When you are hiring five people this quarter and maybe fifteen by year-end, the laptop decision looks simple on the surface: buy in bulk and own the asset. Run the numbers over a 12-month horizon and it usually looks different.
The upfront cost gap
A commercial-grade laptop like a Dell Latitude or HP EliteBook costs anywhere from ₹35,000 to ₹90,000 to buy new. For a 10-person hire, that is ₹3.5–9 lakh of capital locked into depreciating hardware before you have shipped a single feature. Renting the same configuration starts around ₹3,500–5,500 per laptop per month, with a fully refundable deposit instead of a purchase.
Depreciation nobody puts on the whiteboard
A laptop bought today is worth roughly 40–50% less in two years, and it is now your problem to service, insure, upgrade or eventually dispose of. Renting shifts that curve to the rental company — when a machine ages out, you swap it for a newer configuration instead of writing off an asset.
Maintenance is the hidden cost of owning
Every owned fleet eventually needs a technician, spare RAM, a replacement battery or a warranty claim that has expired. AKPL rentals include free maintenance and hardware support for the full rental tenure — a fault gets repaired or the unit gets replaced, at no extra cost to you.
Where buying still wins
If you are certain a role is permanent, budget allows a one-time purchase, and you want a specific machine configured exactly to spec for 3+ years, buying can work out cheaper on paper. Renting is the stronger call when headcount is uncertain, you are testing a new function or city, or you simply do not want IT asset management on your plate in year one.
Our take
Most startups we work with rent for the first 12–18 months while the team shape is still moving, then buy selectively for roles that have clearly stabilised. You can mix and match — rent 8, buy 2 — and adjust every quarter with no long-term commitment beyond a 1-month minimum tenure.
Want a side-by-side cost estimate for your team size? Get a custom quote and we will work out the numbers with you.