Is it better to lease or buy production equipment?

It depends on your cash flow, how long the gear stays useful and how sure you are about demand. Leasing preserves cash and can suit fast-changing technology; buying usually costs less over a long life. Model both against your own booking history.

What should I do with gear that never goes out?

Decide whether it’s ever likely to be booked again. If not, sell it while it still has value and put the money toward inventory your clients actually ask for.

Buy or subrent? How to decide on new production gear

New gear feels like growth. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it’s a payment that sits in the warehouse. Here’s how to decide before you buy.

Devon Race

October 27, 20262 min read

Outdoor stage at night with lighting, audio and an LED wall

Buy production gear when you can show it will be used often enough, at a rate high enough, to pay for itself and its upkeep within a period you’re comfortable with, and when owning it wins work you’d otherwise lose. Subrent when demand is occasional, uncertain or tied to one client. The decision should come from your own booking and subrental history, not from a good deal or a single big job.

Look at what you already subrent

Your subrental spend is the best evidence you have. If you keep subrenting the same items for the same kinds of shows, that’s demand you’ve already proven. If an item was subrented once for one client, it isn’t.

Count the full cost of owning

The purchase price is only the start. Owning gear means cases, cabling and accessories, storage space, prep and maintenance time, repairs, insurance, financing costs if you borrowed, and the fact that technology, especially video and LED, loses value as newer products arrive.

Estimate how often it will really go out

Be honest about utilization. Look at your calendar for the past year and count the days the item would have been on a show. Then account for seasonality: gear that’s booked solid in spring and idle all winter earns less than the busy months suggest.

Ask what owning changes

Sometimes owning is worth it even when the numbers are close: it lets you say yes on short notice, control quality, avoid depending on a competitor, or offer something clients ask for that no one nearby has. Write those reasons down so the decision is deliberate.

Free up capital you already have

Before buying, look at what’s sitting unused. Gear that hasn’t gone out in a long time is money on a shelf. Selling it can fund the gear you actually need.

Common questions

Is it better to lease or buy production equipment?: It depends on your cash flow, how long the gear stays useful and how sure you are about demand. Leasing preserves cash and can suit fast-changing technology; buying usually costs less over a long life. Model both against your own booking history.
What should I do with gear that never goes out?: Decide whether it’s ever likely to be booked again. If not, sell it while it still has value and put the money toward inventory your clients actually ask for.