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Budgeting

Startup Cost Calculator

Build a realistic line-item budget for your first machine, or first few, before you spend anything.

Free tool

1
Machines
$700
Card readers
$400
First fill
$200
Transport
$150
Legal & insurance
$500
Estimated total $1,950

Rough planning estimate from typical ranges. See the full startup cost guide for the line-by-line breakdown these numbers come from.

How to use this number

This total is a planning estimate, not a quote. Treat it as the number you use to decide whether you're ready to move forward, not as what you'll pay to the dollar. A few ways to use it well:

  • Compare it against what you actually have available, including a buffer for the costs new operators consistently underestimate: a second product fill before revenue catches up, and the time your first location search takes.
  • Toggle off what you don't need yet. If you already have general liability insurance through another venture, or you're buying a machine that already includes a reader, uncheck those lines to see the real number for your situation.
  • Feed the total into the Profit & ROI Calculator to see how long this investment would realistically take to pay back at a given location's sales level. It carries this total over automatically.

For the full reasoning behind each range (why used vs. new spans such a wide gap, and the costs that catch people off guard), read vending machine startup costs, broken down.