All businesses / Vending machine route

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

Start a vending machine route: the real numbers

Machines in other people's buildings. Below is what it actually costs, how long before money arrives, and the part most guides leave out.

Startup capital

€8,000–€40,000

Hours / week

8–25

First income

~10 wks

Net margin

45%

Saturation

medium

Realistic ceiling

€300–€2,200+

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

Scales in units you control: each machine is a small identical business you can add one at a time. But a machine in a bad location earns nothing and still costs you the drive, and the good sites are already taken.

The route, in five steps

  1. Secure the site before buying the machine, never after
  2. Buy refurbished: half the price, same life
  3. Pay the site 10-15% of takings, it keeps you there
  4. Track sales per slot and cut what does not move
  5. Ten machines is the point where it pays properly

What you'll need to buy

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

machinesvanstockcard readerssite agreements

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