Vehicle rental price calculator - floor price and recommended price

Q: How do I calculate the rental price of a vehicle?

Add up the vehicle's annual cost of ownership, divide it by the number of days actually rented in the year (365 multiplied by the utilisation rate), then add the variable cost of a rental day: you get the daily cost price, which is the floor price. The recommended price is that cost divided by one minus the target margin.

Q: Should I include my own pay in the costs?

No. The costs entered are the vehicle's. The owner's pay, rent and general expenses are overheads, funded from the margin generated by the whole fleet.

Q: Are the amounts excl. VAT or incl. VAT?

Inputs and results are excluding VAT, because a business recovers VAT. The recommended price is also shown including VAT at 20 percent for the price shown to customers.

Amounts excluding VATEnter amounts excl. VAT (a business can recover VAT). Results are given excl. VAT, with the equivalent incl. VAT at 20% (the French standard rate) for the price shown to customers. This calculator is a decision aid, not accounting or tax advice.

The vehicle

Purchase price excl. VAT (€)

Estimated resale value (€) What you expect to get for it at the end. Enter 0 if you don't know: the calculation will be cautious.

Holding / depreciation period (years)

Annual costs

Insurance (€ / year)

Maintenance, tyres, roadworthiness test (€ / year)

Financing cost - interest (€ / year) Interest only: the capital is already counted in depreciation.

Advanced costs (optional)

Other fixed costs - parking, telematics, taxes (€ / year)

Variable cost per rented day (€) Washing, consumables, preparation time: costs that only exist when the vehicle goes out.

Your targets

Target utilisation rate

55%

Share of the days in the year when the vehicle is actually rented. In short-term rental, 45 to 65% is a common order of magnitude; above 75%, check that it is sustainable given returns and maintenance.

Target net margin on revenue

25%

What you want to keep after covering this vehicle's costs, before your overheads and taxes.

The calculation updates with every change. Nothing is sent: everything happens in your browser.

Your results

Rental pricing - summary

Calculated at flotly.io/en/outils/calculateur-prix-location

Floor price

€34

per rented day, excl. VAT - below this, you lose money

Recommended price

€44.86

excl. VAT per day - that is €53.83 incl. VAT shown to the customer

The breakdown, line by line

Annual depreciation€2,750
The value the vehicle loses each year: (purchase price − resale value) ÷ holding period.
Annual cost of ownership€5,550
Everything the vehicle costs each year, rented or not: depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, other fixed costs.
Rented days per year201 days
365 days × your utilisation rate. This is the number of days over which all the year's costs must be absorbed.
Daily cost price€33.65
Cost of ownership ÷ rented days, plus the variable cost of each rental day. This is your real cost per rented day.
Break-even point11.9 days/month
At the recommended price, the number of days you need to rent each month to cover fixed costs, i.e. a utilisation rate of 39%. Below that, the vehicle costs more than it earns.
Expected annual revenue€9,006
Rented days × recommended price excl. VAT, at your target utilisation rate.
Annual margin for the vehicle€2,252
What is left once all of this vehicle's costs are paid, before your overheads, your own pay and your taxes.

Recommended price list

Duration	Price excl. VAT	Per day	Discount	Check
1 day	€45	€44.86	-	above floor price
Weekend (2 days)	€81	€40.38	−10%	above floor price
Week (7 days)	€251	€35.89	−20%	above floor price
Month (30 days)	€875	€29.16	−35%	below floor price

Long-rental discounts are only justified if they fill days that would otherwise have stayed empty. As soon as a discounted rate drops below your floor price, you are paying for your customer's rental.

Annual margin by utilisation rate

At the recommended price, each rented day brings in €38.86 above its variable cost. The line crosses zero at the break-even utilisation rate: the point from which the vehicle starts making money.

