Coffee Shop Equipment List With Prices (2026 Budget Guide)

A coffee shop needs equipment in eight categories (espresso, grinding, brewing, refrigeration, ice, utilities, POS and furniture) plus smallwares, and a full package runs roughly $20,000 for a starter setup to $80,000 or more for a premium shop, per Bellwether Coffee’s 2026 guide. Refrigeration, ice, a POS system, furniture, and a drawer full of smallwares add up fast, and skipping the math on any one of them means a surprise bill during buildout, or worse, opening week.

This is a category-by-category list with budget bands pulled from published guides from Bellwether Coffee, 7shifts and Naixer, not a single number pretending to cover every shop. A 400-square-foot kiosk and a 1,800-square-foot cafe with seating need the same categories of equipment, just at very different scales. Use the low end of each range if you’re starting small and the high end if you’re building for volume or a full food menu.

We’re not selling equipment financing or connecting you with vendors. We’re independent, we don’t take referral fees from any franchisor, and when a link on this page goes to a specific product, it’s because we think it’s a reasonable fit for the category, not because someone paid for placement.

If your food menu includes soup for takeout or delivery, see our leak-proof soup container guide when planning food packaging.

If your cafe also serves boba, see our commercial boba shaker machine guide when planning drink equipment.

For a customer-facing display of your offerings, see our menu board guide.

For countertop heating options, see our commercial microwave guide. For made-to-order sandwiches, see our countertop panini press guide.

Category	Item	Typical range (source)	Our guide
Espresso	Espresso machine	$5,000–$8,000 one-group; $10,000–$18,000 two-group (Bellwether Coffee)	Commercial espresso machines
Grinding	Grinder	$500–$2,500 (7shifts)	Commercial coffee grinders
Brewing	Batch brewer	$500–$1,500 standard commercial (Bellwether Coffee)	Commercial coffee brewers
Utilities	Water filtration	See guide	Espresso water filtration
Refrigeration	Under-counter fridge, two-door	$2,000–$4,000 (Bellwether Coffee)	Undercounter refrigerators
Refrigeration	Reach-in, single-door	$1,500–$3,000 (Bellwether Coffee)	Refrigeration planning
Refrigeration	Refrigerated pastry case	$1,500–$4,000 (Bellwether Coffee)	Refrigeration planning
Ice	Cube ice machine	$1,800–$25,000+ (Naixer)	Ice machine sizing
POS	POS hardware	$0–$800 Square; $0–$1,500 Toast (Bellwether Coffee)	Startup POS systems
Furniture	Tables, 8 to 15	$1,500–$3,000 budget; $6,000–$12,000 premium (Bellwether Coffee)	Cafe furniture
Furniture	Chairs, 20 to 40	$1,000–$2,500 budget; $5,000–$10,000 premium (Bellwether Coffee)	Cafe furniture
Smallwares	Scale	See guide	Dosing scales with timers
Smallwares	Thermometer	Check selected listing	Smallwares
Smallwares	Pitchers	Check selected listing	Pitcher rinsers
Smallwares	Tamper and knock box	See guides	Tamping stations; Knock boxes

Total it for your shop with the cafe buildout cost calculator or the coffee shop startup cost calculator.

If blended drinks are on your menu, see our NSF-certified commercial blender guide.

How much does a coffee shop espresso machine cost?

This is the category that decides what your coffee tastes like and how many drinks you can push through a rush, so it earns first place in the budget and the biggest share of it.

Espresso machine

See our guide to commercial espresso machines to compare machine types.

For training or practice, our home espresso machine guide explains where a home machine fits in a coffee shop.

Bellwether Coffee’s 2026 equipment cost guide breaks espresso machines into four volume tiers: a one-group semi-automatic for under 100 drinks a day runs $5,000 to $8,000, a two-group semi-automatic for 100 to 250 drinks a day runs $10,000 to $18,000, a two- to three-group commercial machine for 250 to 500 drinks a day runs $15,000 to $25,000, and anything above 500 drinks a day runs $20,000 to $35,000 or more. 7shifts’ breakdown lines up with this, noting entry-level commercial machines starting around $2,000 and high-end models running above $15,000.

