Vending Machine Route Profit Calculator — Rex's Toolbox

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

Number of machines

Average weekly sales per machine($)

Product cost (% of sales)(%)

Location commission (% of sales)(%)

Restock visits per machine per month

Labor + mileage cost per visit($)

Other fixed monthly costs (insurance, card fees)($)

Result

Monthly net profit

$1,853

Monthly gross sales

$8,573

Product cost

$3,858

Location commission paid

$1,029

Route service cost

$1,584

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How to use this

1Enter number of machines.
2Enter average weekly sales per machine ($).
3Enter product cost (% of sales) (%).
4Enter location commission (% of sales) (%).
5Enter restock visits per machine per month.
6Enter labor + mileage cost per visit ($).
7Enter other fixed monthly costs (insurance, card fees) ($).
8Read your monthly net profit on the right — it updates as you type.
9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.

About this calculator

A vending route's profit isn't just sales minus product cost — location commission (the cut paid to the property owner, typically 5-25% of gross sales), restocking labor and mileage, and machine downtime all eat into margin before you see a dollar. This calculator takes average weekly sales per machine, product cost as a percentage of sales, commission rate, and route service costs (driver time and mileage per stop), and rolls it up across your total machine count to a monthly net profit figure. It's the number to check before adding a new location or route stop — a location only helps if it clears its own service cost on top of contributing margin.

FormulaGross sales = machines × avg weekly sales × 4.33. Product cost = gross × cost %. Commission = gross × commission %. Service cost = machines × visits/month × cost per visit. Net profit = gross − product − commission − service − fixed.

Worked example

Using the values the calculator loads with:

Inputs

Number of machines: 18
Average weekly sales per machine: 110 $
Product cost (% of sales): 45 %
Location commission (% of sales): 12 %
Restock visits per machine per month: 4
Labor + mileage cost per visit: 22 $
Other fixed monthly costs (insurance, card fees): 250 $

Results

Monthly net profit: $1,853
Monthly gross sales: $8,573
Product cost: $3,858
Location commission paid: $1,029
Route service cost: $1,584

What each field means

Inputs

Number of machines: The number of machines used in the calculation. Starts at 18 so you have a working example on load.
Average weekly sales per machine ($): The average weekly sales per machine used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 110 $ so you have a working example on load.
Product cost (% of sales) (%): The product cost (% of sales) used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 45 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 10–80 %.
Location commission (% of sales) (%): The location commission (% of sales) used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 12 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–35 %.
Restock visits per machine per month: The restock visits per machine per month used in the calculation. Starts at 4 so you have a working example on load.
Labor + mileage cost per visit ($): The labor + mileage cost per visit used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 22 $ so you have a working example on load.
Other fixed monthly costs (insurance, card fees) ($): The other fixed monthly costs (insurance, card fees) used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 250 $ so you have a working example on load.

Results

Monthly net 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.
Monthly gross sales: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Product cost: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Location commission paid: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
Route service cost: Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.

FAQ

What commission rate is normal for vending locations?

Break rooms and small offices often pay 0-10% or nothing at all; schools, hospitals, and high-traffic public locations frequently demand 15-25% of gross sales, sometimes with a guaranteed minimum payment regardless of sales volume. Always model commission before signing a location contract, not after.

How many machines does it take to run a route profitably?

Solo operators typically need 15-30 machines to generate enough combined profit to justify treating vending as a real part-time or full-time income, since fixed costs like a vehicle, insurance, and card-reader subscriptions are largely flat regardless of machine count below that scale.

What's a healthy weekly sales figure per machine?

A single well-placed snack/drink combo machine in a 50-100 person workplace typically does $60-$150 per week; break rooms under 30 people or poor foot-traffic spots can fall below $40/week, at which point the location may not clear its own restocking cost.

Should I drop a location that's barely breaking even?

Usually yes, unless it's part of a route where the marginal mileage cost to service it is near zero because you're already driving past it for other stops. A standalone low-volume location that requires a dedicated trip rarely justifies the driver time even at breakeven product margin.

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.

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Cite this calculator

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APA

RevenueLab. (2026). Vending Machine Route Profit Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vending-machine-route-profit

HTML

<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vending-machine-route-profit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vending Machine Route Profit Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>

Markdown

Source: [Vending Machine Route Profit Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vending-machine-route-profit) (2026).