Short answer: rent when the need has an end date, lease when it does not. Everything
else is detail, but the detail is where people overpay, so here it is.

What Each One Actually Is

A lease is a financed agreement, usually 36 to 60 months, for a new machine with
service and supplies wrapped into one monthly figure. It involves a credit application, and it is the
cheapest way per month to run a machine you will need for years.

A rental is not financed. You pay for the machine for as long as you need it —
weeks or months — and we collect it when you are done. There is no lease application and no credit
decision. The monthly figure is higher than a lease on the same machine, and that is the whole trade:
you are paying for the right to hand it back.

When Renting Is the Right Answer

  • The work has an end date. A project office, a trial, an audit, tax season, a grant
    or contract funded for a fixed period.
  • You are moving or fitting out. Cover while the permanent equipment is in transit or
    the new floor is unfinished.
  • The business is new, restructuring or foreign-owned. No credit decision means no
    application to clear.
  • You want to try before committing. Run the machine you think you want for a month,
    in your own office, on your own documents.
  • An event. A conference, a registration desk, a pop-up site that needs to print for
    four days.

When Leasing Is the Right Answer

  • The machine is core to how the office runs and will be for years.
  • You want the lowest monthly figure for current equipment. Our leases start at around $69 a month
    for a desktop device; a Ricoh IM C2510 color copier is from $159.
  • You want it off the capital budget, with service, parts and toner in one payment.

The Break-Even Is Roughly a Year

There is no universal number, but as a rule of thumb: if you will need the machine for more than
about twelve months, a lease almost always costs less in total than renting for the same period. Under
six months, renting almost always wins. Between the two, ask for both figures and do the arithmetic
— we will give you both, and we will tell you which one we would pick.

What Should Be Included Either Way

Whether you rent or lease, the agreement should cover delivery, network setup, toner, parts and
service calls. With us it also carries a guaranteed four-hour on-site response written into the
agreement, and if a machine cannot be repaired, we replace it. A rental that leaves you buying toner
separately is not a rental, it is a machine with a bill attached.

Where to Go From Here

For a short-term need, see copier rental in Miami,
Orlando or
Tampa. For the long term, our
copier leasing page lists every model with its monthly
figure, and the copier cost calculator sizes a
machine to your page volume. Or call (888) 242-4242 and tell us how long you need it for.
That one answer usually decides it.