Cost of opening a hair salon

"How much does it cost to open a hair salon?" This question returns with every idea for your own premises, and the honest answer is: it depends on the premises more than on the chair. Chairs, clippers and a neon sign in the window are the visible part of the budget. Underneath are the refurbishment, formalities, the cash register, contributions and the months when there are still few clients. This article will not give you a single figure. It will give you a list of expenses, a few numbers that come from the legislation and a simple way to build your own hair salon business plan. The whole sequence of steps is described in the article on opening a barbershop step by step.

Key takeaways

• The biggest item is usually the refurbishment of the premises, not the equipment. Our rough estimates run from about PLN 40,000 for a small one-person salon to PLN 150,000 and more for a larger one.
• Some costs come from the legislation: the cash register, the ability to pay by card, medical examinations of employees, and possibly an expert opinion when the use of the premises changes.
• Entry in CEIDG (the Polish Central Register and Information on Business Activity) is free of charge. You can partly deduct the first cash register purchase: up to 90 percent of the net price, no more than PLN 700.
• A person starting a business for the first time is entitled to 6 months without compulsory social security contributions. ZUS (the Polish social insurance institution) amounts change every year, so check them at zus.pl.
• A business plan is a calculation: start-up costs, fixed costs, revenue from one chair and the break-even point. Plus a reserve for a lean first quarter.

How much it costs to open a hair salon: list of expenses

The table below arranges the expenses in the order in which they usually appear. The column with ranges contains our estimates from the article on opening a barbershop. They are not data from the legislation or from price lists, so treat them as a starting point for your own quote requests.

Item	What it depends on	Approximately (our estimate)
Refurbishment of the premises	condition of the premises, water installations, ventilation, finishing	from PLN 15,000 to 80,000 and more
Barber chair	brand, adjustability, number of stations	PLN 1,500 - 8,000 each
Clippers, scissors, razors	quality of tools, number of sets	PLN 2,000 - 5,000
Steriliser or autoclave	capacity, class of device	PLN 1,000 - 4,000
Cash register	model, servicing	PLN 800 - 2,000
Sanitary documentation	scope, your own work or ready-made templates	see the package price list

The ranges show why the number of chairs alone says nothing about the budget. A salon in premises that already have water, ventilation and washable floors will land in the lower part of the scale. Premises "to be finished from scratch" can swallow more than all the equipment.

Premises and refurbishment

Start with the question of what the premises lack, before you sign the lease. A hand-washing basin, a separate tool-washing station, washable surfaces and ventilation are expenses that are hard to reverse. We describe the specific requirements in the article on the premises requirements for a barbershop and on water and ventilation in a salon.

There is also a cost that beginners rarely remember. If starting the business changes the way the premises are used, for example premises that were residential or office until now, you must notify the architectural and building administration authority (Article 71(2) of the Construction Law). The notification is accompanied, among other things, by a certificate of conformity with the local spatial development plan or a decision on development conditions, and, where the change affects hygiene and sanitary conditions, also a technical expert opinion prepared by a person with building qualifications (paragraph 2, points 4 and 5). We do not know how much you will pay for this in your city. We do know that such an item may appear, so ask about it before renting.

Equipment and tools

This is where it is easiest to overpay, or to save in the wrong place. A few rules:

• Buy good working tools and disinfection equipment, and save on decorative extras. Tools wear out faster than mirrors.
• Count your stock of tools by the number of clients, not by the number of barbers. A clean set must be ready while the previous one is being disinfected.
• Before you buy an autoclave, check that it fits your procedure.
• Ask about servicing and the availability of parts. A cheap register or steriliser without servicing costs more later.

Documentation, notifications and formalities

The good news: registration itself costs nothing. The application for entry in CEIDG is free of charge (Article 13 of the CEIDG Act). How to choose the codes is described in the article on the PKD code for a hairdresser and barber.

The cost arises elsewhere:

• Sanitary procedures. Anyone who performs activities that breach the continuity of tissues must introduce and apply procedures protecting against infections (Article 16(1) and (2) of the Act on preventing infections). You can write them yourself, commission them or base them on ready-made templates. At your request the sanitary inspector will give an opinion on the procedures (Article 16(3)). We did not check whether the station charges a fee for this.
• Employee examinations. Initial medical examinations of people taken on for work are done at the employer's expense (Article 229 § 1 and 6 of the Labour Code). The costs of sanitary and epidemiological examinations of people doing work with a possibility of transmitting infection are borne by the employer or the commissioning party (Article 8(4) of the Act on preventing infections). With your first employee, add these items to the budget; the list of documents is in the article on the first employee's documents.
• Salon documentation. Disinfection procedures, registers, GDPR consents.

