WAN Link Cost Calculator

Work out wan link cost instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About WAN Link Cost Calculator

WAN pricing combines a bandwidth-dependent charge with a fixed circuit and access fee, so the effective cost per Mbps falls sharply as bandwidth rises — the fixed component is amortised over more capacity. That is why upgrading a small circuit often costs little more than keeping it, and why the per-Mbps figure is the right comparison metric across options.

Formula

WAN cost

per site = bandwidth x price per Mbps + fixed charge; total = per site x sites; effective per Mbps = per site / bandwidth

Worked example

With the default values below, WAN Link Cost Calculator returns Total monthly WAN cost of $24,600.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Bandwidthminimum 0.001 Mbps: 200 Mbps
Price per Mbps per monthminimum 0: 8
Fixed monthly chargeminimum 0: 450
Sitesminimum 1: 12

Results

Total monthly WAN cost: $24,600.00
Cost per site per month: $2,050.00
Annual cost: $295,200.00
Effective cost per Mbps: $10.250

Step by step

1Values used
2WAN cost
3Total monthly WAN cost= 24,600.00
4Cost per site per month= 2,050.00
5Annual cost= 295,200.00
6Effective cost per Mbps= 10.250

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 3 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is broadband so much cheaper per Mbps than MPLS?

It is contended and best-effort with no bandwidth or latency guarantee. MPLS pricing includes a committed rate, an SLA and symmetric capacity.

Does SD-WAN reduce cost?

It can substantially, by carrying most traffic over cheap internet circuits while retaining a smaller MPLS link or none at all for latency-sensitive flows.