Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Fixed-location daily profit
$535
Mobile daily profit
$333
Fixed-location profit per job
$107.00
Mobile profit per job
$111.00
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter job price ($).
- 2Enter product + labor cost per job ($).
- 3Enter fixed-location daily rent+utilities ($).
- 4Enter fixed-location jobs per day.
- 5Enter mobile drive/vehicle cost per job ($).
- 6Enter mobile water/power/generator cost per job ($).
- 7Enter mobile jobs per day.
- 8Read your fixed-location daily profit on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Detailers debate mobile versus fixed-location setups on lifestyle grounds, but the cost structure is genuinely different and deserves real math. Mobile eliminates rent but adds drive time, water/power generation cost, and vehicle wear per job; fixed location adds rent and utilities but removes drive time and lets you do more jobs per day with tighter scheduling. This calculator compares net profit per job and per day between the two models given your specific cost inputs, so the decision is based on your actual market density and rent costs rather than a generic 'mobile is more profitable' or 'fixed is more scalable' assumption that may not hold in your specific area.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Job price: 200 $
- Product + labor cost per job: 65 $
- Fixed-location daily rent+utilities: 140 $
- Fixed-location jobs per day: 5
- Mobile drive/vehicle cost per job: 18 $
- Mobile water/power/generator cost per job: 6 $
- Mobile jobs per day: 3
Results
- Fixed-location daily profit: $535
- Mobile daily profit: $333
- Fixed-location profit per job: $107.00
- Mobile profit per job: $111.00
What each field means
Inputs
- Job price ($)
- The job price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 200 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Product + labor cost per job ($)
- The product + labor cost per job used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 65 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Fixed-location daily rent+utilities ($)
- The fixed-location daily rent+utilities used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 140 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Fixed-location jobs per day
- The fixed-location jobs per day used in the calculation. Starts at 5 so you have a working example on load.
- Mobile drive/vehicle cost per job ($)
- The mobile drive/vehicle cost per job used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 18 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Mobile water/power/generator cost per job ($)
- The mobile water/power/generator cost per job used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 6 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Mobile jobs per day
- The mobile jobs per day used in the calculation. Starts at 3 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Fixed-location daily profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Mobile daily profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Fixed-location profit per job
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Mobile profit per job
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Which model usually wins in a dense urban market?
Fixed location, because you can pack more jobs per day without drive time and rent gets spread across higher volume. Mobile tends to win in suburban or rural markets where customers value convenience and will pay a premium that offsets the extra drive time built into fewer daily jobs.
Does mobile really have lower overhead?
Lower fixed overhead, yes, but variable cost per job (fuel, generator, water tank refills, extra vehicle maintenance) is real and often underestimated by new mobile operators who only budget for the van payment and forget daily operating costs.
Can a hybrid model work?
Yes — many successful detailers run a fixed bay for complex/ceramic work booked further out, and mobile for quick maintenance washes in a tight service radius, capturing the higher jobs-per-day of fixed location for premium work and the convenience premium of mobile for routine work.
What's the biggest hidden cost people miss in this comparison?
Water and power access for mobile (needing a generator, water tank, or customer hookup permission) and, for fixed location, the buildout cost of drainage and water reclamation systems that many municipalities require for a detailing bay, which isn't a small cost to skip.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Mobile vs. Fixed-Location Detailing Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/detailing-mobile-vs-fixed
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/detailing-mobile-vs-fixed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mobile vs. Fixed-Location Detailing Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Mobile vs. Fixed-Location Detailing Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/detailing-mobile-vs-fixed) (2026).