What Do You Need to Start a Food Truck?
You need a fitted-out truck costing $85,000 to $110,000, health permits, a commissary arrangement, two crew members, and about $60,000 in working capital to reach steady service days. Revenue Map's food-truck presets model a single street-food window doing 90 orders on a strong day at a $13 average ticket, with food cost near 30% and monthly fixed costs of about $7,500.
A food truck is the lowest-capex entry into food service: the vehicle, kitchen fit-out, wrap and permits run $85,000 to $110,000, a fraction of the $280,000 to $750,000 a restaurant build-out costs. But a truck is a single service window with a hard capacity ceiling, so the economics depend entirely on how many orders come through that window on how many service days. Revenue Map's presets model 90 orders as a strong day and 22 service days per month, both numbers that real operators routinely miss.
The checklist below covers the five things you actually need: a vehicle that passes health inspection, a commissary or commercial kitchen for prep and storage, permits for your operating area, a two-person crew, and enough working capital to survive the five-month ramp from 55% utilization to a steady operating rhythm. Format matters because a coffee truck, a street-food truck and a catering truck have different vehicle costs, ticket sizes, service day counts and food cost percentages.
Cost Breakdown
Food truck startup requirements and their costs
| Item | Typical range | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle, fit-out, wrap and permits | $85,000 to $110,000 | Coffee and drinks truck $85,000; default street-food truck $110,000 | Revenue Map model presets |
| Commissary or prep kitchen | $900 per month | Replaces storefront rent; covers shared kitchen access, parking and storage | Revenue Map model presets |
| Working capital (phase-one investment) | $60,000 | Cash to cover operating losses during a five-month ramp from 50% to steady demand | Revenue Map model presets |
| Crew at launch | 2 staff; $5,280 per month with payroll tax | Two crew at $2,200 each plus 20% payroll tax; grows to 2.5 in phase two | Revenue Map model presets |
| Monthly fixed costs (default format) | About $7,500 to $8,000 | Staff $5,280, commissary $900, insurance $350, utilities $250, marketing $400, admin $200 | Revenue Map model presets |
| Vehicle loan (default) | $80,000 at 11% over 5 years | Higher rate than real-estate-backed loans because collateral is a depreciating vehicle | Revenue Map model presets |
Sources: Revenue Map model presets (default investment, pricing and funnel assumptions in our industry templates), Revenue Map model templates (vertical research in each financial model), Revenue Map benchmark tables (the thresholds behind our free calculators), and honest industry ranges where our own data is thin. Ranges are planning bands, not guarantees.
What Moves the Number
Format sets vehicle cost and daily economics
A coffee and drinks truck presets at $85,000 capex with a $60,000 loan, a $6.50 ticket and just 26% food cost, but needs 140 turns per day to match the revenue of a $13 street-food window at 90 turns. A catering truck presets at $26 per ticket but only 45 turns across 16 service days per month. Each format carries different gross margin math and a different break-even volume.
Service days are the variable most plans get wrong
Revenue Map's presets model 22 service days per month, but events and festivals format presets at only 14 days and office parks at 21. The difference between 22 and 18 service days is roughly 20% of revenue while fixed costs stay constant. Rain, breakdowns, dead pitches and permit restrictions all reduce service days, and overestimating them is the fastest way to build a plan that looks profitable on paper and loses money on the street.
Utilization drives all the downstream numbers
Revenue Map's presets start utilization at 55% in phase one and grow it to 75% by phase three. At 55% the truck does about 1,089 orders per month and barely covers fixed costs plus the loan. At 75% it does 1,485 orders and nets 10-15% after everything. The same truck, the same food cost, the same crew: the only difference is how many orders actually come through the window each day.
Permits and health compliance are non-negotiable
Health department permits, commissary use agreements, fire suppression certification and location permits vary by jurisdiction but are required everywhere. Some cities require daily return to a licensed commissary. Budget $2,000 to $5,000 for initial permits and inspections, and factor the commissary return into fuel cost and lost service hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you start a food truck for under $100,000?
How many orders per day does a food truck need?
Is a food truck cheaper than a restaurant?
What food truck format is most profitable?
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Benchmarks
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