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We reviewed top 20 novated lease calculators. Only one shows you true savings.

We Googled "novated lease calculator", took the first 20 results, and stress-tested each one: what does it actually show, how does it derive the savings figure, and can you trust the number it gives you?

While many calculators compete by slickness and user-friendliness, the main aim of this review is to assess whether they help users make a genuinely informed financial decision — or whether they simply produce a large "you save $XX,XXX" figure and nudge you toward a sales enquiry.

What we found

  • All of the top 20 calculators returned by Google are run by companies that sell novated leases.
  • 18 of 20 show only a "tax saving" — a figure that can overstate your true benefit by tens of thousands of dollars. One further site shows both, but buries the net saving in an expandable section.
  • 5 of 20 won't show you a single number until you hand over your phone number and email to a salesperson.
  • None of the 20 compare a novated lease against the most realistic alternative: keeping the car you already have.
  • Two independent calculators provide honest outputs — and neither appears in the first two pages of search results. They are included here for completeness.

Criteria explained

Criterion What is being assessed
Affiliation Whether the calculator is hosted by a commercial provider. Affiliated calculators have a financial incentive to show favourable results.
Benchmark shown Whether the headline "saving" is a tax saving (income tax, Medicare levy & GST savings only — overstates the benefit) or a net saving (after all costs vs a realistic alternative — the figure that truly matters).
vs Cash / vs Loan / vs Keep car Whether the calculator compares the novated lease against a cash purchase, a car loan, or keeping the current car. A novated lease is only worth taking if it beats a realistic alternative.
Car selection Whether a specific car model can be searched to pre-fill parameters, or whether everything must be entered manually.
Interest presented Whether the lease effective interest rate is visible +/- adjustable.
Residual shown Whether the balloon payment at end of lease is mentioned as part of the true cost.
Assumptions disclosed Whether the calculator states its key assumptions and methodology clearly.
Caveats mentioned Whether caveats and side effects of novated leasing are noted (e.g. RFBA impact on HECS/HELP, childcare subsidy, Medicare levy surcharge, reduced borrowing capacity, early-termination risk, potentially reduced superannuation contribution).

Comparison table

The following twenty calculators were retrieved from the first page and subsequent pages of a Google search for "novated lease calculator", conducted in March 2026. Results are listed in the order they appeared (it may vary by individual as Google search result is not static). This site and another independent calculator are added to complete the comparison. Table best viewed on a wide screen.

# Calculator / Site Affiliation Benchmark shown vs Cash vs Loan vs Keep car Car selection Interest presented Residual shown Assumptions disclosed Caveats mentioned
1 SG Fleet Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ⚠️ ❌
2 Toyota Fleet Management Affiliated Net saving ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ⚠️
3 FleetPartners Affiliated Tax saving ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️ ✅ ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️
4 Remserv Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ⚠️
5 Easi Fleet Affiliated Tax saving ⚠️ ⚠️ ⚠️ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
6 Novated Lease Australia Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌
7 Smart Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ⚠️ ⚠️
8 Autopia Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ✅ ⚠️ ⚠️
9 Custom Fleet Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
10 Summit Fleet Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
11 AANT Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ⚠️ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
12 Driva Affiliated Tax saving * ⚠️ ❌ ❌ ❌ ⚠️ ✅ ⚠️ ❌
13 Oly Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ⚠️
14 ORIX Australia Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ⚠️ ❌
15 Flare HR Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
16 Salary Packaging Australia Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ⚠️ ❌
17 Alliance Leasing Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
18 Maxxia Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ⚠️
19 StreetFleet Affiliated Tax saving ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌
20 Leaselab Affiliated Tax saving + Net saving ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ❌ ❌ ⚠️ ⚠️
★ Novatedlease.guide (this site) Independent Net saving ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅
★ Leasecheck.au Independent Net saving ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

Key: ✅ = yes / present, ❌ = no / absent, ⚠️ = partial or unclear

Calculator notes

1. SG Fleet — Saving benchmarked to a hypothetical "same lease paid with post-tax money (what interest?) and no GST saving". No disclosure of interest rate. Mentions inclusion of fuel, insurance, registration, servicing and tyres but no breakdown of actual budgets. No mention of NL caveats. 📄

2. Toyota Fleet Management — Best affiliated calculator in the market. Benchmarks against loan or cash while considering opportunity cost (return assumed to be term deposit rate). Generated savings figure is in the same ballpark as this site. Some caveats mentioned e.g. RFBA, though the rest is summarised with "seek independent advice". 📄

3. FleetPartners — Detail unverifiable as the page leads to "our team will be in touch". Appears to be benchmarked to tax savings according to FAQ. 📄

4. Remserv — Saving benchmarked to a hypothetical "same lease paid with post-tax money (what interest?)". Unclear if GST is exempted in this benchmark. No disclosure of interest rate. Some caveats mentioned e.g. RFBA, HECS/HELP. 📄

5. Easi Fleet — Extremely simple output: only "Annual Savings", "Fortnightly Cost / running cost / cost of car". No methodology or assumptions disclosed. Back-engineering suggests same benchmark as most affiliated calculators. Zero mention of caveats. 📄

6. Novated Lease Australia — Output shows $X weekly and "estimated savings" = sum of GST savings and income tax reduction. Saving benchmarked to hypothetical "same lease paid post-tax and no GST saving". Some elaboration on assumptions. Zero mention of caveats e.g. RFBA impact. 📄

7. Smart — Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax and no GST saving" (described in fine print), but headline "you save $X" is falsely labelled "compared to buying a car with cash or loan" — directly contradicting the numerical derivation shown below. One of few affiliated sites showing residual value. Some caveats mentioned. 📄

8. Autopia — Same structure as Smart: benchmark described correctly in fine print, but headline "you save $X" is falsely labelled "compared to buying a car with cash or loan". One of few affiliated sites showing residual value. Some caveats mentioned. 📄

