What readers say

These are unsolicited comments about this site and its calculator, collected from public forums and from notes left by supporters. There are 56 of them. Each is quoted in the author's own words, lightly trimmed for length, and linked to its source so you can read it in full and in context. Names are given as the author chose to display them, or left out.

Several are from people who used the calculator to decide against a novated lease. The tool is meant to get you to the right answer for your situation, whichever way it goes.

Whirlpool forums 12

Public forum posts, mostly in the long-running novated lease threads.

  • "I had already validated my provider's figures using novatedlease.guide and they checked out."
    Hippohead · Whirlpool forum member June 2026 source
  • "Putting the figures in the novatedlease calculator I'm getting around 25-30% effective interest rate, which seems stupidly high for a $40k car."
    Keppy · Whirlpool forum member, checking a quote June 2026 source
  • "Where they say it's 7.5% interest, but they add a $1,500 fee, the comparison rate is actually more like 9-10%. To get the actual comparison rate you need to use a calculator like novatedlease.guide."
    roflwhirl · Whirlpool forum member May 2026 source
  • "There's a pretty good calculator here to compare a novated lease to a regular car loan."
    b3au · Whirlpool forum member May 2026 source
  • "I've had to reverse engineer the finance rate to compare. That's why changyang's spreadsheet is so useful."
    AndyB · Whirlpool forum member March 2026 source
  • "Have you checked out this amazing calculator made by changyang?"
    SphinX · Whirlpool forum member March 2026 source
  • "When plugging the quote into Changy's spreadsheet, it looks like we've been quoted an effective interest rate between 15-18%, amongst other hidden costs."
    leonmac · Whirlpool forum member December 2025 source
  • "A fine piece of work. Everyone I know uses it. Respect and thanks."
    Putu · Whirlpool forum member, on the original spreadsheet February 2025 source
  • "A member here has posted a spreadsheet that covers every conceivable factor in an NL."
    outoftheknow · Whirlpool forum member, on the original spreadsheet January 2025 source
  • "His sheet was amazingly helpful. Compares NL to loan to outright, along with a bunch of other helpful info."
    Noodles55 · Whirlpool forum member, on the original spreadsheet October 2024 source
  • "Really appreciate the effort you've put into your spreadsheet so that people can actually compare the costs."
    AndyB · Whirlpool forum member, on the original spreadsheet May 2024 source
  • "For the effective interest rate calc, it returns me 21.33%. Very eye opening."
    STGM81 · Whirlpool forum member, on the original spreadsheet March 2024 source

Reddit 8

Public comments, mostly in r/NovatedLeasingAU and r/AusFinance.

  • "Always use the community calculator. No fuss, straightforward, not affiliated with any company so no follow-ups or salespeople."
    u/jayteeayy · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter September 2026 source
  • "Do your own due diligence upfront and don't rely on the NL provider to tell you everything. Filling out the calculator and going through the detail view and screen tips will go a long way."
    u/ezymoneysniper29 · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter August 2026 source
  • "The calculator has been vetted by the community and in use for ages and is very solid, so is probably worth trusting it for interest rates instead of the provider's quote."
    u/Opaquer · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter August 2026 source
  • "Really helpful to reverse-engineer the effective interest rate in the quotes a handful of us employees were getting. We were all getting >10.5%, so a lot of us were able to get our provider to "price beat" other quotes and offer rates in the low to mid 8s."
    u/Accomplished-Big-46 · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter July 2026 source
  • "I made the jump to 2 new EVs and sold our 2 ICE vehicles. Nothing wrong with the old vehicles but your calculator helped to convince me the current EV FBT exemption was the deal of the decade."
    u/bonedoc871 · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter July 2026 source
  • "There's a good calculator here to get an idea of what your situation might look like. A really handy comparison is the one that has "compare with keeping existing car". You can use this to simulate buying an ICE car without a lease."
    u/shashg · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter June 2026 source
  • "I've been pointing my friends and family towards your calculator and it's saved them a bunch."
    u/Lamabat · r/AusFinance commenter February 2026 source
  • "This tool is epic! Well done 👏"
    u/compendo2002 · r/NovatedLeasingAU commenter, on the early-termination risk section February 2026 source

OzBargain 8

Public forum and deal-thread comments.

  • "Have a look here and you can work out the total cost of ownership across both buying outright vs novated lease at the end of your lease period."
    The Hobo · OzBargain commenter September 2026 source
  • "My starting interest rate quote was about 20% but I managed to get it down to 8% (as per calculator) before signing, which has been a huge saving. Definitely recommend looking into the calculator."
    Opaquer · OzBargain commenter August 2026 source
  • "Just wanted to thank you for writing the novated lease guide. It's excellent."
    hypocrisyinaction · OzBargain commenter August 2026 source
  • "I tried this online NL calc from some sort of math magician on Reddit."
    PvsNP · OzBargain commenter August 2026 source
  • "Literally all you need is this website. Not just the calculator (and the calculator is amazing) but the articles that cover risks and fundamentals of novated leases."
    dsar · OzBargain commenter June 2026 source
  • "Anyone considering a novated lease should 100% use this tool. Extremely helpful."
    BBQbarbs · OzBargain commenter March 2026 source
  • "Thanks for all your work... I hate to think of all the people who have gone into novated leases that haven't been aware of your calculator."
    downhillmtbr · OzBargain commenter March 2026 source
  • "Obligatory: use this calculator to really work out the true cost of your novated lease."
    Zalur · OzBargain commenter March 2026 source

Facebook group 7

Comments in a novated leasing discussion group.

