Vending Machine Profit Calculator

Estimate monthly net operating profit after product cost, gross-sales-based location commission, card fees, fixed location costs, shared route mileage, and other operating costs. Defaults are illustrative and fully editable.
Revenue and product cost
Location economics
Card payments
Route and other operating costs
Number of similar machines
1
Per-machine economics scale; route mileage stays shared.
Estimated operating summary1 machine
Gross sales / month
$1,200.00
Net operating profit / month
$524.64
Annual net operating profit
$6,295.68
Gross sales$1,200.00
Product cost (COGS)−$450.00
Gross profit$750.00
Location commission (gross-sales based)−$0.00
Card processing−$38.88
Fixed location costs−$150.00
Route / vehicle cost (shared route)−$36.48
Other operating costs−$0.00
Estimated net operating profit$524.64
Net operating margin
43.7% = net operating profit ÷ gross sales
Simple startup-cost payback6.7 months
Card sales: $720.00 · estimated card transactions: 180.0 · total startup cost: $3,500.00
What this calculator includes and excludes
Included: gross sales, COGS, gross-sales-based commission, card percentage and fixed transaction fees, fixed location cost, shared route vehicle cost, and other monthly operating costs. Excluded unless you add them to other costs: service labor, spoilage, shrink, refunds, financing, depreciation, insurance, taxes, and major repairs. The result is an operating estimate, not taxable income or take-home income.
Methodology and assumptions

Operating model. Gross profit equals gross sales minus COGS. Estimated net operating profit then subtracts gross-sales-based location commission, card fees on card sales only, fixed location costs, route vehicle cost, and other operating costs. No expense is deducted twice.

Card-fee estimate. Card sales = gross sales × card share. Card processing = card sales × percentage fee + (card sales ÷ average card transaction) × fixed fee. Provider pricing, minimums, chargebacks, network fees, and sales-tax treatment can differ.

Route assumption. Miles per service visit are total route miles, and the route vehicle cost is applied once: miles per visit × visits per month × cost per mile. The machine stepper scales machine-level sales and costs but does not multiply the shared route miles.

Illustrative defaults. Starting values are editable examples, not vending-industry benchmarks. Replace them with settlement reports, invoices, route logs, location agreements, and processor statements.

IRS mileage reference — last verified August 27, 2026. The IRS optional business standard mileage rate is $0.76 per mile for July 1–December 31, 2026. The $0.725 rate applies to January 1–June 30, 2026. The rate is a tax/accounting reference and optional planning proxy, not the operator’s actual vehicle economics and not an automatic tax deduction. See the official IRS Standard Mileage Rates source and Announcement 2026-11.

Frequently Asked Questions — Vending Machine Profit Calculator
How sales, commissions, electronic-payment fees, route costs, and operating profit are modeled.
It starts with gross sales, then subtracts product cost (COGS), location commission, card-processing costs, fixed location costs, route vehicle cost, and other monthly operating costs. It does not estimate income tax, owner take-home pay, depreciation, financing, inventory shrink, refunds, or unusual repairs unless you include them in other monthly costs.