Coffee Shop Startup Costs: A Line-by-Line Budget
Updated 2026-11-10
Short answer: A coffee shop with seating typically costs $80,000 to $275,000 to open, and the full published range runs from about $60,000 to $400,000 (reported by KORONA POS). Our template budgets $195,000, including a $45,000 cash reserve. Build-out and the espresso setup are the two largest lines, and the build-out is the one most likely to move.
The cost table
Low and high figures are reported by KORONA POS, a point-of-sale vendor, in its 2026 coffee shop cost guide. Typical figures are the defaults in our coffee shop financial projection template.
| Line item | Low | Typical (template default) | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso machine and grinders | $5,800 | $28,000 | $22,500 |
| Other equipment (kitchen, drip brewers, water filtration) | $5,800 | $18,000 | $18,500 |
| Build-out and design | $150 per sq ft | $65,000 | $300 per sq ft, plus $10,000 to $50,000 design |
| Furniture and fixtures | not in the source | $15,000 | not in the source |
| Deposit and first month's rent | about $4,000 | $11,000 | about $24,000 |
| Opening inventory | $5,000 | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| Permits, licenses, insurance, legal | $500 | $4,000 | $5,000 |
| POS system | $1,000 | monthly software in the template | $5,000 |
| Marketing and branding | $2,000 | $4,000 | $10,000 |
| Staff hiring and training | $10,000 | inside the reserve | $25,000 |
| Working capital reserve | none set | $45,000 | not stated |
| Total | $80,000 (with seating) | $195,000 | $275,000 (with seating) |
How the low and high columns were built, so you can check them: the espresso row adds KORONA's espresso machine range ($5,000 to $20,000) to its commercial grinder range ($800 to $2,500). The other-equipment row adds kitchen equipment ($5,000 to $15,000), drip brewers ($500 to $2,000) and water filtration ($300 to $1,500). The rent row is two months of the published monthly rent range of $2,000 to $12,000. Those sums are calculated here, not published figures.
Where the template differs from the ranges:
- Espresso and grinders. The template's $28,000 is above the combined top of $22,500. Treat it as room for a two-group machine, a backup grinder and a service warranty, and lower it if you buy used or smaller.
- Build-out. KORONA's $150 to $300 per square foot implies far more than $65,000 for a typical cafe. The template's $65,000 fits a lease of a former cafe or restaurant space that already has plumbing, power and a grease trap. For a bare shell, use your square footage times that range, and get a contractor's bid before you sign a lease.
- Total. KORONA puts a mobile coffee truck or cart at $25,000 to $85,000 and a full-service shop with seating plus drive-thru at $200,000 to $400,000 or more. Pick the model first, then the budget.
What owners forget
The ramp. The template starts sales at half of full volume and builds over eight months. A shop that needs 12 months to reach full volume needs a bigger reserve. Staff hiring and training ($10,000 to $25,000 in KORONA's guide) happens before the first sale, and the template folds it into the reserve instead of a separate line.
Paper goods and small wares. Cups, lids, sleeves, syrups and cleaning supplies are a monthly cost from day one. The template carries $900 a month.
Equipment service. Espresso machines need regular maintenance. Budget a monthly repair and service line ($350 a month in the template) so the first breakdown does not hit the reserve.
Lease terms. Percentage rent, common-area charges and tenant improvement allowances change the cost of the build-out. Read the lease before you finalize the budget.
Margins to sanity-check the plan. Bellwether, a coffee roasting equipment maker, reports benchmark ranges (no sources cited) of 25% to 35% of revenue for cost of goods, 25% to 35% for labor, 8% to 15% for rent and occupancy, and 10% to 15% net profit for a well-run cafe (Bellwether). It flags cost of goods above 40% and occupancy above 18% as warning signs. Treat these as vendor benchmarks, not audited data. Our template uses a 28% direct cost on drinks, 38% on bought-in pastry and $5,500 a month in rent.
How to fund it
- Owner cash. For a start-up, the SBA requires at least a 10% equity injection of total project costs under SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025, per Whiteford. Lenders often prefer more.
- SBA 7(a) loan. Up to $5 million, usable for equipment, furniture and fixtures, working capital and improving buildings (SBA). Equipment can be financed up to 10 years if its useful life is 10 years or less (13 CFR 120.212). Whether a lender will finance leasehold improvements in a rented space depends on the lease length, so ask early.
- Equipment financing or leasing. The espresso setup and refrigeration can be financed against the equipment itself, which reduces how much cash you need.
- Landlord allowance. Some landlords contribute to build-out in exchange for a longer lease. Treat it as a negotiated item, not a given.
The template's default is $45,000 of owner cash (about 22% of the funding) and a $160,000 loan at a placeholder 10.5% over 10 years, which is about $2,160 a month or $25,900 a year. Replace the rate with a quote, then use the loan payment calculator and the DSCR calculator to check the payment against projected cash flow.
How startup costs flow into a 5-year projection
- Equipment, build-out and furniture ($126,000 in the template) are depreciated over 7 to 10 years, about $15,200 a year on a straight-line basis. That reduces taxable profit but not cash.
- Deposit, inventory, permits and pre-opening marketing are cash out at opening. Inventory becomes cost of goods as you sell it.
- The reserve is cash, not expense. It absorbs early losses while transactions per day build. Look for the lowest monthly balance in year 1.
- The loan adds interest (about $16,300 in year 1 in the template) and principal (about $9,600).
- Volume is the lever. The template's drink line assumes 170 transactions a day at a $6.50 ticket once mature, which is an input to replace with your own foot-traffic estimate. Use the break-even calculator to find the transactions per day your fixed costs require, then ask whether your location can deliver them. Average ticket figures in published sources vary a lot, so use a number you can defend from a nearby shop.
Next step
Start from the coffee shop financial projection template, replace the rent, build-out bid and equipment quotes, and set the ramp to match your market. Check that the lowest cash balance in year 1 stays above zero before you show the plan to a lender. This is general information; confirm lease, permit and tax details with your lender and accountant.