Break-Even Calculator for Coffee Shops
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Coffee Shop Break-Even: What to Enter
- Fixed costs — rent, barista wages, equipment lease, POS subscription.
- Selling price — average ticket value per customer (e.g. $6.50 for a latte).
- Variable cost — coffee beans, milk, cups, lids, and payment processing per order.
A typical independent coffee shop has a contribution margin of $3–$5 per drink. With $8,000/month in fixed costs and a $4 margin, you need 2,000 drinks sold to break even — about 67 per day.
Last reviewed: July 25, 2026. Inputs benchmarked against SBA data for food service startups.
How to use the coffee shop break-even calculator
- Add your monthly fixed costs — rent, barista wages, utilities, insurance, POS software, loan payments.
- Enter your average price per cup — blend across your menu: if half your sales are $4 drips and half are $6 lattes, use $5.
- Enter your cost per cup — beans, milk, syrup, cup, lid, sleeve, and card processing. Most shops land between $1.00 and $1.80.
- Set a target profit — what you want to take home after all costs.
- Check the daily number — cups per day is the figure that matters: can your location realistically pull that foot traffic?
How many cups a day does a coffee shop need to break even?
A typical independent coffee shop with $9,000 in monthly fixed costs, a $4.75 average ticket, and $1.30 cost per cup breaks even at roughly 2,600 cups a month — about 87 cups a day. Your numbers will differ, which is exactly what this calculator is for: plug in your real rent, wages, and menu prices and get your own daily target.
The economics of a cup of coffee
Coffee has one of the best contribution margins in food service. A $4.75 latte typically carries $1.10–$1.50 in direct costs (beans ~$0.40, milk ~$0.45, cup and lid ~$0.25, card fees ~$0.15), leaving a contribution margin around 70%. The catch: fixed costs are brutal. Prime retail rent and staffed opening hours mean most shops need 80–120 cups a day before the doors earn a dollar.
What to include in fixed costs
Rent, all scheduled barista labor (you staff the bar whether 5 or 500 customers walk in — that makes wages effectively fixed), utilities, insurance, POS and accounting software, espresso machine lease, and loan repayments. Variable costs are only what scales per cup: ingredients, cups, lids, and processing fees.
Lowering your daily cup target
Raising your average ticket beats cutting costs. Adding $0.50 to average price (pastry attach, size upsell, oat milk surcharge) drops the example shop's break-even from 87 to 76 cups a day — a 13% easier target from one merchandising change. Test scenarios above: bump the price field and watch the daily number fall.
Related tools
Compare with the restaurant break-even calculator if you serve food, or the food truck version for a mobile coffee cart. The general break-even calculator explains the formula in depth. Fitting out a space? Estimate it with the construction cost estimator.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many coffees a day is break-even for a small shop?
Most independent shops break even between 70 and 120 cups a day, depending on rent and staffing. Enter your own fixed costs above to get your exact daily target.
What profit margin does a coffee shop make per cup?
Contribution margin per cup is typically 65–75% — a $4.75 drink costs $1.10–$1.50 in ingredients and packaging. Net margin after fixed costs is far lower: successful shops net 5–15% of revenue.
Should barista wages be fixed or variable costs?
Fixed, in almost all cases — you schedule staff by opening hours, not by cups sold. Only count labor as variable if you genuinely flex staffing with demand hour by hour.
What average price per cup should I use?
Total drink revenue ÷ number of drinks sold from your POS. If you're pre-launch, weight your menu: (price of each drink × expected share of sales), then add food attach if relevant.
Does this work for a coffee cart or kiosk?
Yes — just enter your (much lower) fixed costs. For a mobile setup with commissary and permit fees, the food truck break-even calculator is pre-configured for that cost structure.