Coffee Machine vs Cafe Break-Even Calculator
Enter machine and grinder costs, cafe prices and your weekly cups.
Payback period
β
Enter values above
Saving per cup
β
Annual saving
β
Net saving after equipment
β
Cups per year
β
Cost per home cup including equipment
β
Worked example
With the default inputs shown below, this calculator returns the following results:
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Coffee machine price ($) | 600 |
| Grinder price ($) | 150 |
| Cost per cup at home ($) | 0.45 |
| Cafe price per cup ($) | 4.5 |
| Cups per week | 10 |
| Years to evaluate | 3 |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Payback period | 18.5 weeks |
| Saving per cup | $4.05 |
| Annual saving | $2,106 |
| Net saving after equipment | $5,568 |
| Cups per year | 520 |
| Cost per home cup including equipment | $0.93 |
Values shown are produced by this page in your browser; change any input to update them.
How to use the Coffee Machine vs Cafe Break-Even Calculator
- Coffee machine price ($) β default 600
- Grinder price ($) β default 150
- Cost per cup at home ($) β default 0.45
- Cafe price per cup ($) β default 4.5
- Cups per week β default 10
- Years to evaluate β default 3
- Press Calculate to update the results instantly.
Frequently asked questions
At two cups a day against a $4.50 cafe price, even a $750 machine and grinder pays back in roughly three to four months. Lower cafe prices or fewer cups stretch that considerably.
Specialty beans run about $0.30β$0.60 a cup, plus milk and electricity. Once the equipment is spread across a few thousand cups, the all-in figure usually lands under $0.75.
A home espresso takes two to three minutes including cleaning. If you value time highly the gap narrows, but the cafe trip itself also costs travel and queueing time.