Dry cleaning, resoling, repairs.
Enter 0 if it has no resale value.
Optional. Leave at 0 to skip the comparison.
The result is only as good as your wear estimate. Cost per wear is a useful way to compare two things you would genuinely use. It is not a reason to buy something you would not have bought otherwise.
Calculated entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
How to use it
Be honest about the wear count
This is the number people overestimate, usually by half.
Include upkeep
Dry cleaning, resoling and repairs are part of the real cost.
Compare against the alternative
A cheaper item that lasts half as long is often not cheaper at all.
How the calculation works
Cost per wear is total cost divided by total wears. Total cost is the purchase price, plus upkeep over the years you keep it, minus whatever you could sell it for afterwards.
The resale deduction is the part most versions of this calculation leave out, and it changes the answer considerably for anything with a second-hand market.
The comparison assumes the cheaper alternative lasts half as long, which is a rough but defensible rule for most categories. If you know better, adjust the years and run it twice.
What this calculator does not do
The result is only as good as your wear estimate. Most people count the wears they imagine rather than the wears they will have.
It does not value how something makes you feel, or whether it fits an occasion. Those are real, they are just not arithmetic.
It is a tool for comparing two things you would genuinely use. It is not a reason to buy something you would not have bought otherwise.
Questions
What is a good cost per wear?
Under a dollar is genuinely good value. Above five usually means it is an occasion purchase, where cost per wear is the wrong measure.
Should I include the resale value?
Yes, if there is a real second-hand market. It can change the answer by a third on items that hold value.
Does this work for things other than clothes?
Yes. Tools, kitchen equipment, luggage, furniture — anything bought once and used repeatedly.
How do I estimate wears honestly?
Count the last comparable thing you owned. Not what you planned, what actually happened.
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