Laundromat business in Spain: start-up costs, revenue and payback

A self-service laundromat in Spain costs €70,000–80,000 turnkey to open from scratch, and an existing one bought via traspaso averages about €60,000.

A typical unit has 3 washers and 2 dryers in 40–60 m². Revenue runs at €2,000–5,000 a month with no staff, and payback takes about 3–4 years. No staff needed — just a licence and suitable premises.

Below: what it costs to open or buy a laundromat, franchise or independent, what it earns and spends, which permits you need, how module-based taxation works and what to check when buying. The page includes a payback calculator with an illustrative unit.

The self-service laundry market in Spain

There are no official statistics, but industry estimates put Spain at 1,700–2,000 self-service laundromats, up from about 1,130 in 2016.

Growth comes from small flats with no room to dry clothes, tourists and students.

The largest networks are Speed Queen (about 450 sites), La Wash (over 350) and Miele’s Bloomest (about 90).

The market is consolidating: listings are full of “will buy a laundromat via traspaso” ads — private companies are buying up trading sites.

For a buyer that means competition for good units; for a seller, liquidity.

What it costs to open a laundromat from scratch

Most of the investment is equipment. Prices of commercial self-service machines in 2025–2026 (excluding VAT):

A typical set — 3 washers of 10, 13 and 18 kg, 2 dryers of 18 kg, a central payment unit with contactless and dosing — comes to about €54,000 excluding VAT.

With simpler machines and a basic terminal, €25,000–30,000. A used set of 2 washers and 2 dryers under 2 years old sells for about €28,500 without installation.

The full budget including premises refit, electrics, plumbing and extraction is €69,000–80,000 with the networks: Bloomest €46,000 for equipment plus €23,000 for works, La Wash about €80,000 turnkey, Speed Queen from €80,000.

On top come the engineer’s project, municipal fees and the construction tax (ICIO), which vary by town.

Franchise or independent

The key thing to know about laundromat franchises: the largest networks charge neither an entry fee nor royalties. They earn on equipment, detergents and service.

A network provides site search, design, machine servicing and a recognisable brand, and sometimes a bank arrangement: Bloomest customers financing with Cajamar put in at least 10%.

An independent laundromat is cheaper to start, but sourcing machines and service and solving technical problems fall on the owner.

Payback figures in network brochures come from an equipment seller — recalculate them yourself.

What an existing laundromat costs via traspaso

We reviewed 29 listings for single self-service laundromats (Milanuncios, October 2026).

The median is €60,000, half fall between €47,000 and €80,000, and the full range is €18,000 to €160,000.

A typical unit has 3 washers and 2 dryers in 40–60 m², with rent of €350–800 a month.

• Madrid, Barrio del Pilar — €50,000: 3 washers, 2 dryers, central payment unit, parcel lockers.
• Igualada, Barcelona — €45,000: 3+2 machines, rent €420 a month.
• Murcia — €50,000: 4+3 machines in 40 m², rent €439 a month.
• Seville city centre — €160,000: 5 machines one year old, tourist area.
• Two sites in Vilafranca del Penedès — €55,000 for both: revenue about €2,300 a month each, about €1,000 net.

A traspaso price reflects the machines (age and brand), the lease (how many years remain) and revenue.

Sellers present 1–2-year-old machines as the main selling point — wear on a commercial machine shows on its cycle counter.

What a laundromat earns

Prices in Spanish self-service laundromats: an 8–10 kg wash costs €3.50–5.30, 15–20 kg €6–9, drying €1.50–3 for 10–20 minutes. The average wash is about €5, usually including detergent.

Revenue depends heavily on location. According to La Wash, an average site takes about €5,000 a month and the best €12,000–13,000.

In real sale listings it is €2,300 a month per site.

An academic business plan from the University of Seville starts at 20 washes a day for the whole unit, with 90–95% of customers also drying.