  • "Thanks for creating this, very helpful and clear."
    Facebook group member August 2026 source
  • "Wow, these are all scenarios in my head and to know there is a tool that can do it all-in-one is great to know!"
    Facebook group member June 2026 source
  • "A huge gratitude for building the NL Calculator and making it open for all. Great work."
    Facebook group member April 2026 source
  • "Your spreadsheet is amazing! Really helped me to understand the costs of a novated lease and, importantly, to communicate them to my husband."
    Facebook group member March 2026 source
  • "Your spreadsheet is amazing. Provides a clear explanation rather than "tax savings" which seems to be the advertising enticement for a lot of NL companies."
    Facebook group member March 2026 source
  • "I found your resources incredibly helpful and easy to follow. Appreciate your amazing work!"
    Facebook group member February 2026 source
  • "Thanks for the really clear explanation. It's hard to find this information in simple English to explain to others."
    Facebook group member February 2026 source

Buy Me a Coffee supporters 21

Notes left by readers when they bought a coffee. Only notes the supporter made public are quoted.

  • "You've saved me a whole lot of worry during the lease process."
    Jonathon · Buy Me a Coffee supporter August 2026 source
  • "Very helpful. It should be a requirement of the novated lease companies, but in the meantime it is really valuable."
    KW · Buy Me a Coffee supporter August 2026 source
  • "It's been reassuring to compare my own spreadsheet with your unbiased calculator."
    Eric · Buy Me a Coffee supporter July 2026 source
  • "Very helpful for my partner and I in recently considering (and ultimately deciding against) novated leasing an EV."
    Lauren · Buy Me a Coffee supporter July 2026 source
  • "Just when my cynicism was reaching an all-time high. Thank you."
    GP · Buy Me a Coffee supporter July 2026 source
  • "Extremely well documented calculator. The true insight into novated leases and their illusive and sometimes misleading "tax savings"."
    Marius · Buy Me a Coffee supporter July 2026 source
  • "This was doing my head in. Your calculator is better than any provider."
    Anonymous · Buy Me a Coffee supporter July 2026 source
  • "Useful to convince my husband regarding benefits of leasing an EV vs paying cash. Especially good when comparing several quotes from lease providers."
    Erin · Buy Me a Coffee supporter June 2026 source
  • "Saved me $300 a month in my negotiations with lease provider, you are a genuine hero."
    JLIN · Buy Me a Coffee supporter June 2026 source
  • "Even though I'm a finance / spreadsheet guy, I still found this website and the info very instructive."
    Anonymous · Buy Me a Coffee supporter June 2026 source
  • "Excellent info and calculator that helped me negotiate and save money on a new EV lease."
    Julian · Buy Me a Coffee supporter May 2026 source
  • "You helped us and we've shared the calculator endlessly."
    Haz · Buy Me a Coffee supporter May 2026 source
  • "A fantastic tool that greatly assisted in both evaluating impact and negotiating the lease."
    Mike C · Buy Me a Coffee supporter May 2026 source
  • "I would not have understood the pros/cons of a novated lease without the aid of this website."
    Christian · Buy Me a Coffee supporter April 2026 source
  • "It has helped immensely, and has definitely saved me thousands."
    u/IDontKnowJillOrJack · Buy Me a Coffee supporter April 2026 source
  • "Cut through the marketing noise and much better than trying to discuss with salesmen."
    Kyle · Buy Me a Coffee supporter March 2026 source
  • "I'm a CPA and last novated lease cycle did my own calculations but this one is better than anything I've done!"
    CPA · Buy Me a Coffee supporter March 2026 source
  • "A complex situation well explained and made me less vulnerable to companies with agendas. My decision is now much easier."
    Nic · Buy Me a Coffee supporter February 2026 source
  • "Really helpful to demystify quotes from our sole-source novated lease provider, and help me get a better deal."
    u/mtbwill · Buy Me a Coffee supporter February 2026 source
  • "Thanks so much for shining some much-needed light into this grey unregulated area!"
    Zak · Buy Me a Coffee supporter February 2026 source
  • "I make it a rule to not give money to strangers on the internet but this is some of the best work I've seen on the internet..."
    GC · Buy Me a Coffee supporter February 2026 source

If you have found the site useful and would like to add your own, the easiest way is a note with a coffee, or a comment wherever you found the link.