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Business Statistics · Oneday Research

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Business? 2026 Statistics

Starting a business can cost anywhere from less than $500 to $275,000 or more. A dropshipping store can get off the ground for under $500, while an independent restaurant has a median opening cost of $275,000. Most service businesses fall somewhere in between, with startup costs of $3,000 to $15,000. Many home-based businesses can launch for less than $5,000.

9 min read

4 stats to remember

Key Takeaways

  • Service businesses typically launch for $3,000 to $15,000, while many home-based businesses start for under $5,000.
  • Half of independent restaurant operators spent between $125,000 and $550,000 to open, with a median of $275,000. A small number of high-cost restaurant openings raise the average to $494,888.
  • One full-time employee costs nearly $96,000 a year in wages and benefits.
  • LLC filing fees range from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts. The national average is $132.

To build this report, we compiled cost surveys from business owners across different categories and checked every figure against its original source. The sections below cover the costs of starting a business, from essential expenses to the fees required to make things official.

The Line Items Every New Business Pays

Every new business faces costs before it can get up and running. Some come once, while others continue month after month. The table below shows what each expense typically costs and how often you pay it:

  • Business Registration

    Typical Cost
    Under $300 in most cases
    Billing Unit
    One-time, varies by state

  • General Liability Insurance

    Typical Cost
    $45
    Billing Unit
    Per month, average

  • Accounting Software

    Typical Cost
    $0–$70
    Billing Unit
    Per month

  • Domain Name (.com)

    Typical Cost
    $10–$20
    Billing Unit
    Per year

  • Branded Shipping Boxes

    Typical Cost
    $2–$25
    Billing Unit
    Per box

  • Office Space

    Typical Cost
    $33.41
    Billing Unit
    Per square foot, per year (early 2025)

  • Marketing Budget

    Typical Cost
    7.7% of annual revenue
    Billing Unit
    Ongoing benchmark

  • Employee Wages + Benefits

    Typical Cost
    $46.15 ($32.36 wages, $13.79 benefits)
    Billing Unit
    Per hour (December 2025)

Key Insights

  • Staffing costs scale directly with headcount. One full-time employee at $46.15 per hour costs $95,992 a year at 2,080 hours in wages and benefits.
  • Office space at $33.41 per square foot per year means a 500-square-foot workspace runs about $16,700 annually.

Startup Cost By Business Type

Startup costs vary sharply by business type. Here are 12 common examples, shown as multiples of $15,000, the top of the typical range for a service business.

  • Digital products or dropshipping store

    Startup Cost
    Under $500
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    0.03x or less

  • Residential cleaning service

    Startup Cost
    $1,000–$2,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    0.07x–0.13x

  • Online store

    Startup Cost
    $1,000–$60,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    0.07x–4.00x

  • Lawn care or gardening service

    Startup Cost
    $3,000–$10,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    0.20x–0.67x

  • Product business (sourcing or manufacturing)

    Startup Cost
    $5,000–$1,000,000 or more
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    0.33x–66.67x or more

  • Retail store

    Startup Cost
    $39,210
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    2.61x

  • Food truck

    Startup Cost
    $50,000–$200,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    3.33x–13.33x

  • Boutique fitness studio

    Startup Cost
    $75,000–$250,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    5.00x–16.67x

  • Coffee shop with seating

    Startup Cost
    $80,000–$300,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    5.33x–20.00x

  • Franchise gym

    Startup Cost
    $150,000–$3,600,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    10.00x–240.00x

  • Traditional gym

    Startup Cost
    $250,000–$500,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    16.67x–33.33x

  • Independent restaurant (leased space)

    Startup Cost
    $275,000
    Multiple of a $15,000 Service Business
    18.33x

Key Insights

  • 5 of the 12 business types start at or below 1.00x, and 3 of those 5 are services you can run from home.
  • A leased-space restaurant costs 18.33 times the $15,000 benchmark for a service business.

Restaurant Startup Costs by Quartile

Restaurants sit near the top of the cost range, and a single median tells you only so much. In a survey of independent operators, 489 respondents reported their total opening costs. The survey broke those costs into three points across the range. The average of $494,888 sits well above the median because a few expensive openings pull it higher, so the median gives a better budget target. Per-seat cost offers a quick sanity check before you sign a lease. The survey found a median restaurant size of 100 seats. At $3,046 per seat, that works out to $304,600. The table below explains each point in the range. The gap between the lower and upper quartiles reaches $425,000.

  • Total startup cost, leased space

    Lower Quartile (25% Spent Less)
    $125,000
    Median (Half Spent Less)
    $275,000
    Upper Quartile (75% Spent Less)
    $550,000

  • Total startup cost, with land purchase

    Lower Quartile (25% Spent Less)
    $175,000
    Median (Half Spent Less)
    $425,000
    Upper Quartile (75% Spent Less)
    $925,000

  • Startup cost per seat, leased space

    Lower Quartile (25% Spent Less)
    $1,418
    Median (Half Spent Less)
    $3,046
    Upper Quartile (75% Spent Less)
    $5,571

  • Construction cost

    Lower Quartile (25% Spent Less)
    $49,500
    Median (Half Spent Less)
    $140,000
    Upper Quartile (75% Spent Less)
    $350,750

  • Kitchen and bar equipment

    Lower Quartile (25% Spent Less)
    $30,000
    Median (Half Spent Less)
    $75,000
    Upper Quartile (75% Spent Less)
    $150,000

Key Insights

  • The upper quartile total ($550,000) runs 4.4 times the lower quartile ($125,000). At the upper quartile, operators spent 45% more than their budgets.
  • The median budget overrun was 15%. A $275,000 plan therefore needs a $41,250 cushion to match the median outcome.

Cost to Register an LLC by State

An LLC, or limited liability company, separates your personal assets from business debts. You pay a filing fee when you set one up, and the amount depends on the state where you file. Most states also charge an annual fee to keep the LLC active, so budget beyond the filing fee and check your state's renewal schedule. The table below shows how much the one-time fee varies from the cheapest state to the most expensive.

Lowest fee (Montana)
$35
Second lowest fee (Kentucky)
$40
Average across all 50 states
$132
Highest fee (Massachusetts)
$500

Key Insights

  • Massachusetts charges 14 times more than Montana to file. It then charges $500 a year to stay active, compared with $20 in Montana.
  • The annual fee to keep an LLC active varies as much as the filing fee, from $9 a year in New York to $800 a year in California.

Sources

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