Compare each machine’s rated capacity with your planned drink volume before choosing a model.

Grinder

See our guide to commercial coffee grinders to compare grinders for your bar.

Buy the grinder like it matters as much as the machine, because it does. Bellwether puts entry commercial grinders at $1,500 to $2,500, mid-range at $2,500 to $4,000, and high-end burr grinders at $4,000 to $8,000. 7shifts gives a wider and lower band of $500 to $2,500 for commercial grinders generally.

A cheap grinder under a great machine is the most common way new shop owners waste their espresso budget. A worn burr set produces inconsistent particle size, which means inconsistent extraction, no matter how good the machine pulling the shot is.

Brewing beyond espresso

Batch and drip brewers

For pour-over-style batch brewing that feeds airpots or thermal servers, Bellwether cites standard commercial units at $500 to $1,500, higher-end batch brewers at $1,500 to $3,000, and specialty brands like Fetco or Curtis at $2,500 to $5,000. If your menu includes a drip coffee option or cold brew concentrate made in-house, budget for a dedicated brewer rather than trying to make your espresso machine do double duty; it can’t, and you’ll bottleneck your bar during a rush.

For a deeper look at brewer categories and specific models, see our guide to commercial coffee brewers.

Water filtration

See our guide to water filtration for espresso machines when planning installation.

Confirm with your machine vendor what filtration specification the warranty requires, and include filtration in your plumbing and installation budget.

For the separate maintenance step when scale has formed, see our commercial espresso machine descaler guide.

Refrigeration

See our guides to undercounter refrigerators for coffee shops and ENERGY STAR undercounter refrigerators to compare cold storage options.

If gelato or ice cream is on your menu, see our countertop gelato display case guide.

Cold storage is where a lot of new owners underbudget, because it’s easy to price one fridge and forget you need several types doing different jobs. Bellwether’s category breakdown puts an under-counter two-door unit at $2,000 to $4,000, a single-door reach-in at $1,500 to $3,000, a walk-in cooler for food service at $5,000 to $15,000, a refrigerated pastry display case at $1,500 to $4,000, and a grab-and-go cooler at $2,000 to $5,000. 7shifts gives a wider umbrella figure of $1,500 to $26,500 for “commercial refrigerators to store milk, cream, and perishable items.” For pastry service, compare refrigerated and dry options in the countertop bakery display case guide.

Milk storage alone deserves its own line. A busy espresso bar goes through more milk than most owners expect before they’ve run a shop, and under-counter refrigeration sized for a cafe rather than a home kitchen keeps milk at temperature during service instead of just between rushes.

How much does a coffee shop ice machine cost?

See our guide to coffee shop ice machine sizing to compare a machine’s stated production at its listed rating conditions with your busiest day’s measured demand.

Ice is easy to forget because it doesn’t look like “equipment” the way an espresso machine does, but any menu with iced lattes, cold brew, or blended drinks lives or dies on ice supply during a hot afternoon. Naixer’s 2026 commercial ice machine cost guide breaks machines out by ice type rather than one blended number: cube machines, the most common choice for a cafe counter, run $1,800 to $25,000 or more depending on output; crescent-cube units run $800 to $6,000; flake ice makers run $2,500 to $5,000 or more; and nugget-ice machines, the chewable style that’s grown popular for cold drinks, run $500 to $2,000. Higher production capacity pushes you toward the top of whichever type’s range. Naixer also flags real add-on costs that get missed in a quick budget: delivery runs $100 to $500, and installation runs $500 to $2,500 or more.

Size your ice machine to your busiest single day, not your average day. A shop that’s fine on ice most of the week and runs out every Saturday afternoon is losing sales at exactly the moment it has the most customers in line.

Utilities: power, plumbing, and water

Every category above quietly assumes two things the equipment list never shows you: a circuit that can carry the machine, and a water connection that satisfies a plumbing inspector. This is the part of a buildout you cannot buy off a shelf and carry in, which is exactly why it tends to get priced last, after every machine on the list above has already been chosen.

Power

Size power circuits from each machine’s published nameplate requirements. Circuit sizing depends on watts and volts, not just whether the cord fits a receptacle. The National Electrical Code defines a load expected to run at maximum current for three hours or more as continuous; NEC 210.20(A) requires a breaker rated for at least 125 percent of that load. Our commercial coffee brewer breaker sizing guide works through published BUNN and Newco data.

