For most small offices, buying the copier costs less over its life than leasing it, as long as you buy the right size and pay separately for service and supplies. A lease spreads the cost into monthly payments, but you pay for that convenience, and the lease’s terms (the length, the page minimums, the renewal clause) often cost more than the interest. Leasing makes sense when you need a large production device you couldn’t pay for up front, or when you want to swap equipment on a fixed schedule.
Copier lease vs buy is the wrong first question, though. The first question is what the office prints, scans and copies, and how much. We’ve seen clients leasing used machines where six months of payments would have bought a new copier, and plenty of offices leasing a copier sized for twice the work they do.
Talk to an advisor
Ask about your own setup.
We ask what you’re trying to accomplish and tell you what we’d look at first. It costs nothing to talk, and no price comes up on this call.
Start with what your office actually does
- 01How many pages do you print and copy in a typical month, and in your busiest month?
- 02How much is color, and does it have to be?
- 03Which documents get scanned, and where do they need to end up: email, a shared folder, SharePoint, a practice management system?
- 04Do you need finishing, such as stapling, hole punching or booklets?
- 05How many people walk to this device, and from how far?
The answers decide the speed, paper capacity and features you need. A device that’s too small jams and wears out early. One that’s too large costs more every month for speed nobody uses.
What you pay for with each
| Lease | Buy | |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | Little or nothing | The purchase price |
| Monthly | Lease payment, often with a page minimum built in | Service and supplies, usually per page |
| Service and toner | Often bundled into the same agreement | A separate service agreement or managed print |
| End of term | Return it, buy it out or renew; many renew on their own | You own it until you replace it |
| Changing your mind | Governed by the lease’s early termination terms | Sell, redeploy or recycle it |
| Tax treatment | Ask your CPA | Equipment you buy may qualify for Section 179; ask your CPA |
The used-copier leases we’ve seen were the clearest case against leasing without reading the numbers. The monthly payment looked small, but over the term it added up to far more than the machine was worth. Before signing, multiply the payment by the number of months, add any minimums and fees, and compare that with buying a new device and paying for service separately. Our post on the Section 179 deduction covers how purchased office equipment is treated at tax time.
The hard drive question nobody asks
Most office copiers have a hard drive that stores images of what they copy, print, scan and fax. The FTC advises businesses to check a copier’s encryption and overwrite features before they buy or lease, and to settle in the agreement who wipes or keeps the drive when the copier leaves. With a lease, that machine goes back to a leasing company and often on to someone else. With a purchase, you decide.
How we do it
Under our managed print service, you own the equipment. We size each device to the location and its workload, then charge a flat monthly amount per device plus the pages you print, with no page minimum and no overage charges. Toner ships before you run out, and retired devices go to certified recycling partners with documentation. If you’re in a lease now, the contract stays between you and the vendor; we’ll read it with you and help you plan what replaces it.
If a copier lease is up for renewal or a salesperson just left a quote, Book a 15-minute call and bring the paperwork. We’ll tell you what we’d look at first. See our copier and phone contracts page and managed print services.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to lease or buy a copier?
For most small offices, buying costs less over the life of the copier, as long as it’s sized to the work and service is priced separately. Leasing makes sense for a large production device you couldn’t buy outright, or when you want to replace equipment on a fixed schedule and accept the lease’s terms.
Is a used copier lease a good deal?
Often not. A used machine has less life left, and a lease locks in payments for the full term anyway. We’ve seen used-copier leases where six months of payments would have bought a new copier. Add up every payment, minimum and fee for the whole term before you sign.
What should I check before leasing a copier?
The term, the renewal clause and its notice window, page minimums and overage rates, what service covers, any annual increases, what ending the lease early costs, and who wipes the hard drive when the copier goes back. Our post on copier lease agreements walks through each one.
Do copiers store copies of documents?
Most office copiers have a hard drive that stores images of documents they copy, print, scan or fax. The FTC recommends using encryption and overwrite features and settling who handles the drive at the end of a lease or before disposal.
Next step
Let us handle this for you.
Copiers and printers sized to the work, prints released with a card or key, and toner shipped before you run out.
- 15 minutes
Tell us which question brought you here and how your office runs.
We’ll tell you how it applies to you and what we’d look at first.
If we’re not the right fit, we’ll say so.
15 minutes
