Many big purchases have the same shape. You pay more upfront to spend less every month: a CNG or electric car, rooftop solar, an inverter AC, a home instead of rent. The salesperson will tell you how much you save each month. The number you need is different: how long until the savings cover the extra you paid? That is the break-even point.
The simple version
Extra price ÷ monthly saving. Pay ₹90,000 more to save ₹2,778 a month, and you are even after about 32 months.
The honest version adds interest
The extra ₹90,000 has a cost. If you borrowed it, you pay interest. If you paid cash, you gave up what it would have earned. Either way, the amount you need to earn back grows every month you wait.
At 9% a year, ₹90,000 becomes about ₹1,26,900 after 46 months. In the example above, that is when the savings catch up, so the honest break-even is 46 months, not 32. The longer the payback, the bigger this gap gets.
- Savings so far
- Extra price, with 9% interest
- Extra price, ignoring interest
Months
See the numbers
| Months | Savings so far | Extra price, with 9% interest | Extra price, ignoring interest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Today | ₹0 | ₹90,000 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 1 | ₹2,778 | ₹90,675 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 2 | ₹5,557 | ₹91,355 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 3 | ₹8,335 | ₹92,040 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 4 | ₹11,113 | ₹92,731 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 5 | ₹13,892 | ₹93,426 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 6 | ₹16,670 | ₹94,127 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 7 | ₹19,448 | ₹94,833 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 8 | ₹22,226 | ₹95,544 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 9 | ₹25,005 | ₹96,260 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 10 | ₹27,783 | ₹96,982 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 11 | ₹30,561 | ₹97,710 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 12 | ₹33,340 | ₹98,443 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 13 | ₹36,118 | ₹99,181 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 14 | ₹38,896 | ₹99,925 | ₹90,000 |
| Month 15 | ₹41,675 | ₹1.01 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 16 | ₹44,453 | ₹1.01 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 17 | ₹47,231 | ₹1.02 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 18 | ₹50,010 | ₹1.03 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 19 | ₹52,788 | ₹1.04 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 20 | ₹55,566 | ₹1.05 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 21 | ₹58,344 | ₹1.05 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 22 | ₹61,123 | ₹1.06 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 23 | ₹63,901 | ₹1.07 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 24 | ₹66,679 | ₹1.08 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 25 | ₹69,458 | ₹1.08 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 26 | ₹72,236 | ₹1.09 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 27 | ₹75,014 | ₹1.10 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 28 | ₹77,793 | ₹1.11 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 29 | ₹80,571 | ₹1.12 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 30 | ₹83,349 | ₹1.13 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 31 | ₹86,128 | ₹1.13 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 32 | ₹88,906 | ₹1.14 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 33 | ₹91,684 | ₹1.15 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 34 | ₹94,462 | ₹1.16 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 35 | ₹97,241 | ₹1.17 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 36 | ₹1.00 lakh | ₹1.18 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 37 | ₹1.03 lakh | ₹1.19 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 38 | ₹1.06 lakh | ₹1.20 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 39 | ₹1.08 lakh | ₹1.20 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 40 | ₹1.11 lakh | ₹1.21 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 41 | ₹1.14 lakh | ₹1.22 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 42 | ₹1.17 lakh | ₹1.23 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 43 | ₹1.19 lakh | ₹1.24 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 44 | ₹1.22 lakh | ₹1.25 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 45 | ₹1.25 lakh | ₹1.26 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 46 | ₹1.28 lakh | ₹1.27 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 47 | ₹1.31 lakh | ₹1.28 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 48 | ₹1.33 lakh | ₹1.29 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 49 | ₹1.36 lakh | ₹1.30 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 50 | ₹1.39 lakh | ₹1.31 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 51 | ₹1.42 lakh | ₹1.32 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 52 | ₹1.44 lakh | ₹1.33 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 53 | ₹1.47 lakh | ₹1.34 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 54 | ₹1.50 lakh | ₹1.35 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 55 | ₹1.53 lakh | ₹1.36 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 56 | ₹1.56 lakh | ₹1.37 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 57 | ₹1.58 lakh | ₹1.38 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 58 | ₹1.61 lakh | ₹1.39 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 59 | ₹1.64 lakh | ₹1.40 lakh | ₹90,000 |
| Month 60 | ₹1.67 lakh | ₹1.41 lakh | ₹90,000 |
₹90,000 extra, ₹2,778 saved a month, 9% a year interest. The savings pass the flat line after about 32 months, and the rising one only at month 46.
Our tools always show the break-even with interest as the headline, and the simple one next to it so you can see the difference.
Try it
Your own break-even
- Simple break-even
- 32 months
- Counting interest
- 46 months
Interest adds 14 months: by then the extra has grown to ₹1,26,916.
When there is no break-even
Sometimes the savings never catch up within the years you will own the thing. That is a useful answer too: the cheaper option wins. Our tools say so plainly instead of stretching the timeline until the numbers work.
What moves the break-even
Break-even depends on a handful of inputs, and usually one matters most:
- How much you use it. Kilometres driven, units of electricity used. Savings scale with use.
- The price gap you are saving on. Fuel, electricity or rent. If that gap shrinks, the wait grows.
- The extra price itself, and the interest rate on it.
Each CapitalVerdict tool has a “what would flip the answer” list. It changes one input at a time and tells you the value at which the other option starts to win, for example the monthly distance below which petrol beats CNG.
Compare it with how long you will keep it
A 46-month break-even is good news if you keep cars for eight years and bad news if you change them every three. Put the break-even next to your own plans before you decide.
For education only. Not investment, tax or insurance advice. Examples use the figures stated in the guide; check your own before you act.