True Cost
Find out what a purchase really costs
Add tax, delivery, fees, and recurring expenses. See the true upfront and first-year price instantly, with free tools that run in your browser.
What True Cost is
Most visits start with one question: what will I actually pay? From there you can add time (hours of work), monthly room, recurring bills, or everyday repeats. The goal is responsibility without shame—more clarity, less autopilot.
Why true cost matters
“True cost” is not there to shame a decision. It is there to show the real weight of it. Seeing that weight helps you align spending with what you actually value: fewer surprises, fewer regrets, no lecture.
Purchases
Start with Real total for checkout money, then use Hours of life for time, then Can I afford this? for whether the month has room—not subscriptions or everyday habits.
Real total
In: sticker price, tax, delivery, fees, tip, optional small monthly add-ons. Out: what leaves your account now and a simple first-year total. When: you want the receipt, not whether the month can carry it.
Estimate checkout and first-year money total →
Hours of life
In: gross pay, rough tax share, weekly hours, one price. Out: net hourly pay and how many hours (and eight-hour days) that price costs. When: you want time, not the checkout line (use Real total for money).
Turn one price into hours of work →
Can I afford this?
In: net monthly income, fixed bills, savings you set, one purchase price. Out: what is left this month and a rough months-to-save count. When: after you know the price (use Real total) and you are asking about cashflow, not subscriptions.
Check monthly room for one purchase →
Recurring spending
Subscription stack is the place for invoiced services and plans; Routine cost is for small repeats you pay as you go—split so nothing is counted twice.
Subscription stack
In: billed services with monthly or yearly prices. Out: one monthly and one yearly stack for comparing plans. When: streaming, cloud, phone, apps—not coffee runs (Routine cost).
Add up billed subscriptions monthly and yearly →
Routine cost
In: habits with amount and how often. Out: normalized monthly and yearly totals from rhythm alone. When: coffee, lunch out, taps—not invoiced subscriptions (Subscription stack).
Total habit-style repeats by month and year →
How it works
Everything runs in your browser on static pages. Calculator islands load only where you need them; your inputs stay on this device.
Rounded numbers are fine. Outputs are sketches—useful for direction, not for filing taxes or proving anything to anyone.
Practical guides
Short worked examples for the questions behind the calculators.
Price after tax and fees
A formula and worked example for tax, delivery, service fees, and first-year costs.
Calculate the full purchase price →
Subscription cost per year
Put monthly and annual plans on the same scale without counting anything twice.
Add up yearly subscriptions →
Coffee cost per month
Turn a daily or weekly coffee routine into an average monthly and yearly total.
See the coffee cost examples →
Pick one place to start
Default path: Real total for one purchase you are weighing. If the question is recurring bills, use Subscription stack. The sections below group the same tools by purchase vs recurring.