2.2× The typical vending machine route for sale in the US asks 2.2 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 174 vending machine routes listed for sale on a major online marketplace and compared each asking price with the cash flow its seller reported.
The findings in eight sentences.
- The middle half of vending machine routes ask between 1.4 and 3.1 times their yearly cash flow.
- Vending machine routes ask less than the typical business for sale, which asks 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for a vending machine route is $135,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical vending machine route asks 1.2 times its yearly sales.
- 16% of vending machine routes for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
- 33% of owners who say why they're selling are relocating, and 22% are retiring.
- 9% of vending machine routes for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 13% of the vending machine routes for sale are listed in Florida, 10% in Texas and 7% in Ohio.
Of the business service industries, vending machine routes ask the least.
IT and software services firms ask the most, 3.6 times their yearly cash flow.
- IT and software services firms: median 3.6×, middle half from 2.7× to 4.7×
- Equipment rental businesses: median 3.5×, middle half from 2.5× to 4.9×
- Waste management and recycling companies: median 3.4×, middle half from 2.0× to 4.7×
- Marketing and advertising agencies: median 3.1×, middle half from 2.5× to 3.8×
- Architecture and engineering firms: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.2× to 4.0×
- Websites and ecommerce businesses: median 2.9×, middle half from 2.0× to 3.7×
- Insurance agencies: median 2.8×, middle half from 2.0× to 3.6×
- Print shops and promotional products businesses: median 2.6×, middle half from 2.2× to 3.3×
- Accounting, tax and law practices: median 2.5×, middle half from 1.9× to 3.2×
- Vending machine routes: median 2.2×, middle half from 1.4× to 3.1×
fulkersonadvisors.com
47% of vending machine routes ask between two and four times their yearly cash flow.
39% ask less than two, and 14% more than four.
fulkersonadvisors.com
Bigger vending machine routes ask less for each dollar of cash flow.
The typical ask is 2.4 times below $100,000 of yearly cash flow and 1.2 times at $100,000 to $250,000.
- Under $100k: median 2.4×, middle half from 2.0× to 3.6×
- $100k to $250k: median 1.2×, middle half from 1.1× to 2.2×
fulkersonadvisors.com
What a vending machine route like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$123,000 to $225,000
The typical one asks $152,000, 2.4× its yearly cash flow.
Based on vending machine routes with under $100k of yearly cash flow. These are asking prices, not sale prices or appraisals.
After the close.
We write the software a newly bought business runs on, one process at a time, such as quoting, scheduling or billing, and the new owner keeps the code. How we work with buyers and operating partners.
The data.
We read the listings on September 24, 2026, and their full details from September 25 to 30, 2026.
Questions
What multiple of cash flow do vending machine routes sell for?
Vending machine routes listed for sale in the US ask a median 2.2 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 1.4 and 3.1 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy a vending machine route?
The typical vending machine route for sale asks $135,000, and the middle half ask between $85,000 and $188,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many vending machine routes for sale offer seller financing?
16% of vending machine routes for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
What multiple of revenue do vending machine routes ask?
The typical vending machine route for sale asks 1.2 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 0.8 and 1.7 times.
Why are vending machine routes for sale?
33% of owners who give a reason are relocating. 22% are retiring, and 19% are moving on to other businesses or interests.
How we did it
We read every listing on a major US online marketplace for businesses for sale on September 24, 2026, and went back to each one from September 25 to 30, 2026 for its full details. This page covers the 174 established vending machine routes among them. 112 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 111 of those are left after the exclusions below.
Older listings use a flat list of named categories, and newer ones a two-level list whose subcategories have no names. A listing without its own photo shows its category's default photo. Each default photo almost always shows up in a single newer subcategory, so each named category joins the subcategory where its photo appears.
A multiple is the asking price divided by the seller's discretionary earnings the listing reports. We left out multiples below 0.3 or above 20, and listings whose price includes the property. Prices and cash flows on this page come from the listings with a multiple. These are asking prices, and a business usually sells for less than it asks. The full method.
Cite this page
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What vending machine routes for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/vending-routes
Use any of these numbers or charts. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.