Grounds ToolkitEquipment and Ownership
Does Another Mower Make Financial Sense?
Enter the mower's cost, how much it would run, and how many labor hours it would save each week. This compares annual ownership cost against annual labor savings and shows the payback period.
How this is calculated
Annual ownership cost is the mower's hourly cost (same calculation asEquipment Hourly Cost) times how many hours a week it runs, times weeks operated per year. Annual labor savings is the loaded labor rate times hours saved per week, times the same weeks per year. The payback period is purchase price divided by the net annual benefit, when there is one.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as "labor hours saved"?
The crew-hours this mower eliminates or frees up each week, for example by letting two mowers run a property in parallel instead of one. If you're not sure, the Mowing Time and Crew-Hours calculator's "mowers running at once" setting can help estimate this.
Why might this show it does not pay back?
If the weekly hours saved are small relative to how much the mower is used and costs to own, the ownership cost (depreciation, fuel, maintenance) can exceed what it saves in labor. That is a real, useful answer, not every equipment purchase pencils out on labor savings alone.
What is not included in this calculation?
Financing costs, cash flow timing (a payback period is not the same as having the cash upfront), and whether the freed-up capacity actually gets used for paying work. Treat this as one input to the decision, not the whole decision.
Next decision
Not sure how many hours this mower would actually save? UseWhat Will It Take to Justify Another Mower to find the break-even point instead of guessing a savings number. Or see Equipment Hourly Cost for the standalone ownership-cost number this calculator builds on.