Restaurant Startup Cost Calculator

Opening a restaurant costs $280K to $750K to build out, depending on format. Pick yours below and the calculator works out the loan, the deposit and the cash you actually need before you open.

What kind of restaurant?

$450K

Preset for casual dining: $450K

80%

Lenders typically cover 70 to 80 percent at this size

6 months

How long before trade covers the fixed costs. Most first budgets set this to zero, which is why they are wrong.

Cash you need before opening$198K
Deposit on the build-out
$90K
6 months of fixed costs at $18K
$108K
Borrowed, repaid monthly
$360K

An estimate, not a quote. It stops at the day you open; the free model carries it forward month by month and shows the month the cash balance is at its lowest, which is the figure a lender asks for.

What a restaurant costs, by format

Format decides the number more than anything else does. Formats that open for the same money are grouped on one row, because they are one answer to the question.

FormatBuild-outLoanYour cashRent / mo
Fine dining2,800 sq ft$750K$560K$190K$8K
Casual dining, Bar and grill, Breakfast and brunch2,800 sq ft$450K$360K$90K$8K
Fast casual2,800 sq ft$300K$240K$60K$8K
Pizzeria2,800 sq ft$280K$220K$60K$8K

The cost that closes most of them

The build-out figure is the one everybody plans for and it is not the one that kills. A restaurant does not cover its costs on day one; it takes months to build the trade that pays the rent, and the money that covers those months has to exist before you sign anything. Undercapitalisation, not the concept, is what closes most of them. Work out the build-out here, then run it forward to see the month the cash balance is at its lowest, because that is the number your bank manager is really asking for.

From an opening budget to a full model

A cost estimate is one column of the plan. The rest is revenue against it, month by month: when the business breaks even, how much cash it burns first, and what happens if trade comes in ten percent under. The restaurant model does that on these same figures, and the break even calculator covers the single question underneath it.

FAQ

How much does it cost to open a restaurant?
Between $280K and $750K for the build-out and equipment, depending on format. The cheapest way in is pizzeria at $280K; the most expensive is fine dining at $750K. Those are the one-time costs to open the doors, not the working capital you need to survive the months before the business pays for itself.
How much of that has to be your own money?
At these sizes a lender typically covers 70 to 80 percent of the build-out, so the owner finds $60K to $190K in equity depending on format. That is the deposit, not the total: you also need cash to cover the operating loss until break-even, which most first budgets leave out entirely and which is the single most common reason a viable restaurant closes anyway.
What are the monthly costs after opening?
Rent is the fixed cost that does not care how the month went: $8K to $8K a month at these formats, plus staff, utilities, insurance and the loan payment. The build-out figure is a one-off; the monthly figure is what decides whether the business survives, which is why the calculator above ends at "cash needed to open" and the full model carries on month by month.
Where do these numbers come from?
They are the same calibrated presets Revenue Map runs its restaurant model on, one per format, covering build-out, financing, floor area, rent and headcount. They are US figures for 2026 and they are starting points, not quotes: your location and your landlord will move them, which is why every number in the model is editable.

Model your full financials

Turn this into a full restaurant model: revenue month by month, the month you break even, the deepest point of the cash curve, and three scenarios. Free, and yours to keep.

Build my model free

Free to start. 2 minutes. No spreadsheets.