All businesses / Subscription box

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

Start a subscription box: the real numbers

A themed box, shipped monthly. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€5,000–€30,000

Hours / week

20–45

First income

~14 wks

Net margin

35%

Saturation

high

Realistic ceiling

€0–€4,500+

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

Predictable monthly revenue and customers who pay before you ship — the best cashflow shape in retail. Churn is relentless, though: most boxes lose a quarter of their subscribers every three months and die refilling the bucket.

The route, in five steps

  1. Presell one hundred boxes before producing anything
  2. Pick a niche with an existing community, not a broad theme
  3. Churn above 8% a month kills it — measure from box one
  4. Negotiate shipping before you set the price
  5. Annual plans fund the stock and cut churn at once

What you'll need to buy

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

first production runpackagingsubscription platformfulfilmentadvertising

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