Short answer: Cost per cup = ingredients + cup + the machine’s monthly cost divided by the cups it makes. At office volumes, instant machines are the cheapest per cup, bean-to-cup machines cost a little more and taste better, and capsules cost several times more per cup — which is fine for a team of ten and expensive for a team of a hundred.
- One kilogram of beans makes roughly 110–140 cups at 7–9 g per cup.
- The more cups a machine makes, the less each cup costs — volume matters more than machine price.
- Ask every supplier for the price per kilogram or per capsule and do the sum yourself.
The three machine types
| Bean-to-cup | Instant | Capsule | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it works | Grinds fresh beans for each cup | Mixes soluble coffee, milk powder and chocolate with hot water | One sealed capsule per cup |
| Taste | Closest to a café | Consistent; wide drink menu | Good, limited to capsule range |
| Speed | Fast | Fastest | One cup at a time |
| Cleaning | Daily rinse, weekly wash, descaling | Daily rinse, weekly wash | Very little |
| Best for | 30–200+ people who care about quality | High volume, shift work, lowest cost | Small teams and meeting rooms |
The cost-per-cup formula
Cost per cup = ingredient cost + cup and stirrer + (monthly machine cost ÷ cups per month)
- Ingredient cost = price per kilogram ÷ cups per kilogram. Bean-to-cup machines use about 7–9 g of coffee per cup, so a kilogram makes roughly 110–140 cups. Instant coffee uses about 1.5–2 g per cup. A capsule is one cup.
- Cup and stirrer — a small fixed amount per drink, or zero if your team uses mugs.
- Monthly machine cost — the lease fee, or the purchase price spread over the years you expect to use it, plus service.
- Cups per month — people on site × cups per person per day × working days.
Want real numbers for your office? Tell us your headcount and we will quote a machine with a monthly price that includes maintenance.
A worked example: 40 people
Forty people drinking two cups a day over 22 working days is 1,760 cups a month. The prices below are assumptions for illustration — replace them with the quotes you receive.
| Per cup | Bean-to-cup | Instant | Capsule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assumed ingredient price | AED 60 per kg, 8 g per cup | AED 70 per kg, 2 g per cup | AED 2.00 per capsule |
| Coffee | AED 0.48 | AED 0.14 | AED 2.00 |
| Cup and stirrer | AED 0.15 | AED 0.15 | AED 0.15 |
| Machine (assumed monthly cost ÷ 1,760 cups) | AED 0.17 AED 300 a month |
AED 0.14 AED 250 a month |
AED 0.03 AED 50 a month |
| Total per cup | ≈ AED 0.80 | ≈ AED 0.43 | ≈ AED 2.18 |
| Total per month | ≈ AED 1,410 | ≈ AED 760 | ≈ AED 3,840 |
Milk, chocolate and sugar add a little to milk-based drinks on bean-to-cup and instant machines. Even so, the pattern holds: at this volume the capsule machine is the cheapest to install and by far the most expensive to run.
Which one for your team size?
- Up to 15 people: a capsule machine or a small bean-to-cup machine. The low volume keeps the capsule premium small.
- 15–60 people: a table-top bean-to-cup machine. This is where fresh coffee starts to pay for itself against capsules.
- 60–200+ people: a floor-standing bean-to-cup or instant vending machine with a large menu, connected to water, with cashless payment if staff pay.
- Factories and shift sites: instant machines — fast, robust and the lowest cost per cup.
For help choosing a model, read how to choose a coffee vending machine or browse machines with prices.
Questions to ask every supplier
- What is the price per kilogram or per capsule, and how many cups does it make?
- Am I tied to your ingredients, and for how long?
- Does the monthly price include maintenance, call-outs and spare parts?
- How fast do you respond when the machine stops?
- What happens at the end of the contract — can I own the machine?
A “free” coffee machine is paid for through the ingredient price. That can be a fair deal, but only if you compare the cost per cup. Our lease plans state the monthly price and what it includes.
