Cost to Start a Home Staging Business (Free Calculator)
You can start a home staging business for as little as $1,150–$1,980 with an accessory inventory and consultation tools, enough to start occupied-home staging and design walkthroughs. A full-time solo setup with real vacant-home furniture inventory runs about $9,500–$15,700, and a warehouse-and-truck setup for running multiple vacant listings pushes it to $40,000+. Use the calculator below to build your own number.
Build your home staging startup budget
Pick a budget tier, edit any price to match your market, and see your real startup cost, monthly overhead, and how many projects it takes to break even. No signup, no email.
A small kit of accessories (art, throw pillows, small decor) for occupied-home staging, plus a consultation report template — enough to start selling design walkthroughs.
Supplies & materials
Licensing & setup
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Licensing & setup
Branding & marketing
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Equipment
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Vehicle
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The honest range: $1,150 to $40,000+
Home staging’s range on “how much does it cost to start” comes down to occupied versus vacant — occupied-home consultations and light accessory staging need only a small kit; vacant-home staging, where the real recurring revenue is, requires actual furniture inventory.
Most stagers start with consultations and accessories, then build furniture inventory once vacant-home bookings become steady.
Tier 1 — Bootstrap (~$1,150–$1,980)
An accessory inventory (art, pillows, small decor), a small storage unit, and consultation report tools — enough to start occupied-home staging and design walkthroughs.
- Accessory inventory (~$800) — the core kit for occupied staging
- Small storage unit (~$100) — for starter inventory
- Consultation report tools (~$100) — the deliverable clients pay for
Tier 2 — Serious Solo (~$9,500–$15,700)
The upgrade that changes the business is real furniture inventory for vacant-home jobs — sofas, dining sets, bedroom staging — which is where the higher-paying, recurring side of the trade lives.
Tier 3 — Pro Rig ($40,000+)
A dedicated warehouse and a moving truck let you run multiple vacant-home stagings at once instead of renting a storage unit and hiring movers per job.
Don’t forget the monthly number
Startup cost is the one-time hit; monthly overhead against what you charge decides whether the business works. Solo, budget roughly $270–$480/month: storage rental, fuel, and general liability plus inventory insurance, plus booking/invoicing software. At a $2,000 average project, covering $350 of overhead takes well under one project.
The calculator turns that into a single line: how many projects it takes to break even.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start a home staging business?
A lean start is $1,150–$1,980 with an accessory inventory (art, pillows, small decor), a small storage unit, and consultation report tools — enough to start occupied-home staging. A full-time solo setup with real vacant-home furniture inventory runs $9,500–$15,700.
Can you start home staging without furniture inventory?
Yes — occupied-home consultations and light accessory staging need only a small kit. Vacant-home staging, where the real recurring revenue lives, requires actual furniture inventory (sofas, dining sets, bedroom staging), which is the Serious Solo-tier investment.
What equipment do you need to start home staging?
The non-negotiables are an accessory inventory and a storage unit. Full furniture inventory for vacant homes is the biggest single cost in the trade. A warehouse and moving truck become worth it once you're running multiple vacant stagings at once.
What are the ongoing monthly costs of a home staging business?
Budget roughly $270–$480 a month solo: fuel, storage unit rental ($60–$180), and general liability plus inventory insurance ($45–$120), plus booking/invoicing software.
Is a home staging business profitable?
Yes — a vacant home commonly runs $1,500–$3,500 for the first month, with lower monthlies after. At a $2,000 average project, the Bootstrap tier pays for itself in about 1 project, and each staged home generates a rental-cost-recovery track for the inventory.