Figure 1. Ten‐year cost comparison of purchase versus lease procurement.

Ten‐year annual costs of a theoretical scientific instrument acquired by purchase (black bars) or lease (gray bars) with a 3‐year refresh rate. Lease costs are consistent year to year (30% of initial purchase price). Purchase costs include an outright instrument purchase (every 3 years), service/maintenance contracts (5% of initial purchase price) in non‐purchase years, and a 20% trade‐in discount on purchases after year 1. Costs are normalized to the initial purchase price of the instrument.