Your assumptions

Purchase price excl. VAT	€18,000	Resale value	€7,000
Holding period	4 years	Insurance / year	€1,200
Maintenance / year	€900	Financing / year	€400
Other fixed costs / year	€300	Variable cost / day	€6.00
Target utilisation rate	55%	Target net margin	25%

Get this tool and the 2 others by email

The calculator above is already usable, for free and without giving anything. If you want to find it again later, we will send you the links to all three tools (price calculator, rental agreement, vehicle inspection) in a single email.

The method: floor price = cost of ownership ÷ utilisation rate

Most rental companies set their price by looking at the competitor across the street. It is a quick way to inherit other people's mistakes. The right method starts from your vehicle, not from the market:

Add up what the vehicle costs over a year, whether it is driven or not. Depreciation (purchase price minus resale value, divided by the holding period), insurance, maintenance and tyres, financing interest, parking, telematics, taxes. This is your annual cost of ownership.
Estimate your utilisation rate honestly. Not the one you hope for: the one you actually see. 365 days × that rate gives the number of days you can really invoice.
Divide. Cost of ownership ÷ rented days = what each rented day must bring in just to cover your costs. Add the variable cost of a rental day (washing, consumables, time spent) and you get your daily cost price, which is your floor price.
Add your margin. Recommended price = cost price ÷ (1 − target margin). You divide, you don't multiply: aiming for a 25% margin on revenue is not the same as adding 25% to the cost.

The counter-intuitive part: the utilisation rate weighs more than the purchase price. The same vehicle rented 40% of the time instead of 55% sees its floor price rise by almost 40%. Before cutting your prices to fill the calendar, check that the cut does not take you below the floor: you would be filling your schedule and paying to do it.

The three most common mistakes

Forgetting depreciation. A vehicle paid for in cash seems free. It is not: it loses value every month, and that loss is a real cost that rentals must cover.
Reasoning over 365 days. Dividing annual costs by 365 gives a price that covers nothing: the vehicle is not rented every day. You have to divide by the rented days.
Granting a long-rental discount without checking the floor. −35% on a month is sometimes excellent (the vehicle would have stayed parked) and sometimes ruinous (it takes away days you would have sold at full price in high season). The "check" column in the price list above flags it.

What about seasonality?

This calculator gives an average price over the year. In practice, a rental company works with three seasons: a high season when demand exceeds supply and the price should rise well above the recommended price, a mid season close to the recommended price, and a low season when the goal is no longer margin but utilisation, with one absolute rule: never go below the floor price. The annual average of the three should stay equal to or above the recommended price calculated here.

Rental agreement generator →Parties, vehicle, rental period, price, security deposit, insurance excess, mileage, return, signatures. Free and printable. Vehicle inspection template →Vehicle diagram, damage grid, mileage and fuel readings. Car, van, two-wheeler, campervan.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate the rental price of a vehicle?

Add up the vehicle's annual cost of ownership (depreciation, insurance, maintenance, financing, fixed costs), divide it by the number of days actually rented in the year (365 × your utilisation rate), then add the variable cost of a rental day: you get your daily cost price, which is your floor price. The recommended price is that cost divided by (1 − target margin).

What is a good utilisation rate?

There is no official standard. In short-term rental of light vehicles, a range of 45 to 65% is an order of magnitude often quoted by professionals, with wide variations by season, area and vehicle type. The figure that matters is yours: count your rented days over the last twelve months and divide by 365.

Should I include my own pay in the costs?

No, not in this calculation. The costs entered here are the vehicle's. Your pay, your rent, your accountant and your business insurance are overheads: they are funded from the margin generated by the whole fleet. That is why the target margin must be well above zero.

Are the amounts excl. VAT or incl. VAT?

Inputs and results are excl. VAT, because a business recovers VAT on its purchases. The recommended price is also shown incl. VAT at 20%, the standard rate in mainland France, for the price shown to customers. Check the rate that applies to your situation.

Is my data sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser: no value you enter is sent to a server. Your email is optional and only asked for afterwards, if you want to receive the links to the tools.