NEC 210.52’s dwelling-unit outlet spacing rule does not establish a commercial receptacle plan. Use your equipment list and an electrician’s load calculation; our coffee shop outlet planning list covers the requirements sheet. Our single phase versus three phase explainer explains why amperage matters for circuit selection. NEC adoption varies by jurisdiction and code cycle. Treat this as planning information for a licensed electrician using the locally adopted edition. Get written electrical quotes during lease negotiation, before equipment is bought or walls close up.

Plumbing and backflow

Coffee machine water connections need backflow protection that meets the locally adopted plumbing code. The International Plumbing Code, at Section 608.17.1.2, requires the water supply connection to each coffee machine and each noncarbonated beverage dispenser to be protected against backflow by a device conforming to ASSE 1022, 1024, or 1032, or by an air gap. That is model code language rather than law by itself, so whether it binds your address depends on what your state, county, or city has adopted and in which edition; a licensed plumber plus your local water authority are the only people who can answer that for your build. Our espresso machine backflow preventer guide covers what those three device standards actually differ on, including which of them fails silently.

Hot water

Size hot water capacity by fixture demand, not square footage. The City of Albuquerque Environmental Health Department’s sizing guideline for food establishments puts a hand sink at 5 gallons per hour of demand and an 18 by 18 inch three-compartment sink at 42, which is the difference between a plug-in mini tank and a genuine sizing exercise. Our water heater sizing guide for a small coffee shop walks that arithmetic with the fixture table behind it, a commercial espresso machine heats its own water internally and does not draw on that domestic hot water demand at all. Get a written quote from a licensed plumber during lease negotiation, and confirm requirements with your local departments during plan review before buying equipment.

Sinks

Plan separate sink functions for waste disposal, handwashing, and warewashing before choosing fixtures. The dump sink behind the bar is a waste fixture for ice and milk dregs, not a washing station, and it cannot serve as your handwash sink; our single versus double basin bar sink guide covers what the second bowl buys you operationally and where one county has put its dump sink rule in writing. Warewashing is a separate fixture again. FDA Food Code 4-301.12 sets the baseline at a sink with at least three compartments for manually washing, rinsing, and sanitizing equipment and utensils, with exceptions that individual jurisdictions write differently, and our three-compartment sink guide for coffee carts works through that baseline alongside two named jurisdictions’ actual answers.

Confirm sink count, placement, and backflow requirements with your local health and building departments during plan review, before buying fixtures or closing walls. For the waste stations in that plan, see how many trash and recycling bins a small coffee shop needs.

Smallwares

Smallwares are the small, cheap items that determine whether your drinks come out the same way every time. None of them cost much on their own. Together they’re the difference between a barista who can dial in a shot and one who’s guessing.

• Scales. See our guide to dosing scales with timers. A dosing scale for the espresso station and a separate scale for portioning retail bags or bulk ingredients. This is where consistency starts; eyeballing a dose instead of weighing it is the single fastest way to get an inconsistent shot.
• Thermometers. A calibrated instant-read thermometer for food safety checks and a frothing thermometer for milk steaming. Milk texture and safety both depend on hitting a specific temperature window, not a guess.
• Pitchers. See our guide to milk pitcher rinsers for coffee bars. Multiple sizes of steaming pitchers so you’re not washing one pitcher mid-rush, plus backups for when one dents or the spout wears out.
• Timers. For extraction time on espresso and steep time on any pour-over or tea offering.
• Tamper and knock box. See our guides to tamping stations with portafilter holders and counter knock boxes. Paired with the machine, not an afterthought purchase.

Dosing and portion scale for espresso and bulk ingredients

OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull-Out Display

Capacity

11 lb

Display

Pull-out digital readout

Increments

1/8 oz or 1 g

Build

Stainless steel platform

Power

Four AAA batteries (included)

Cleaning

Clean by hand

The pull-out display prevents shadowing from larger containers, and tare supports portioning ingredients.

Specs: OXO 11 lb Stainless Steel Food Scale with Pull out Display product page, model 11214800; Amazon listing B079D9B82W for increments, power and cleaning.

