Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

The lowest price
is almost always the highest cost.

01

You paid less. But over the years you've lost hours, switched vendors, and lost the occasional client who walked through the office and thought “hmm.”

02

The true cost of a desk isn't the price tag — it's everything it generates (or fails to generate) over time: productivity, image, well-being, durability.

03

There's a calculation that serious professionals run before any major purchase. It takes two minutes.

Analyze your project's TCO →
+3%
PRODUCTIVITY PER EMPLOYEE

A well-designed workplace cuts distractions and signals respect for the people who work there. We assume +3% productivity — and staff are about 90% of operating costs (World Green Building Council).

-5%
DAYS LOST TO ABSENTEEISM

Ergonomic, quality workstations reduce fatigue and minor injuries. In the US, absenteeism runs at 3% in the private sector, about 7 days a year (BLS). We assume −5% on absence.

30%
PERCEIVED EMPLOYER BRAND

Well-kept spaces communicate company values. We estimate +30% in perceived employer brand: 27% of American workers say office design affects their choice of employer (Human Spaces).

Compare two products

Choose a reference product and one to evaluate: we calculate the difference — how much more it costs and how much more it returns.

Select the brand, then the product on each side to compare them.

FAQ

Is this worth running for a single piece?
Less so, and we would rather say it. On one item the decision comes down to price, warranty and how long the piece lasts, and a benefit calculated on one person is too small to decide anything. The tool earns its keep when the same item repeats: ten workstations, a boardroom, a whole floor. There, a few dollars of difference per unit changes the total in a way you can see.
Which horizon should I set: three, five or ten years?
The one you actually plan to keep the furniture for. Three years fits a short lease or a space you know will change; five is the common choice; ten makes sense in an owned building and with products whose structure and warranty go that far. Watch what happens as the horizon grows: replacements start to dominate, and that is where an entry-level piece loses the advantage it had on price.
What does the calculator leave out?
Freight, installation, removal of the old furniture, duty and sales tax where it applies, and any construction or electrical work. It also puts no number on the cost of specifying the wrong thing, which is the most expensive line of all. Those belong in the quotation, where they carry a real figure instead of an average.
Can I compare two of your own products against each other?
Yes, and it is often the more useful run. Two pieces we both carry usually differ in structure, warranty and certification rather than in looks, and the calculator turns that difference into money over the horizon. It is the honest way to find out when the more expensive option is not worth it, which happens more often than a supplier likes to admit.
Does quantity change the outcome, or only the total?
It changes both. The additional cost scales with the number of units, while several benefits scale with the number of people affected, so the ratio between them moves as the project grows. Run it with the real quantity rather than a single unit: a decision that looks marginal on one desk can be clear on forty.

How to run a TCO comparison before you sign the order

Five inputs and about two minutes: set the baseline, describe the project, then read how long the difference takes to come back.

Set the baseline product
Category, brand and the item you already have in the spec or on a quotation. Everything else is measured against it.
Pick what you are weighing it against
On the right, choose the item under evaluation. To see what happens when a piece is chosen with no technical basis and no certification, use Market Benchmark: an entry-level market reference in the same family, with a shorter life and fewer documents behind it.
State the size of the project
Units per product, employees affected and the horizon in years. These three move the result more than anything else; without them you are comparing a price to a price.
Choose the sector
Labour cost is not the same in healthcare, manufacturing or a public body, and the estimated benefits are calculated on it. If you are not sure, the all-sector average is the conservative choice.
Read the delta, not the totals
At the bottom you get the additional cost, the benefits split by category and the break-even in months. If the premium does not come back inside your horizon, the tool says so, and that answer is as useful as the other one.

Guides & Insights

Sources: BLS — CPS, Absences from Work (Table 47), 2025 · Journal of Safety Research — Effectiveness of ergonomics interventions, 2008 · Gensler — Global Workplace Survey 2025 · Human Spaces — Interface, 2015 · World Green Building Council — Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices, 2014. Percentages are prudent estimates, for indicative purposes only.