9. Custom Fleet — Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax and no GST saving". The "initial GST saving" and "fleet discount" are double-counted in the final savings figure. Currently no EV calculation. No mention of caveats. 📄

10. Summit Fleet — Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax and no GST saving". No disclosure of interest rate. No mention of assumptions or caveats. 📄

11. AANT — Requires email and phone number before any result is displayed. Extremely simple output with zero explanation of derivations. Claims "savings comparison" is "compared to a car loan", yet a later paragraph with a similar figure claims it is a tax saving — contradictory framing. 📄

12. Driva — Requires email and phone number before any result is displayed. Claims saving "compared to cash" but methodology is unclear; the footnote suggests that it is still based on income tax and GST savings (but include interest and lease costs). Derived savings figure is lower than other sites so it is possible that they have already accounted for these costs. Residual shown as percentage rather than true value. No mention of caveats e.g. RFBA. 📄

13. Oly — Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax (what interest?)". Unclear if GST is exempted in this benchmark. No disclosure of interest rate. Some caveats mentioned e.g. RFBA, HECS/HELP. 📄

14. ORIX Australia — Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax and no GST saving". No disclosure of interest rate. No mention of NL caveats. 📄

15. Flare HR — Requires email and phone number before any result is displayed. Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax and no GST saving". No disclosure of interest rate. No mention of NL caveats. 📄

16. Salary Packaging Australia — Calculator page is a funnel to collect email and phone for a fleet consultant call. After email provision, output only shows estimated fortnightly cost plus GST and tax savings figures. 📄

17. Alliance Leasing — Outputs "annual savings" with no definition of savings, methodology, or assumptions disclosed. Back-derivation confirms same benchmark as most affiliated calculators. 📄

18. Maxxia — Saving benchmarked to "same lease paid post-tax (what interest?)". Unclear if GST is exempted. No disclosure of interest rate. Some caveats mentioned e.g. RFBA, HECS/HELP. 📄

19. StreetFleet — Calculator page is a funnel to collect email and phone for a fleet consultant call. Zero calculation output shared otherwise. 📄

20. Leaselab — Headline remains "tax savings", but an expandable section shows comparison to car loan / cash. Methodology unclear; from example calculation appears to be cashflow difference without opportunity cost. Some assumptions described; very few caveats. 📄

★ Novatedlease.guide (this site) — The calculator this comparison was built around. Independent and unaffiliated. Benchmarks against cash purchase, car loan, and keeping the current car. Shows a net saving with itemised GST, income tax, and running cost components. Includes salary packaging administration fees and residual value in the cost calculation. Full methodology and assumptions disclosed. Detailed caveats throughout (RFBA, HECS/HELP impact, residual risk, early termination, etc.). No account or contact details required.

★ Leasecheck.au — The only other independent calculator with a net saving derivation. Author actively assists others on Reddit. Easier input though slightly less comprehensive output than this site. 📄

Summary findings

Commercial affiliation

All 20 calculators returned by Google are affiliated with novated lease providers. Neither independent calculator appears in organic search results without specifically searching for it by name.

Net saving vs tax saving

Of the 22 calculators reviewed:

  • 3 (Toyota Fleet Management, Leasecheck.au and this site) correctly benchmark against a genuine net saving
  • 1 (Leaselab) shows a tax saving headline with a net saving tucked in an expandable section
  • 18 show only a tax saving — or a "saving" defined as the cost of the lease paid post-tax without a GST exemption, which is not a realistic alternative.

The tax saving figure consistently overstates the true benefit, such that it's entirely possible for a claimed $21,000 tax savings to translate to $5,000 loss when compared to a cash purchase alternative.

Comparison against alternatives

A novated lease is only worth taking if it is genuinely cheaper than the alternative. Of the 22:

  • 4 compare against a cash purchase (Toyota, Leaselab, Leasecheck.au and this site)
  • 4 compare against a car loan (Toyota, Leaselab, Leasecheck.au and this site)
  • 1 compare against keeping the current car (this site)

No other calculator compares against keeping the current car.

Calculators used as lead generation funnels

Five calculators (AANT, Driva, Flare HR, Salary Packaging Australia, StreetFleet) require you to submit your email address and/or phone number before displaying any result. You are handing over your contact details to a sales team before you have seen a single number.

Of the remaining calculators, most display a headline "you save $X" figure with no explanation of how it was derived. Only a handful disclose the benchmark used, and fewer still explain what is and is not included in the running costs budget.

What most calculators get wrong

The patterns that appear across virtually every affiliated calculator:

  • Tax saving presented as the headline saving — framing income tax reduction as "the saving" which is fallacious.
  • Implicit benchmark seldom explained — most calculators compare against a hypothetical "same lease paid with post-tax dollars, no GST saving", which is not a realistic counterfactual.
  • Interest rate hidden or absent — only a small minority show the lease interest rate, making it impossible to assess whether the underlying financing is competitive
  • Residual value omitted — the balloon payment at end of lease is a real future liability; most calculators do not include it in the cost calculation. Without the residual in view, a lease can appear cheaper than a car loan on a fortnightly basis — while leaving a large liability unpaid at the end.
  • Caveats absent — fewer than half mention any caveats of novated leasing (e.g. RFBA impact on HECS/HELP, childcare subsidy, Medicare levy surcharge, reduced borrowing capacity, early-termination risk, reduced superannuation contributions). Even those that do typically mention only RFBA and nothing else.

Support this independent calculator & guide

This calculator and guide are built and continuously maintained as an independent project.

If it has helped you think more clearly, avoid a costly mistake, or saved you meaningful money, you're welcome to support its ongoing maintenance and improvements: