What is the cost per use formula?

Cost Per Use = Total Cost ÷ Number of Uses. Total cost can include the purchase price plus any recurring fees (for a subscription, the annual cost).

What is a good cost per use?

There is no single right answer, but a useful rule of thumb: if the cost per use has dropped below 5% of the sticker price, the item has paid you back. Below 1%, it is officially "free".

Pillar guide

What is cost per use?

Q: What is cost per use?

Cost per use is the price of something divided by the number of times you actually use it. It is the simplest way to tell whether something you own is worth what you paid for it.

Cost per use is the price you paid for something divided by how many times you actually use it. It is the smallest possible measure of whether the thing was worth buying.

The formula

Cost Per Use = Total Cost ÷ Number of Uses

Total cost includes whatever money the item actually pulled from you: the sticker price for a one-time purchase, plus any recurring fees if it's a subscription or membership.

Examples in three categories

Gadgets and gear

$249 AirPods Pro, used 500 times → $0.50 / use.
$2,500 Peloton (plus $44 / month membership), ridden 60 times in a year → $50 / ride. Keep riding to bring it down.
$300 standing desk, used every workday for 2 years → roughly $0.60 / use.

Memberships

$70 / month gym, visited 8 times → $8.75 / visit. Industry average. Worse than ClassPass for most people.
$22 / month Netflix, watched 90 times → $0.24 / watch. Cheap and worth it.

Subscriptions

Per-month pricing hides everything. The right unit is per actual use. Use our calculator with the monthly fee × 12 as the cost, and the number of times you actually opened the app or watched a show as the uses.

How to think about "good"

Below 5% of sticker — paying you back. Good buy.
5–20% of sticker — fine, keep using it.
Above 20% of sticker — you haven't broken in the item yet. Use it more before deciding.

Cost per wear vs cost per use

Same formula, different context. "Cost per wear" is the fashion world's name for it. "Cost per use" generalizes to anything else. If you mostly buy clothes, see the Cost Per Wear guide.

The simplest way to actually track it

Add the thing to Worth It: name + price.
Tap +1 when you use it.
Done. The math updates and the color of the number changes from red to green over time.

FAQ

Should I include the cost of accessories?

Only if they are required. Cables, cases, batteries — yes. A nicer strap — no.

What if I rarely use something?

Cost per use stays high. That is the honest answer. You can decide whether to use it more, sell it, or accept it as a one-off cost.

Does cost per use account for the time value of money?

No, and it doesn't need to. The whole point is plain math anyone can do in three seconds.