See it on AmazonAffiliate link · current price shown on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Milk steaming and food safety temperature checks

ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE Instant-Read Thermometer

Read time

Under one second

Accuracy

±0.5°F in key ranges

Water resistance

IP67 rated

Warranty

5 years

Calibration

NIST-traceable certificate included

Use case

Milk steaming, food safety, calibration checks

Readings in under one second support quick temperature checks, and the IP67-rated body suits a wet work area.

Specs: ThermoWorks Thermapen ONE product page for speed, accuracy, IP67 rating and calibration; Amazon listing B0DC8MWQ8K for the five-year warranty.

See it on AmazonAffiliate link · current price shown on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Milk steaming pitcher for espresso bar service

Stainless Steel Milk Frothing Pitcher, 20 oz

Capacity

20 oz

Use case

Single to double drink milk steaming

Choose a pitcher capacity that fits the milk drinks on your menu, and keep backups for service.

Specs: Generic item; check capacity and material on the listing you choose

See it on AmazonAffiliate link · current price shown on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Furniture and dine-in space

See our guide to furniture for a small coffee shop when planning your seating.

If you have any seating at all, furniture is a real line item, not an afterthought funded from whatever’s left over. Bellwether’s furniture pricing lists tables and chairs separately, and both scale with your seat count. For 8 to 15 tables: budget runs $1,500 to $3,000, mid-range runs $3,000 to $6,000, and premium runs $6,000 to $12,000. For 20 to 40 chairs to go with them: budget runs $1,000 to $2,500, mid-range runs $2,500 to $5,000, and premium runs $5,000 to $10,000. Add bar stools, lounge seating, or outdoor furniture on top of that if your layout calls for it. Counter-only and walk-up shops can skip most of this category, but anything with tables should price the full set, tables and chairs both, before signing a lease, since seating count affects your occupancy permit and your build-out layout, not just your invoice. For back-of-house storage, see our commercial shelving guide for finish and placement options.

POS and payment hardware

See our guide to POS systems for a coffee shop startup to compare your options.

Point-of-sale costs split into hardware and software, and the two guides we checked price them differently enough that you should get current quotes rather than trust either range blindly. Bellwether’s per-platform hardware estimate: Square runs $0 to $800, Toast runs $0 to $1,500, Clover runs $500 to $2,000, Lightspeed runs $500 to $1,500, and Revel runs $1,000 to $3,000. 7shifts gives a blended hardware estimate of roughly $800 to $1,000 as a one-time fee based on the number of terminals, plus ongoing software fees of $60 to $250 per device per month.

The spread here matters more than in most categories because “free” POS hardware from some processors comes bundled with higher per-transaction fees, so run the total cost of ownership over a year, not just the sticker price on day one. If you’re weighing a franchise brand that mandates a specific POS system versus building your own stack independently, our coffee franchise cost breakdown covers how required systems and vendors show up inside a franchise’s total investment.

Putting the categories together

Use the checklist above and the cafe buildout cost calculator to total your equipment plan. For a made-to-order food add-on, include the equipment in your budget with our commercial crepe maker guide. A waffle on the menu also needs its own equipment and circuit plan; see our commercial waffle maker guide. For staff communication across the bar and pickup area, see our two-way radios for cafe staff guide.

The checklist ranges are planning estimates, not quotes, because your actual number depends on drink volume, seating count, and whether you’re buying new or used. Treat the low end as a floor for a small counter-service concept and the high end as realistic for a full cafe with seating and a food menu. If you’re still deciding whether an independent build or a franchise buildout package makes more sense for your budget, our coffee franchise cost breakdown walks through what franchisors disclose in Item 7 for total investment, which bundles most of these categories into one negotiated package. For the full sourcing and verification process behind every figure on this site, see our editorial methodology.

How equipment is depreciated is a question for your CPA, not tax advice from this equipment list; see CapEx vs. OpEx for a food franchise for a general overview.

Price every category before you sign a lease or a franchise agreement, not after. Equipment is one of the few costs in opening a coffee shop you can actually shop around on, get multiple quotes for, and negotiate, so use that advantage while you still have it.