How much does it cost to start a business?

What it really costs to start 53 kinds of business — the opening costs item by item, and the money to keep going until it pays its way, each figure with where it comes from. Every page works out your own quote for your country, your town and the money you have, and opens in a free simulator that shows whether the business earns it back.

Every business simulator

Local & small business

Cost to start a small-town business — $126,000 all in
Cost to start a café — $155,000 all in
Cost to start a restaurant — $223,000 all in
Cost to start a salon or barber — $128,000 all in
Cost to start a gym or studio — $208,000 all in
Cost to start a food truck — $116,000 all in
Cost to start a bakery — $145,000 all in
Cost to start a retail shop — $160,000 all in
Cost to start a cleaning service — $27,100 all in
Cost to start a landscaping business — $53,900 all in
Cost to start an auto repair garage — $156,000 all in
Cost to start a daycare or nursery — $117,000 all in
Cost to start a plumbing or electrical trade — $55,400 all in
Cost to start a construction company — $80,700 all in
Cost to start a trucking company — $113,000 all in
Cost to start a solar installer — $99,000 all in
Cost to start a property developer — $937,000 all in

Online & e-commerce

Cost to start an online store — $29,200 all in
Cost to start a dropshipping store — $4,710 all in
Cost to start a subscription box — $71,100 all in
Cost to start an Etsy-style maker shop — $3,440 all in
Cost to start a print-on-demand brand — $3,280 all in
Cost to start as a marketplace seller — $56,800 all in

Software & apps

Cost to start a B2B SaaS — $241,000 all in
Cost to start a consumer app — $149,000 all in
Cost to start a marketplace app — $255,000 all in
Cost to start a mobile game — $205,000 all in
Cost to start a developer tool — $235,000 all in
Cost to start an AI startup — $390,000 all in

Creators & media

Cost to start a YouTube channel — $5,760 all in
Cost to start a podcast — $5,720 all in
Cost to start a newsletter — $6,910 all in
Cost to start as a live streamer — $4,570 all in
Cost to start as a TikTok creator — $2,300 all in
Cost to start as an online course creator — $14,200 all in
Cost to start a music producer selling beats — $6,010 all in

Education & training

Cost to start a university course — $117,000 all in
Cost to start a student startup — $3,240 all in
Cost to start a tutoring business — $50,600 all in

Services & professional

Cost to start a marketing or design agency — $41,100 all in
Cost to start a consultancy — $25,600 all in
Cost to start a law firm — $41,600 all in
Cost to start a civil engineering firm — $65,900 all in
Cost to start a solar project developer — $775,000 all in
Cost to start a clinic or practice — $168,000 all in
Cost to start a real estate agency — $70,700 all in
Cost to start an accounting practice — $58,200 all in
Cost to start a recruitment agency — $46,900 all in

Community & nonprofit

Cost to start a nonprofit — $13,100 all in
Cost to start a membership club — $84,100 all in
Cost to start an events business — $98,800 all in
Cost to start a sports club — $36,500 all in
Cost to start a social enterprise — $136,000 all in