If you are looking for a semi-passive income stream or an easy entry into entrepreneurship the vending industry is a no-brainer. But the real question is – how much do vending machines make? In this recap of the alliedvending article we answer this question and more.
The #1 question we’re asked is: “How much do vending machines make (for real)?”
Short answer: $300 – $600 per month per vending machine.
Most people who get into the vending machine business fall into one of these three categories:
- People wanting to make a few hundred extra dollars per month as a nice little “side hustle” (either for themselves or their kids)
- People who want to create a multi-location vending machine route and do it as a full-time job (or turn around and sell the route for a nice pay day!)
- People who own/manage a business or property and want to generate some additional revenue and profit
For all three types of people, getting a vending machine is absolutely worth the time and expense. Let’s dig into the numbers and talk about how much money you can realistically make with a vending machine.
The Profit Formula
How much your vending machine makes will primarily be driven by 3 things:
- How many items you sell per day
- How much profit you make per sale
- How much your monthly expenses are
The profit formula looks like this:
Net Profit = ( Items Sold Per Day x Profit Per Item Sold x Days Per Month )
– Monthly Expenses
For example, let’s assume the following:
- 50 items sold per day
- $0.60 profit per item sold
- Available 26 days per month
- Total expenses of $250 per month
Your net profit would be:
Net Profit = (50 x $0.60 x 26) – $250
Net Profit = $530 per month
The numbers used above are pretty realistic averages. But let’s go into greater depth on each of these key numbers.
Monthly Expenses
Your biggest monthly expense (at least if you finance the purchase of your vending machine) will be the monthly payment to Klarna. But keep in mind that this expense will go away completely after the 24- or 36-month mark. Once that happens, you’ll get a nice $125-160 raise each month!
Luckily Freedom Vending will partner with you to source the best value vending machines to fit your budget. Graduates of the Turn the Key to Success program take over as Owner Operator of their training-route with no money down so they can begin earning from Day 1.
Other expenses include:
- “Rent” to the business/property owner – typically either: a) $50-100 flat monthly rate, or b) around 5-10% of revenue for low-electricity machines or 15-20% for high-electricity machines (i.e. refrigerated machines)
- Vending machine software
- Credit card processing fees (if your vending machine has a credit card reader)
- Gas (to travel to/from your vending machine)
- Occasional repairs and maintenance
Note: This list of expenses doesn’t include the cost of the actual products you sell (i.e. soft drinks, snacks, candy or other products) because those costs are already accounted for in the ‘Profit Per Sale’ section above.
Final Thoughts
So… how much do vending machines make?
The bottom line is $300 – $600 per vending machine. But if an extra $300 – $600 per month isn’t enough to get you excited, just multiply that number by 2 or 5 or 10 or 20!
Luckily Freedom Vending will walk you through the entire process from training to ownership. We will be your partner as you grow and scale to as many machines as you desire. This ends the recap of the alliedvending article of a similar name.
