Food truck vs restaurant: what each costs to open

A food truck opens for about a quarter of what a restaurant costs. A restaurant earns more once it is open, and customers know where to find it.

The numbers first, from three surveys. Then when each one wins.

The numbers

	Food truck	Restaurant
To open	$50,000 to $250,000. Most land around $100,000.	$375,000 median. From $275,500 in an old restaurant space to $650,000 built new.
Biggest cost	The truck. Used, $30,000 to $100,000. New, $75,000 to $200,000.	The space. $3,586 per seat in a rented building.
Permits, first year	$28,276 on average across 20 US cities, after 45 steps over 37 working days.	Part of the build cost. Varies by city.
Fixed cost each month	$2,000 to $10,000. That includes a shared prep kitchen at $300 to $1,200. No rent.	Rent, every month, open or closed. The largest fixed bill.
Time until profit	No survey number.	5 months median. A quarter of owners in 2 months, a quarter took a year.

To open

Food truck$50,000 to $250,000. Most land around $100,000.

Restaurant$375,000 median. From $275,500 in an old restaurant space to $650,000 built new.

Biggest cost

Food truckThe truck. Used, $30,000 to $100,000. New, $75,000 to $200,000.

RestaurantThe space. $3,586 per seat in a rented building.

Permits, first year

Food truck$28,276 on average across 20 US cities, after 45 steps over 37 working days.

RestaurantPart of the build cost. Varies by city.

Fixed cost each month

Food truck$2,000 to $10,000. That includes a shared prep kitchen at $300 to $1,200. No rent.

RestaurantRent, every month, open or closed. The largest fixed bill.

Time until profit

Food truckNo survey number.

Restaurant5 months median. A quarter of owners in 2 months, a quarter took a year.

When the truck wins

When you have less than $150,000. A truck at $100,000 leaves money for the slow first months. A restaurant at $375,000 usually means a loan, and the loan payment is the same in a slow January.

When the menu is not proven yet. A truck lets you test five dishes on real people. If the tacos sell and the bowls do not, you change the menu, not the lease.

When the customers move. Offices at lunch, a brewery on Friday night, a festival on Saturday. A bad spot is one bad day, not a five-year contract.

The cost nobody expects is paperwork. Across 20 US cities, a truck paid $28,276 in its first year for permits, licences and compliance. The gap between cities is huge: about $588 in city fees in Indianapolis, about $17,066 in Boston. Check your city's fees before you look at trucks.

When the restaurant wins

When people need to find you. A fixed address works on Google Maps, on a friend's tip and on a walk past the window. A truck has to tell people where it is, every day.

When you want people to spend more per visit. Seats mean dinner, drinks and dessert. In the owner survey, the typical restaurant sold $1.125 million a year and kept 5.5% of it. That is about $62,000 a year in profit, and it took 5 months to get there.

When the weather is against you. A truck has one window, a lunch rush and a rainy season. A restaurant has a roof.

What to do

Food truck vs restaurant comes down to the money at risk. About one in five new restaurants close in the first year. If you have under $150,000 and a menu you have not sold yet, start with the truck. If you have a lease you love and $400,000, open the restaurant.

Either way, the first thing customers do is the same. Before they come, they check four things: the menu with prices, whether you are open, where you are, and how to reach you. For a truck, "where you are" changes every day, so the answer has to be online and current.

Common questions

Is a food truck cheaper than a restaurant?

Yes, by a lot. Most food trucks open for around $100,000, with a range of $50,000 to $250,000 (Homebase, 2025). The median restaurant cost $375,000 to open in a survey of 350 owners (RestaurantOwner.com, 2018). The truck also has a lower monthly bill, since there is no rent.

How much does a food truck cost to start?

Around $100,000 all in. A used truck is $30,000 to $100,000, a new one $75,000 to $200,000. Add $15,000 to $45,000 for the kitchen and, on average, $28,276 for permits and licences in the first year. Fees vary a lot by city: about $588 in Indianapolis, about $17,066 in Boston.

Sources

1. How Much Does It Cost to Start a Food Truck?, Homebase (2025)
2. Food Truck Nation, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, 20 cities and 288 food truck owners (2018)
3. How Much Does It Cost to Open a Restaurant? Over 350 Independent Restaurant Owners Share Their Startup Costs, RestaurantOwner.com, PR Newswire (2018)

Nicolae Cojuhari · Software engineer with a finance background. Founder of 1food.menu.