Should You Buy or Lease a Commercial Dishwasher?

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Should You Buy or Lease a Commercial Dishwasher?

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Wednesday, February 12, 2025

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Should You Buy or Lease a Commercial Dishwasher?

You know you need a commercial dishwasher—your kitchen is hectic, and your staff struggles to keep up. But when it comes to securing one for your restaurant, it’s hard to make a choice if you don’t know the pros and cons. Buying and renting are big decisions, so how can you be sure you’re making the best choice for your facility?

At State Cleaning, we lease, service, and provide chemicals for commercial dish machines. We know that dishwashers are not a casual expense and that you may have questions during the process.

To help you determine whether to buy or lease your commercial dishwasher, we will explain the pros and cons of each. After reading, you’ll know whether you should buy or lease a dish machine.

Pros of Buying a Commercial Dishwasher

Buying a commercial dishwasher means you own the machine. You’ll pay a significantly higher upfront price (usually around $15,000–$20,000 for a new machine), but you will own the machine, manage it yourself, and use your desired chemicals (if applicable) in it.

This has many associated pros:

Buying a Dishwasher Means You Own It

When you own your commercial dishwasher, you can take control of system maintenance, the service provider used, and which chemicals you want to use. It’s your property, and you can use it however you’d like.

Compared to leasing, this can mean money saved, as you won’t have a provider requiring certain chemicals to be used and because owned dish machines are often eligible for tax deductions. Overall, depending on your situation, owning your dishwasher means securing an additional asset that you can fully control.

Owning a Commercial Dishwasher Can Raise Property Value

In this same vein, owning a commercial dishwasher can raise your property value—a useful benefit for certain facilities.

For example, say that you work in a hospital cafeteria. Hospitals tend to have a higher capital budget, which means purchasing a dish machine will be less of a financial hit. And then, when they buy a machine, it becomes an asset to the building that can raise their property value.

In settings like this, buying a commercial dishwasher can be a positive investment for the entire facility.

Cons of Buying a Commercial Dishwasher

On the other hand, there are downsides to buying that should be carefully considered. Commercial dishwashers aren’t exactly a minor expense, so it’s important to have all the information in advance.

Buying Usually Involves Higher Costs

Above all else, the downside of buying a commercial dishwasher is that it tends to be pricey. As previously mentioned, commercial dishwashers have a high upfront price (usually around $15,000–$20,000 for a new machine). While they could have a lower end cost, this is still a large undertaking—and if there are any unforeseen maintenance problems, you’ll be stuck paying even further unpredictable expenses.

Additionally, unlike leased dishwashers, you won’t usually get repairs included in the price nor will you be able to swap out machines if yours begins to decline in performance as it ages, and this can quickly become costly. Overall, buying a leased dishwasher could financially benefit you, but if you go with this option, be prepared to spend more than you might initially expect.

Buying Leaves You Responsible for Machine Maintenance, Chemical Purchases, and Repairs

Another potential con is that buying a commercial dishwasher makes you solely responsible for machine maintenance, chemical purchases, and repairs. There isn’t regular maintenance with an owned dishwasher—there aren’t regular chemical deliveries. It’s up to you to remember these things, and if something goes wrong, you’ll also need to find a provider to come and fix it.

Some commercial kitchens prefer this full freedom, but if you would like more support with your purchase, renting a dishwasher is a better fit for you.

Pros of Leasing a Commercial Dishwasher

Leasing a commercial dishwasher means renting it from month to month (or year to year or longer, depending on the specifics of your agreement). In this setup, you do not own the dishwasher, but you will be paying for it regularly—a significantly lower upfront fee (usually, $100–$500 a month), but potentially a higher price over time (though this is not always the case).

This arrangement can bring with it several benefits:

Leasing Usually Involves Significant Cost Savings and More Predictable Pricing

When you buy a dish machine, the cost of the machine, service, repairs, and chemicals can add up fast. But with leasing, you pay a much smaller monthly fee for the machine, you usually get regular service (typically monthly) included, you generally get repairs as needed without additional cost, and chemicals are either bought as needed or are included in your agreement.

This way, the burden of dishwasher management is taken off your plate, and you won’t face unexpected costs if something goes wrong. For these reasons, many facilities prefer to lease their dishwashers.

Leasing Includes Service and Repairs

With leasing, regular service and repairs are usually included in the price. Similarly, the machine is more easily swapped out when it gets older or starts to perform poorly. Generally, this will save you time and money through regular maintenance and a longer dishwasher lifespan.

Leasing Generally Offers More Flexibility

Overall, the main benefit of leasing is that it offers more flexibility than buying does. Once you buy a dishwasher, you’re locked into the decision for years. Meanwhile, with rentals, you get the most recent models without having to worry about breakdowns or unanticipated costs. Plus, it’s easier to get out of a dishwashing lease agreement than to sell a commercial dishwasher yourself.

If these are concerns for you, leasing is a safer choice all around.

Cons of Leasing a Commercial Dishwasher

However, there are also downsides to renting rather than buying depending on your facility’s preferences. Namely, it can be an issue if you prefer to own the equipment.

Leasing Means You Do Not Own the Commercial Dishwasher

For some kitchens, owning the equipment they operate is a top priority. They want full control over machine management, service employed, chemicals used, and the equipment’s monetary value. If this sounds like you, dish machine rental is not right for you.

When you lease a dishwasher, you’re doing exactly that: leasing. You do not own the machine, you may have less flexibility with service companies, you may need to use specific chemicals (as required by the leasing company), and you don’t have an opportunity to profit from the dishwasher. If these factors are important to you, it’s best to buy your dishwasher rather than lease.

Learn About How Dish Machine Leasing Works with State Cleaning

When you’re on the hunt for a dish machine, it can be difficult to know where you should even start. Now, you know that leasing a dishwasher yields significant cost savings while buying one can be beneficial for the right business. To learn about how a dish machine rental with State Cleaning works, watch the video below.