An illustrative calculation: 20 washes at €5 and 18 dries at €2.50 is €145 a day including VAT — about €4,400 a month with VAT or €3,640 without. That matches real figures of €2,300–5,000 a month.

Costs:

• Variable costs — about 25% of revenue: water, electricity or gas, detergent.
• Electricity or gas. Electricity for small businesses in Spain cost about €0.24 per kWh excluding VAT in the first half of 2026. An electric 18 kg dryer cycle uses about €1.45 of energy, a gas one about €0.37: a gas dryer is roughly four times cheaper to run.
• Water — €0.10–0.15 per wash: a machine uses 50–80 litres, and a cubic metre costs €1.92 on average including sewerage.
• Rent — €350–800 a month for 40–60 m², more in big-city centres.
• Staff — none needed: the unit runs with cameras, an automatic door and remote machine control. But the owner spends time on cleaning, minor repairs and cash collection, or pays someone to.

Laundromat payback calculator

The calculator holds an illustrative existing unit at €60,000 plus €5,000 for upgrades.

Revenue is €3,640 a month excluding VAT, variable costs 25%, rent €600 a month, other costs (insurance, internet, servicing) €300 a month, no staff.

Pre-tax profit is €21,960 a year, about €17,800 after SL corporate tax, and the €65,000 investment pays back in about 3.7 years. Break-even is about €1,200 of revenue a month.

Take revenue from the central payment unit’s per-machine export and terminal receipts in the bank, not from the seller’s word.

Opening from scratch for €70,000–80,000, the same revenue gives a payback of 3.2–3.6 years — matching the networks’ “about 3 years” only at above-average revenue.

Which permits you need

A self-service laundromat opens on a declaration to the town hall, but almost nowhere is it automatically a “harmless” activity: motors, heating and soapy wastewater bring environmental control under regional law.

• Classification. The activity falls under IAE heading 971.1 (washing, dry cleaning, ironing), CNAE 96.01.
• Madrid. A laundromat falls under Annex V of the environmental assessment law Ley 2/2002 — an activity assessment with a 20-day public consultation.
• Valencian Community. Under Ley 6/2014 an activity is “harmless” only if total motor power is no more than 9 hp, there is no combustion and only domestic wastewater is discharged; gas dryers and powerful machines take a laundromat out of that regime — an environmental declaration is needed.
• Andalusia. Laundromats go through environmental qualification (Calificación Ambiental) with a 20-working-day public consultation — an example from Córdoba’s official bulletin, March 2026.
• Electricity. Two 18 kW electric dryers and 3 washers exceed 40 kW — a three-phase supply and higher contracted power. Damp premises over 10 kW need an electrical installation project, and wet premises over 25 kW an initial inspection (REBT, ITC-BT-04). Premises that already have three-phase power, gas and extraction are worth paying for.
• CCTV. Cameras in an unstaffed unit are allowed for security: recordings are kept no longer than a month, handed to police within 72 hours of an incident, with a visible sign (art. 22 LOPDGDD).

The exact regime depends on the town: before signing a lease, ask the town hall which procedure applies to this activity and power.

Taxes: standard regime or modules

• VAT. Laundry services are taxed at the standard 21% rate.
• Modules. For heading 971.1 the objective assessment regime (módulos) is available in 2026: €16,773.19 a year for an owner working without a salary, €4,553.90 per employee and €45.98 per 100 kWh of electricity consumed, with a 5% reduction. Modules are available if the previous year’s revenue did not exceed €250,000.
• The laundromat quirk. The tax is calculated on electricity consumed, not revenue. An owner without staff using 30,000 kWh a year is taxed on a base of about €30,567 before depreciation and coefficients. With real profit of €20,000, modules do not pay; with €40,000, they do. Gas dryers cut both the energy bill and the tax base.
• SL. Modules are for individuals only. If the laundromat belongs to an SL, it pays corporate tax: in 2026, with turnover under €1m, 19% on the first €50,000 of profit. What it costs to set up and run a company is covered in SL in Spain.

