How much does it cost to start a business? Check off what applies, edit the amounts, and watch the total update. Each line comes with a typical 2026 benchmark range.
LLC filing runs $50-500 depending on state; Delaware C-corp with an agent, $300-800.
Templates cost under $500; a lawyer-drafted set is $1,500-5,000.
DIY software is $30-70/mo; a startup accountant is $200-500/mo.
General liability for a small online business: $400-1,500/yr.
No-code builds run $0-5,000; a freelance-built MVP, $10,000-50,000. Founders who code pay mostly in time.
Hosting, email, analytics, design tools: commonly $100-400/mo early on.
Domain $10-50/yr; logo and basic brand kit $100-2,000; trademark filing ~$250-350 per class.
E-commerce founders typically start with $2,000-15,000 of stock. Skip for software.
Template-based sites: $0-500. Custom design: $2,000-10,000.
Enough to get statistically useful data: $1,500-6,000 across channels.
DIY costs time, not money; outsourced content runs $100-500 per article.
Laptop, phone, peripherals if you need them: $1,000-3,000.
Home office: $0. Coworking desk: $150-400/mo. Skip an office lease as long as you can.
Physical products only: packaging design and first supplies, $500-2,000.
The line most founders skip and most regret skipping. Cover rent, tools, and minimal salaries while revenue ramps.
Benchmarks are typical US ranges for online businesses; your niche and city will move them.
Model your full financialsMost startup budgets fail in the same way: they list the obvious one-time costs and ignore the runway between launch and revenue. The method behind this calculator is simple. First, list every one-time cost to get to launch: incorporation, product build, brand, initial inventory. Second, add the recurring costs for a realistic ramp period, we default to six months of software and three months of ads. Third, and this is the step that separates surviving founders from statistics, add an operating buffer of 3-6 months of fixed costs.
The honest answer is that the total varies enormously by business type. A freelancer-built SaaS MVP alone can cost $10,000-50,000, while a no-code version of the same idea might cost under $1,000 plus your time. That is why every line here is editable: the benchmarks are starting points from typical US ranges, not prescriptions.
In our experience the overspending happens on things that feel like progress: custom websites, office space, premium branding. The underspending happens on things that compound: the ad budget that generates real demand data, and the cash buffer that buys you time to iterate. One risk to watch: initial inventory for physical products. Order too much and it becomes dead cash; e-commerce founders usually do better starting with $2,000-15,000 of stock and reordering fast. Our e-commerce unit economics guide digs into the per-order math behind that decision.
If your idea is capital-light, browse business ideas under $1,000 or zero-cost business ideas to see what launching lean actually looks like.
A cost estimate is one column of the spreadsheet you actually need. The full picture pairs these costs with projected revenue, month by month, and answers the questions investors and co-founders will ask: when does this break even, how much cash does it consume before that, and what happens in the pessimistic case? Pair this estimate with the break even calculator and the runway calculator, or skip ahead and build the whole model on real benchmarks for your business type.
Turn your cost estimate into a full month-by-month model: revenue, break-even, runway, and three scenarios, built on real benchmarks.
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