How many cups of coffee a day do I need to sell to break even?

Divide your monthly fixed costs by one minus your cost of goods, then by 30 days and by your average ticket. A 1,000 square foot cafe with $16,000 of monthly rent, payroll and overheads at a 28% cost of goods needs about $22,000 of sales a month, which is about 92 transactions a day at an $8 ticket, seven days a week.

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How much does it really cost to open a coffee shop?

Kiosk, espresso bar, cafe with seating or drive thru. Build out, espresso equipment, permits, rent before you open, deposits, a contingency, and the part every other calculator skips: the months of cash you need to survive the ramp, and the drinks a day you have to sell to cover your costs.

Your coffee shop

Format

Floor area, sq ft

SeatsCafes seat about one person per 40 sq ft once the bar and back of house are out. Zero for a kiosk or a stand.

The space you are taking An existing cafe has the plumbing, drains, ventilation and grease trap already in, which is the single biggest money saver. Taking over a closed cafe saves $30,000 to $100,000 against a conversion.

Market

Monthly rent

Prefilled from your area, market and format. Type your real quote, all in with NNN.

Espresso and bar equipment

Average ticket

What one customer spends per visit. $5.50 to $7.50 for drinks only, $8 to $12 with food. Drives the drinks a day figure.

Cash cushion, monthsWorking capital: months of rent, payroll and overheads held in cash. Three is the minimum most advisers accept, six is safer.

Contingency, %Build outs run over by 10% to 30%. 10% to 20% is standard.

Cash you already have, optional

Shows your funding gap.

The next 60 months

The opening number is the easy part. Now see whether the shop works.

This page tells you what it costs to open. The Restaurant Financial Model takes the same shop and runs it month by month for five years. It is built for restaurants and cafes alike: transactions a day, average ticket, takeaway share, retail beans, and the payroll of a real roster. When you break even, where the cash dips lowest, whether the loan can be carried, and what happens if you sell 20% fewer drinks than planned.

Fifteen linked worksheets, Excel and Google Sheets, no macros
Covers, average check, takeaway, catering and retail on one Inputs tab
P&L, cash flow and balance sheet, monthly for 60 months
Break even month, cash low point, base, best and worst scenarios
Loan schedule, prime cost tracking, industry benchmarks beside your numbers
A Checks tab that proves it balances every month

$36

Instant download. Also on Gumroad.

Get the Restaurant Financial Model

Pricing your drinks and pastries next? The Recipe Cost and Menu Pricing Calculator is $12.

Dashboard of the Restaurant Financial Model: capital required, revenue, margins, break even month and cash low point

How this calculator works

Every line is a rate times something you typed, so you can argue with any of them. No owner survey exists for coffee shops the way one does for restaurants, so the rates are calibrated against the 2026 trade guides listed below, and the result panel shows the published range for your format beside your number instead of a survey median.

