Cheap vs Inexpensive: Why TCO Changes the Conversation
February 11, 2026
The Setup
Your team needs a new office printer. Option A costs $200 upfront. Option B costs $600. Which is cheaper?
If you answered “Option A,” you’re not wrong — but you might be making a $2,000 mistake.
Total Cost of Ownership
Cheap describes the sticker price. Inexpensive describes the total cost of ownership. They’re rarely the same thing.
TCO includes every cost that shows up after the purchase:
- Consumables — toner, ink, paper, drums
- Maintenance — service contracts, repair parts, downtime
- Energy — watts add up over years
- Opportunity cost — time spent troubleshooting, waiting for prints, or reordering supplies
The Numbers
| Option A ($200) | Option B ($600) | |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | $200 | $600 |
| Toner per year | $180 | $90 |
| Maintenance per year | $50 | $0 (included) |
| Energy per year | $40 | $25 |
| 5-year TCO | $1,550 | $1,175 |
Option B is 3x the sticker price but 24% less expensive over its lifetime.
The Takeaway
TCO isn’t about being cheap or frugal. It’s about knowing the real number before you commit. The goal is to make the invisible costs visible — and then decide.
That’s what the TCO calculator is built for.