Whether you should rent or buy laptops is decided not by the purchase price but by total cost of ownership (TCO): the device plus setup, repairs, staff turnover and return.
If you buy, you carry these costs yourself. If you rent from a device as a service provider like Everphone, they are included in a monthly rate.
With laptops, the maths is closer than with smartphones. A laptop can be written off for tax purposes right away and is often used for four years. At first sight, both point towards buying. On the other hand, setup takes more effort and every defect is more expensive; repairs are usually handled through complicated dual-swap processes.
Our view: for most companies, renting through DaaS pays off. If you have an established IT team and use devices until the end of their life, buying can work well. The example below shows where the line is.
What belongs in the TCO of a laptop
The TCO of a laptop is everything the device costs from order to disposal. The purchase price is the biggest item, but not the only one.
For a company laptop, these typically come on top:
- Setup: image or Autopilot profile, software, encryption, handover
- Operation: licences for device management, updates, support tickets
- Defects: repair, replacement device, IT time and the employee's downtime
- Staff changes: collecting the device, wiping it, setting it up again, shipping it again
- End of life: certified wiping, resale or disposal, minus residual value
A detailed list of all cost blocks is in our article on the TCO calculator for company phones. The same items apply to laptops. They are just usually higher.
Why you need to calculate laptops differently from smartphones
Laptops cost more, last longer and take more work to set up. These three differences shift the comparison between renting and buying.
Depreciation favours buying
Since the letter from Germany's Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) of 22 February 2022, companies may assume a useful life of one year for computer hardware. According to an assessment by the law firm Flick Gocke Schaumburg, this is an option, not an obligation. Notebooks fall under it, smartphones don't.
For tax purposes, a purchased laptop is therefore fully written off after one year. That takes away part of renting's advantage. But depreciation doesn't change the real costs: the money is gone on day one anyway.
Technology ages faster than the casing
A laptop can still look flawless after four years and yet be obsolete. The end of support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025 showed this. Many older devices did not meet the requirements of Windows 11.
Anyone who had bought had to replace these laptops early or pay extra for security updates. With buying, that risk is yours. With renting, you simply swap for current devices at the end of the term.
The battery ages too. Apple names 1,000 charge cycles as a benchmark for current MacBooks. With one full charge cycle per working day, that limit is reached after about three years. Then a battery replacement is due.
Every setup takes more time
A smartphone is ready in minutes with MDM. A laptop needs an image or Autopilot profile, specialist software, printer drivers and often a test run with the employee. Every staff change repeats this work.
Worked example: buying 100 laptops over four years
A purchased laptop costs noticeably more per month than the purchase price divided by the useful life. An example with 100 employees, laptops at €1,400 net and four years of use shows this.
All other values are assumptions for the example, not market figures. Each year there are 15 joiners and leavers and eight defects. One internal IT hour costs €60.
| Item | Assumption | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Devices | 100 × €1,400 | €140,000 |
| Initial setup | 100 × 2 h × €60 | €12,000 |
| Joiners and leavers over four years | 60 × 3 h × €60 | €10,800 |
| IT time for defects | 32 × 3 h × €60 | €5,760 |
| Repairs | 32 × €350 | €11,200 |
| Battery replacement | 25 × €150 | €3,750 |
| Return and wiping at the end | 100 × 0.5 h × €60 | €3,000 |
| Residual value after four years | 10% of purchase price | −€14,000 |
| Total | €172,510 | |
| Per laptop per month | €172,510 ÷ 100 ÷ 48 | €35.94 |
The device price minus residual value alone comes to €26.25 per month. The work around it adds almost ten euros. That is roughly 37% more than the dealer's invoice suggests.
Not yet included are licences for device management, lost devices and the time employees sit without a laptop. The same goes for tied-up capital: €140,000 that is missing on day one.
You compare these €35.94 with the rental rate per laptop per month. For that, use the figures from your last year: joiners and leavers, defects and the hours your IT needed for them.
Renting or buying laptops: a direct comparison
Buying wins on the starting price, renting on everything that comes after. The table shows who takes on which task if you rent laptops through workplace as a service from Everphone.
| Task | Buying | Renting from Everphone |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront investment | Full purchase price immediately | None, only the monthly rent |
| Tax | Depreciation, for laptops often within one year | Rent as a current operating expense |
| Setup and rollout | Your own IT | Handled by Everphone |
| Defect | Organise repair and replacement yourself | Free replacement as part of the service, damage covered in the rent |
| Loss | New device at full price | The current value according to the residual value table counts |
| Overview of devices | Own list or software | Asset management included |
| Outdated technology | The company bears the risk | Swap at the end of the term |
| Device at the end | Wipe, sell or dispose | Certified wiping and refurbishment at no extra cost, purchase option by arrangement |
And leasing? Leasing only finances the purchase price. The work from the table stays with you, and extra costs often come on top at return.
You can read which ones in 9 reasons for excessive smartphone leasing costs. Everphone doesn't lease. It rents out devices with service.
TCO with workplace as a service
With workplace as a service, the TCO is almost identical to the rental rate. Setup, replacement, asset management and wiping are already included. What remains internally is mainly approving the order and handing the device over to employees.
That makes costs predictable. A new team member costs a fixed rate from the first month, not an investment budget. When someone leaves, the rental for that device ends or the device goes to the next person.
Who benefits from renting laptops, and when buying is better
Renting pays off for any company size, from a business with 20 employees to a large corporation. It pays off most clearly if at least one of these points applies:
- Many joiners and leavers, for example through growth, project business or working students
- No IT team of your own, with someone looking after the laptops on the side
- Employees working from home or at several locations, with devices going back and forth by post
- High requirements for proof of wiped data
Buying is the better choice if a laptop causes hardly any work. That applies to devices that stay in the same place for years, such as a computer at a laboratory scale or in a warehouse.
If you have only just bought a fleet, you don't have to wait until the end of its life. With buy and rent back, you sell existing devices and rent them back.
For companies with up to 250 employees there is the Everphone shop: choose devices, order, done. Larger companies clarify fleet and processes in a short consultation with the Everphone team.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to rent or buy laptops?
If you compare only purchase price and rental rate, buying looks cheaper almost every time. A fair comparison looks at total cost per laptop per month, including setup, defects and staff changes. In our example, this work adds almost ten euros per device per month on top of the device price.
How long should you use a company laptop?
Three to four years is typical. Longer does lower the device price per month, but it increases repairs, battery replacements and the risk that an operating system update rules out the hardware. With renting, you fix the term in advance and get new devices afterwards.
Can I deduct rented laptops for tax purposes?
Rent is a current operating expense and reduces profit in the year it arises. In Germany, purchased laptops may be written off with a useful life of one year since 2022. Which variant fits better tax-wise is best clarified with your tax adviser.
What happens to the data when I return a rented laptop?
Everphone wipes returned devices with certification and refurbishes them afterwards. That costs nothing extra, and you don't have to deal with wiping and documentation yourself.