Rental fees are the headline. Margin is decided by venue split, refill labor, payment fees, and how often a cabinet is actually online. We encourage operators to model those four lines before they order the next 200 units.
Where revenue comes from
- Per-rental or time-based fees at the point of use
- Higher throughput at venues with long dwell time — bars, airports, clinics, tourist streets
- Repeat usage when batteries are available and QR checkout is fast
Revenue share is a placement fee — price it honestly
In Southeast Asia we commonly see 10–40% to the venue depending on traffic quality, exclusivity, and who handles refills. A high-traffic bar with exclusivity will ask for more; a trial kiosk in a co-working lobby may accept less if you own maintenance.
A reference model we use in workshops
Hardware all-in often lands between $30–80 per rental slot depending on cabinet type and customization. Many operators target roughly $50–70 net per cabinet per month after share and fees in stable sites — which implies roughly 6–9 month payback if uptime stays above the mid-90s.
Peak-hour sites — tourist districts, nightlife, large stations — can clear $2–3/hour at busy periods. That is where payback stories get real, not the average across sleepy weekdays.
Levers that actually move profit
- Stop deploying "maybe" locations; clone winners with data
- Renegotiate share after 90 days of GMV proof
- Fix payment success before buying more cabinets
- Batch refill routes — ops cost is silent margin leakage