheaper to hire or buy construction machinery?
It depends on the hours. Owning costs a fixed sum every month plus fuel, so the more a machine works the cheaper each hour becomes; hiring costs the same for every hour. The example excavator, Rs 80 lakh to buy, costs Rs 5,079 an hour to own at 150 hours a month against Rs 5,629 to hire, and owning pays once it works more than about 109 hours a month. Below that, hire.
How do you work out the cost per hour of construction equipment?
Add up what owning costs a year: depreciation (price less resale value, ÷ years of life), the cost of money on the average amount tied up ((price + resale) ÷ 2 × the yearly rate) and maintenance. Divide by 12, add the operator's monthly pay, divide by the hours it works in a month and add the fuel an hour. For the example excavator that is Rs 5,079 an hour at 150 hours a month.
How much diesel does an excavator use per hour?
A diesel engine burns about 0.15 litres an hour for each horsepower at full power, and machines on site work at half to three quarters of it: about 9 litres an hour for a 100 hp excavator, which at Rs 402.24 a litre (30 September 2026) is Rs 3,620 an hour. The machine's own fuel log is the better figure. Diesel is priced daily: it was Rs 422.08 a litre on 22 September 2026.
What rate should I use for the cost of money?
What the money costs you: the markup on a machine bought on finance, or what cash tied up in it could earn elsewhere. The calculator opens on 1-year KIBOR, 12.43% on 29 September 2026, plus 3%, the spread banks charged salaried home borrowers in September 2026. A business loan or a lease can cost more, so use your own figure.
What does the calculator leave out?
Transport between sites, a yard to keep the machine in, the work lost when an owned machine breaks down, and the price you actually get when you sell it. Insurance and registration can go into maintenance. Hiring has its own costs: waiting for a machine in the busy season, and paying for travel to site. Prices and rates as of September 2026.
Know what every machine is costing you
Smart Construction keeps track of which machine is on which site and how much it works, so hire bills and idle time are clear before the invoice arrives.
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