All businesses / Laundromat

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

Start a laundromat: the real numbers

Self-service laundry. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€50,000–€120,000

Hours / week

10–30

First income

~24 wks

Net margin

35%

Saturation

low

Realistic ceiling

€500–€3,500+

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

Boring, recession-resistant and semi-absent once running. But utilities are a brutal and rising cost, machines break on Sundays, and the whole thing lives or dies on whether the surrounding streets have their own washers.

The route, in five steps

  1. Location beats everything: dense flats without machines
  2. Buy commercial machines used, not domestic ones new
  3. Go cashless — cash means collections and theft
  4. Add a service wash: it is the high-margin half
  5. Water and power are the real costs, model them hard

What you'll need to buy

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

machinespremises fit-oututilities depositcard systeminsurance

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