What to check when buying an existing laundromat

1. The lease. A business tenant may assign the lease without the landlord’s consent, but the landlord may raise the rent by 20%, and must be notified within a month (art. 32 LAU). The lease may prohibit assignment — read it. The remaining lease term is the main asset in a traspaso.
2. The licence. The declaration covers this address, this activity and this power; a change of owner is notified to the town hall. The licence is tied to the premises — “licence included” only means one exists.
3. The machines. Age, brand, warranty and cycle counters; a 12-month revenue export per machine from the payment unit. Machines on lease or rental — find out who owns them.
4. Revenue. Reconcile the payment-unit export, terminal receipts in the bank and VAT returns (modelo 303 and 390). If the seller is on modules, real revenue does not appear in tax returns — only the till and the bank show it.
5. Tax debts. The buyer of a trading business is liable for the seller’s tax debts from that activity (art. 42.1.c LGT) unless they obtain a tax-debt certificate before the deal, which the tax agency issues within 3 months (art. 175.2 LGT).
6. Nearby competitors. Big cities can have 5–7 laundromats in one district — walk the streets around and see how many machines the neighbours have and what they charge.

How an existing business is checked before you pay a deposit is described on our traspaso audit page; to judge whether the investment is worth your money once timing is considered, see IRR (internal rate of return).

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to open a laundromat in Spain?

Turnkey, €70,000–80,000: equipment €45,000–54,000 excluding VAT plus €20,000–25,000 for refit, electrics and extraction. With simple machines and a terminal, from €30,000–40,000. An existing unit via traspaso averages about €60,000.

Can you open a laundromat without a franchise?

Yes. The big networks charge no fee or royalties — they earn on equipment and detergent — so the main difference with an independent unit is that sourcing machines and service and solving technical problems fall on the owner.

How much does a laundromat make in Spain?

Usually €2,000–5,000 of revenue a month excluding VAT, with the best sites over €10,000. After variable costs of about 25% of revenue, rent and other costs, the owner keeps about €1,000–2,000 a month per unit.

What is the payback period for a laundromat?

About 3–4 years at average revenue. Networks promise “about 3 years”, but that comes from an equipment seller; with €3,640 a month of revenue and €65,000 invested, the calculation gives about 3.7 years.

Do you need a licence for a self-service laundromat?

Yes: an activity declaration or licence from the town hall with environmental control under regional law. In Madrid, an activity assessment with a 20-day public consultation; in Andalusia, environmental qualification. Plus an electrical project at high power.

Can you pay tax under the module system?

Yes, if the owner is an individual and the previous year’s revenue was no more than €250,000. The module is based on headcount and electricity consumed, not revenue, so it pays off with high profit and gas dryers.

Key points about laundromats in Spain

• Opening from scratch costs €70,000–80,000 turnkey; buying an existing unit averages about €60,000.
• The big networks charge no fee or royalties: they earn on machines and detergent.
• Revenue is €2,000–5,000 a month and payback about 3–4 years; gas dryers are four times cheaper to run.
• You need a licence with environmental control, and an electrical project at high power.
• When buying: the lease and the 20% rent rise, the licence for the address, machine counters, till and bank, and the seller’s tax debts.

Sources

• Orden HAC/1425/2025 (modules for 2026) — BOE.
• Ley 6/2014 of the Valencian Community, Annex III — BOE; example of the Madrid procedure — BOCM.
• REBT, ITC-BT-04 — BOE; LOPDGDD, art. 22 — BOE.
• LAU, art. 32 — BOE; LGT, arts. 42 and 175 — BOE.
• Laundromat franchises: terms and investment — Emprendedores; revenue and payback per La Wash — merca2.
• Equipment prices — hosteleria10; business electricity — Eurostat, nrg_pc_205; water — INE.
• Laundromat sale listings — Milanuncios, October 2026.