Med Spa Startup Cost Calculator and Business Plan Builder

Five choices decide most of the budget. Make them in this order, because each one constrains the next.

• Services. Injectables and facials need a treatment room, a fridge and product. Lasers, body contouring and IV programs add devices, space and staff. Mindbody's cost guide suggests focusing on injectables and facials to keep equipment costs down.
• Space. Rent is the most location-sensitive line. Pabau lists $3,000 to $10,000 a month for rent plus $1,000 to $5,000 a month in CAM fees, taxes and insurance, and a deposit that can reach six months.
• Build-out. Plumbing, electrical and treatment-room finishes depend on the condition of the shell. Pabau lists $50,000 to $150,000 or more for renovations and equipment together.
• Devices. One device can cost more than the rest of the room. Compare buying, leasing and financing in the equipment financing list.
• Cash runway. The SBA tells owners to separate one-time startup costs from recurring monthly costs, and to add about 10% for expenses you cannot predict. The calculator holds back months of fixed cost as working capital.

Ownership and supervision rules also change the structure and legal cost. Read the state med spa licensing guide before you sign a lease.

Ranges below are published estimates from vendor guides, labeled with who published them. They are not market statistics, and each vendor builds its own list differently. Where we found no public figure, the calculator uses a placeholder you should replace with real quotes.

The sources disagree, which is the point: treat any single article's total as a rough check. The calculator's standard preset includes working capital and pre-opening payroll, so it lands above the $150,000 to $300,000 headline range. With typical defaults it totals about $340,000: $90,000 build-out, $49,000 devices, $18,000 lease deposit, $24,000 pre-opening payroll and about $86,000 working capital, plus the smaller lines.

If you are working out how to open a med spa, the plan is the first deliverable. A lender, landlord or medical director will want the same seven sections the calculator prints. Keep it to one page first, then expand.

1. Practice concept. Size, location type and model, in two sentences.
2. Services. Label each as medical or esthetic. That decides who must be licensed and who can own the practice.
3. Startup budget. Every line with a quote or a labeled estimate.
4. Funding. Cash you put in, amount financed, rate, term and monthly payment. Start with the SBA lender list.
5. Monthly profit and loss. Revenue per visit, gross margin, fixed costs and loan payment at a realistic visit count.
6. Break-even. Visits a month to cover fixed costs, and how long recovering your cash takes.
7. Launch checklist. Licensing, medical director, insurance, systems and first patient-acquisition plan. A startup consultant or the vendor directory can fill gaps.

Choose software that matches the clinical model before you open: a med spa needs charting, consent and inventory, not only a booking calendar. See Prospyr for med spas.

These models use the same budget lines with a different mix. Pick the IV and wellness lounge or weight loss clinic preset to see it.

• IV therapy. Lower equipment cost (chairs, pumps, carts) but lower revenue per visit, so break-even needs many more visits. In the preset, break-even is about 300 visits a month versus about 120 for the standard med spa. Medical oversight rules for IV services vary by state; confirm yours.
• Weight loss clinic. Few devices and a small footprint. Revenue depends on follow-up visits or monthly programs, so model visits per month honestly. Check your state's rules on prescribing and supervision with counsel.

All preset revenue, margin and visit numbers are Prospyr placeholders. Replace them with your own pricing and your own booking projections.

There are two clocks. The first is the month your revenue covers monthly costs. Pabau says a well-run two-provider practice usually covers its monthly costs around month 10 to 14, and that repaying launch costs takes another two to three years. That is one vendor's estimate, not a measured industry average.

The calculator models both clocks month by month. Visits ramp in a straight line from 25% of your full-volume figure in month 1 to 100% at the month you choose (the presets use 9 to 15 months). Each month it subtracts fixed costs and the loan payment, then reports the first profitable month and the month cumulative profit repays your cash. The standard preset turns profitable in about month 5 and repays cash in about month 15, which is faster than Pabau's estimate because its placeholder visit and margin figures are optimistic. Lower them to match your market, and the timeline stretches quickly. The model also treats your working-capital reserve as cash to be repaid, which is conservative.

If your estimate shows a long recovery or a loss, test three levers: more visits, higher revenue per visit, or lower fixed costs. Practice analytics help you track those same numbers after you open.