Fixed costs of the first months

Monthly costs run regardless of the number of clients. The most important:

• Rent and utilities. Usually the largest fixed item.
• ZUS contributions. An entrepreneur who starts a business for the first time, or returns after a break of at least 60 months and does not work for a former employer in the same scope, is not subject to compulsory social insurance for 6 months from starting the business (Article 18 of the Entrepreneurs' Law). The provision speaks of social insurance and does not settle the health insurance contribution. Check the current amounts on the ZUS website.
• Bookkeeping. The price depends on the form of taxation and the number of documents.
• Cash register and terminal. Sales to private individuals are recorded on a cash register (Article 111(1) of the VAT Act), and hairdressing services are not covered by the exemption (section 4(1)(2)(j) of the Minister of Finance regulation of 17 December 2024). For the first purchase of a register you deduct 90 percent of the net price, no more than PLN 700, provided you buy it within 6 months of starting to record sales (Article 111(4)). An entrepreneur must also ensure the possibility of payment with a payment instrument at the place of business, and the exception applies only to those who are not obliged to have a register (Article 19a of the Entrepreneurs' Law). We read this as meaning that a card terminal must be added. More about the register in the article on the fiscal cash register in a barbershop.
• Civil liability (OC) insurance. We describe it in the article on barbershop OC insurance. We did not check whether any provision obliges a hair salon to buy it.
• Stock of cosmetics, disposable materials, disinfectants.
• Online booking and marketing.

Hair salon business plan: which items to include

You do not file a business plan for the CEIDG entry, because the scope of data in the entry is set by Article 5 of the CEIDG Act. You write the business plan for yourself, and sometimes for a bank, a partner or a grant programme. We did not check grant programmes because they change quickly. A good salon plan fits on a few pages and has five parts:

1. Assumptions. Number of stations, working hours, range of services, client group.
2. Start-up costs. The table from this article, completed with your own quotes.
3. Monthly fixed costs. Rent, utilities, contributions, bookkeeping, software, insurance.
4. Revenue from one chair. Number of visits per day times the average price, times working days, with realistic occupancy.
5. Break-even point. Fixed costs divided by the average profit from one visit, that is, the price minus the cost of materials.

The result of the last calculation tells you how many visits per month you need to break even. If that number exceeds what one chair can handle, change the model: add a station, raise the price or lower the fixed costs. If you are considering working with other barbers who run their own businesses, also take the chair rental model (booth rental) into account, because it changes the structure of revenue and costs.

Where it is easiest to go over budget

1. A refurbishment bigger than the cost estimate assumed, because the installation turns out to need replacing.
2. Rent paid for months before opening, when the renovation drags on.
3. Equipment bought before checking that the premises suit it.
4. No reserve for the first quarter, when a stable client base is only being built.
5. Overlooking "hidden" items: the terminal, register servicing, employee examinations, the expert opinion on a change of use.

If you plan to start in your own flat, some of these costs fall away and others appear. Check the requirements for a hair salon at home. And once the premises are chosen, the article on arranging a salon with Sanepid (the Polish sanitary inspectorate) in mind will help.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to open a hair salon in 2026?

From our estimates, not from the legislation, it comes to about PLN 40,000 for a small one-person salon and PLN 150,000 and more for a larger one with several stations. The biggest item is usually the refurbishment of the premises.

Does registering the business cost anything?

No. The application for entry in CEIDG is free of charge (Article 13 of the CEIDG Act). Costs appear further on: premises, equipment, register, contributions.

Can I deduct the purchase of a fiscal cash register?

For the first purchase you can deduct 90 percent of the net price, no more than PLN 700 per register, if you buy it within 6 months of starting to record sales (Article 111(4) of the VAT Act). If you end the business within 3 years, the deducted amount must be returned (paragraph 6).

Do I need a business plan to open a salon?

Not for registration in CEIDG. A business plan is a tool for you, a bank or a grant programme. Even without a requirement, it is worth working out the start-up costs, fixed costs and break-even point.

Do I have to pay ZUS contributions in the first months?

If you meet the conditions of Article 18 of the Entrepreneurs' Law, you are not subject to compulsory social insurance for 6 months from starting the business. That provision does not settle the health insurance contribution, and you should check the contribution amounts with ZUS.

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Legal status as of: 2 November 2026
Legal basis: CEIDG Act of 6 March 2018 (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026, item 30; Article 5, Article 13); Entrepreneurs' Law of 6 March 2018 (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2025, item 1480; Article 18, Article 19a); VAT Act (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026, item 1263; Article 111(1), (4) and (6)); Minister of Finance regulation of 17 December 2024 on exemptions from recording sales on cash registers (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1902; section 4(1)(2)(j)); Act of 5 December 2008 on preventing and combating infections and infectious diseases in humans (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2025, item 1675; Article 8(4), Article 16); Labour Code (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026, item 1245; Article 229 § 1 and 6); Construction Law (consolidated text Journal of Laws 2026, item 524; Article 71(1)(2) and (2)). The cost ranges in the table and in the FAQ are our estimates, not data from the legislation or from price lists on the review date. We did not check ZUS contribution amounts, forms of taxation, any obligation to buy OC insurance, fees for the opinion of the sanitary and epidemiological station, fees for notifying a change of use, grant programmes or the changes to the Construction Law from July 2026. This text is not legal or financial advice.
Last review: 2 November 2026