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11 November 2026 · Jakub M.
Rent or buy a Mac Studio M5 Ultra with 256 GB? When each one pays off
A Mac Studio M5 Ultra with 256 GB costs over €12,000 at Apple. Renting it costs €1,399 for 30 days. We worked out when buying starts to pay off, and what the simple comparison leaves out.
We rent out Mac Studio M5 Ultra computers, so we are not a neutral party. That is exactly why we want this comparison to be honest: for some people buying is the better choice, and the numbers below show who.
What the Mac costs to buy
The Mac Studio with the M5 Ultra (36-core CPU, 80-core GPU) and 256 GB of unified memory costs €12,429 in its cheapest configuration in the German Apple Store, including 19 % VAT. With the smaller M5 Ultra (30-core CPU, 64-core GPU) you can get 256 GB from €10,999, but with a noticeably weaker GPU. Prices in other countries differ with the local VAT.
What renting costs
We rent the same configuration for €60 a day, €359 a week or €1,399 for 30 days. Our prices are final: we are not registered for VAT, so nothing is added. Longer rentals are billed in 30-day blocks.
| Rental length | Rental price | Share of the purchase price |
|---|---|---|
| 1 day | €60 | 0.5% |
| 1 week | €359 | 2.9% |
| 30 days | €1,399 | 11.3% |
| 3 months | €4,197 | 33.8% |
| 6 months | €8,394 | 67.5% |
| 9 months | €12,591 | 101.3% |
| 12 months | €16,788 | 135.1% |
Rental prices from our price list (final, no VAT added), months billed as 30-day blocks. Purchase price: Mac Studio M5 Ultra with 36-core CPU, 80-core GPU and 256 GB, cheapest configuration, Apple Store Germany incl. 19 % VAT.
When buying pays off
If you need the Mac continuously, renting reaches the purchase price after about 9 months (9 × €1,399 = €12,591). From then on, buying is cheaper.
For VAT-registered companies the break-even point comes sooner. They can reclaim the VAT on the purchase, so the Mac effectively costs them about €10,445, which renting reaches after about 7.5 months. Our rental has no VAT to reclaim.
If you only need the Mac for a project, in bursts or for testing, the picture is reversed. A week costs €359, under 3 % of the purchase price.
What the simple comparison leaves out
- Electricity and connection. In our one-hour load test the chip drew 73 W on average. Running non-stop at an example price of €0.30 per kWh, that is around €16 a month for the chip alone, the whole computer draws more. With a rental, power and a symmetric 1 Gbps connection are included.
- Resale value. A Mac you own keeps part of its value and you can sell it later. How much it will fetch, we cannot predict.
- Full control. On your own Mac you are the administrator. A rented one gives you your own account without admin or sudo rights; we install system apps such as Xcode on request where possible. You connect over SSH or remote desktop, not physically.
- Availability. Your own Mac is always there. We do not give an availability guarantee (SLA), and a rental has to be booked in advance.
- Testing before you buy. If you are unsure whether 256 GB is enough or more than you need, a week of renting will show it on your own workload. Our RAM calculator gives a first estimate, and our benchmark of two units shows what speed to expect.
In short
Rent if you need the Mac for less than about half a year, for a project or a peak, or want to test it before buying. Buy if you will use it continuously for more than about 9 months, need administrator rights or want it physically on your desk.
If renting suits you, send us an inquiry.
Sources
German Apple Store prices according to ComputerBase: 25 August 2026 and 29 October 2026. Apple may have changed its prices since.