Line	Rate	Where it comes from
Build out	$35, $75 or $140 per sq ft for an existing cafe space, a retail conversion, or a raw shell. Times 0.8, 1.0 or 1.35 by market. A food menu adds $10,000 for the hood and fire suppression.	Second generation cafe space $30 to $80 per sq ft, raw shell $80 to $250, retail conversions $40,000 to $80,000 for a typical unit, hood and grease trap $8,000 to $22,000.
Format extras	Kiosk unit and millwork $18,000. Drive thru window, lane, menu board and site work $30,000. By market.	Kiosk build outs $15,000 to $40,000. Drive thru additions $10,000 to $40,000.
Espresso and bar equipment	$24,000 kiosk, $35,000 espresso bar, $45,000 cafe, $42,000 drive thru, scaled by the square root of floor area. A food menu adds a $15,000 kitchen. Used at 65%.	Starter packages $20,000 to $35,000, standard $35,000 to $55,000, premium $55,000 to $80,000. Two group espresso machine $10,000 to $18,000, two grinders $3,000 to $8,000, refrigeration $2,000 to $20,000. Used saves 30% to 50%.
Furniture and fixtures	$2,500 plus $350 per seat with seating, $1,000 for a counter only format. Plus 10% in a major metro.	Furniture packages $5,000 to $30,000, tables $1,500 to $12,000, chairs $1,000 to $10,000.
Technology, signage, inventory	$4,000 plus $10 per seat; $4,000 signage by market, $7,000 for a drive thru; inventory $3,000 to $6,500 by format, plus $1,500 with food.	POS $500 to $3,000, wifi and cameras $1,000 to $3,500, menu boards $500 to $2,000, signage $2,000 to $8,000, opening inventory $3,000 to $10,000.
Before you open	Permits, plans and legal at $2,500 plus 6% of construction, licences $1,500, marketing and branding $4,000, two weeks of training payroll, insurance deposit $2,000.	Licences and permits $2,000 to $5,000, design and permit fees 5% to 10% of construction, branding $3,000 to $15,000, training $2,000 to $5,000.
Rent before opening	One, two or four months of rent for an existing space, a conversion or a raw shell, after the free rent landlords usually give during construction.	Build outs of 2 to 6 weeks, 8 to 14 weeks and 16 to 24 weeks, plus permitting, less typical rent abatement.
Deposits	Two months of rent plus $1,500 utilities.	Security deposits of two to six months are standard on cafe leases.
Monthly fixed cost	Rent, plus payroll and overheads as shares of the sales a shop this size typically does. Expected sales: $30 per sq ft a month for a cafe, $45 for an espresso bar, $50 for a drive thru, $100 for a kiosk. Labour 28% to 32% of sales, 3 points more with food. Overheads 13%.	Median independent shop about $450,000 to $500,000 a year, sales per sq ft $300 to $800 a year, kiosks up to $1,300. Labour 28% to 35% of sales, 32% to 38% with a food menu. Utilities, insurance, marketing, software, supplies, repairs and card fees about 12% to 15%.
Rent default	Floor area times $18, $28 or $55 per sq ft a year by market, divided by twelve. Kiosks times three.	Suburbs $12 to $25, secondary cities $25 to $45, major metros $40 to $80 per sq ft a year. National average asking retail rent $24.69 plus NNN. Mall kiosks pay $1,500 to $5,000 a month on a tiny footprint.
Working capital	Months you choose times monthly fixed cost. The safe line uses six.	Advisers' consensus of three to six months. Cafes run at 40% to 60% of target sales in months one to three.
Sales to cover costs, drinks a day	Monthly fixed cost divided by one minus cost of goods, 28% for drinks and pastries, 32% with a food menu. Then divided by 30 days and your average ticket.	Cost of goods 25% to 35% of sales: beans 7% to 12%, milk 6% to 10%, cups 3% to 5%, food at a lower margin. Loan payments are not included here; the model handles them.
Published ranges	Kiosk $50,000 to $150,000, espresso bar $60,000 to $120,000, cafe with seating $150,000 to $400,000, drive thru $150,000 to $350,000, compared with your one time costs plus contingency.	Bellwether, Brewspace, Crimson Cup, StartCosts, My Coffee Explorer and KoronaPOS guides, 2025 and 2026. Most of them quote before working capital.

Rates last reviewed September 2026. This is an estimate to plan with, not a quote. Get real bids for the build out and your own lease terms. Opening a restaurant instead? Use the restaurant startup cost calculator.

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to open a small coffee shop?

A small cafe with seating of 500 to 1,200 sq ft costs $100,000 to $250,000 to open in 2026, and most independents spend $150,000 to $200,000 before the first drink. Add three to six months of operating cash on top, which is what the calculator above does. A takeaway espresso bar under 500 sq ft runs $60,000 to $120,000.

How much does a coffee kiosk cost to open?

A fixed kiosk in a mall, lobby or campus costs $50,000 to $150,000 depending on the kiosk unit, the espresso equipment and what the landlord requires. A mobile coffee cart is cheaper at $25,000 to $75,000, but needs a commissary, power and mobile permits, and is not what this calculator prices.

How much does a drive thru coffee stand cost?

$150,000 to $350,000, and most guides put the average around $250,000. The window, the lane, menu boards and site work add $10,000 to $40,000 over a walk in shop. A bare stand on a leased pad can be done for $60,000 to $150,000. Pick Drive thru above and set the space to a raw shell to see the full version.

How many cups a day do I need to sell to break even?

Monthly fixed costs divided by one minus your cost of goods, then by 30 days and your average ticket. A 1,000 sq ft cafe with about $16,000 of monthly rent, payroll and overheads at a 28% cost of goods needs about $22,000 of sales a month, which is about 92 transactions a day at an $8 ticket, seven days a week. The tile above does this for your numbers.

How much working capital does a new coffee shop need?

Three to six months of full operating expenses, and six is the safer target. New cafes run at 40% to 60% of target sales in the first three months and take six to twelve months to reach full volume, while rent, payroll and loan payments start at full price on day one. Running out of cash before break even is the most common reason a coffee shop closes in year one.

Can I open a coffee shop with $50,000?

A kiosk or a small takeaway bar in an existing cafe space, with used equipment, in a lower cost market, yes, with a thin cushion. Try it above. A cafe with seating, no. The published range for a cafe with seating starts at $150,000, and converting a retail unit alone costs $40,000 to $80,000.