All businesses / Ghost kitchen

Fingerprint: capital · hours · speed to income · margin · ceiling. The dashed line is mid-scale.

Start a ghost kitchen: the real numbers

Delivery-only food brand. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€15,000–€55,000

Hours / week

35–60

First income

~8 wks

Net margin

25%

Saturation

high

Realistic ceiling

€0–€4,000+

This ceiling is not a wall

The figure above is what this earns in the shape described — you, running it. Past that it keeps going, but by hiring people or adding units, not by you working more hours. That is a different job from the one you would be starting, and worth knowing before you start it.

What nobody usually tells you

No dining room, no waiters, no prime-street rent — the cheapest way into food. The catch is severe: the delivery platform takes a third, sets your visibility, and can change both whenever it likes.

The route, in five steps

  1. Rent space in an existing kitchen before building your own
  2. Design the menu around what survives 20 minutes in a box
  3. Platform commission is 25-33%: price for it from day one
  4. Run two brands from one kitchen to fill the quiet hours
  5. Own your repeat customers or the platform owns your business

What you'll need to buy

These are the categories every ghost kitchen pays for in the first month. We break down what each one actually costs at this size on the tools page.

kitchen spaceequipmentplatform commissionspackaginghygiene registration

Does it hold up for you?

These numbers are the average case. Whether this business clears your target depends on your capital, your hours and how long you can wait — put them in and see.

Run my numbers → See the tool stack