Play area setup cost and break-even calculator
Planning to open a small kids play area? Put in your space, your costs and your prices. The calculator adds up the setup cost and the monthly profit, and shows how many months it takes to earn the setup cost back.
These are estimates, not a promise. Get at least three quotes for the equipment, ask the landlord for past electricity bills, and check every number before you sign anything. For the full budget, step by step, read our setup-cost guide.
1. Your space
Everything: entry desk, shoe racks, parent seating, toilets and play area.
Only the part with equipment and mats. Equipment is priced on this part, not the whole floor.
2. Setup cost (one time)
Supplier listings, Oct 2026: ₹800–1,500 per sq ft. ₹1,000 is the example in our setup-cost guide.
EVA mats on supplier listings, Oct 2026: ₹60–84 per sq ft. We start at the top of the range.
Deposits vary a lot. Ask the landlord.
From your contractor.
Ask your municipality and fire department, and a fire-safety supplier for extinguishers and signs.
PlayOps setup: ₹0. There is no setup fee.
3. Monthly running costs
From the landlord.
Our setup-cost guide: one person at the desk and one on the floor, for two shifts.
Your local wage.
Air conditioning is often the largest part. Ask the landlord for the last few bills.
Mats and nets wear out. Keep some money aside.
4. Children and prices
Be careful here. A play area is not busy all day. In our study of 185 play centres, every day was busiest at 7 pm, and the evening was about twice as busy as the morning. See when a play centre is actually busy.
The total for the whole day. To guess, visit two play areas near you on a weekday evening and count the children.
The total for the whole day. Count again on a weekend.
First hour on seven real rate cards, Sep 2026: ₹179–499. ₹280 is the middle card. Source
All seven rate cards start with one child, one hour. Source
Optional. Leave it blank if you are not sure.
We count every hour at the price of one hour. If your extra time is cheaper, lower the price a little.
Your result
To see your profit and break-even, fill in: play area, rent, staff pay, electricity and water, weekday children and weekend children.
- Setup cost (one time)
- —
- Income per month
- —
- Running cost per month
- —
- Profit per month
- —
- Not added yet: rent deposit, interiors, licences and repairs. They count as ₹0 above.
- Now change one number at a time. What if fewer children come on a weekday? What if the rent goes up? If a small change breaks the plan, the plan is too tight.
Opening soon?
PlayOps runs the front desk from your phone: admit a child in one tap, a timer for every child, UPI or cash, and a day-end report. Set it up before your opening day, or ask us a question on WhatsApp.
One month of the full Growth plan, free. No card.
How the calculator works
- Setup cost = play area × equipment price + play area × mat price + deposit + interiors + licences and fire safety. PlayOps has no setup fee.
- Income per month = children × (hours × price of one hour + add-ons), for an average month of 21.7 weekdays and 8.7 weekend days.
- Running cost per month = rent + staff × pay + electricity and water + cleaning and repairs + the PlayOps plan.
- Break-even = setup cost ÷ (income − running cost). We round up to a whole month. If the running cost is as large as the income, the play area does not break even.
- All numbers are before tax. Ask your accountant about GST.
Where the starting numbers come from
We fill in only the numbers we have published. Rent, wages, electricity and the number of children change a lot from place to place, so you put in your own.
- Play equipment, ₹1,000 per sq ft: Indian supplier listings showed ₹800–1,500 per sq ft in October 2026 (setup-cost guide).
- Safety mats, ₹84 per sq ft: EVA mats were listed at ₹60–84 per sq ft. We use the top of the range.
- 4 staff: one person at the desk and one on the floor, for two shifts.
- ₹280 for one hour: the middle of seven real rate cards, where the first hour costs ₹179–499.