Language school startup costs, item by item
Split the budget into one-off costs (deposit, works, furniture, setting up) and monthly costs (rent, cuota, insurance, software, teachers). The table gives a formula for each one and the amounts the law fixes.
| Cost | When you pay | How to work out yours | Fixed by law or price list |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent of the premises | Every month | Square metres x price per m² in your area | 21% VAT on top |
| Deposit (fianza) | Once, when you sign | 2 x monthly rent | 2 months' rent (LAU, article 36) |
| Works and opening paperwork | Once | Builder's quote + your town hall's fee for the declaración responsable or licence | Each town hall sets its own fee |
| Furniture and equipment | Once | Classrooms x (tables, chairs, board, screen) | No fixed amount |
| Setting up an SL (optional) | Once | Capital + notary + Registro Mercantil + gestor | Capital from 1 €; set fees if you set it up online through CIRCE |
| Cuota de autónomos | Every month | Your band, by net income | €205.88 to €607.35 in 2026 |
| Liability insurance | Every year | Quotes from 2 or 3 insurers | No fixed amount |
| Gestor (tax and payroll) | Every month | A quote based on your number of teachers | No fixed amount |
| School software | Every month | Teachers x price per teacher | SmartCookie Teams: €19 per teacher for the first 3, before VAT |
| Launch marketing | Once, then monthly | Your launch plan: ads, flyers, an open day | No fixed amount |
| Teachers' pay | Every month | Hours x salary in the collective agreement + employer's Social Security | Salary tables in the X Convenio de enseñanza y formación no reglada |
| Cash until you break even | Before you open | Fixed monthly costs x months until you break even | No fixed amount |
Add VAT to every quote before you compare them. If your lessons are VAT-exempt, that VAT is part of the cost (next section).
If you haven't been registered as autónomo in the last two years, you pay a reduced cuota for your first 12 months (Ley 20/2007, article 38 ter). The state budget sets the amount each year, so ask your gestor for this year's figure.
Why VAT is a real cost for most academies
When your lessons are VAT-exempt, you don't charge VAT, but you can't deduct the VAT you pay either. The 21% on rent, works and furniture stays as a cost.
The VAT law only lets you deduct the VAT you pay on purchases you use for operations that are subject to VAT and not exempt (article 94). Language lessons from an "authorised private entity" are exempt under article 20.Uno.9º, so an academy in that case can't recover the 21% general rate it pays on its rent.
Whether your academy counts as authorised is a question for your gestor, and our guide to VAT on language lessons goes through the cases. Either way, budget with VAT included: if it turns out you can deduct it, you'll have a cushion.
Work out your own budget in 4 steps
Add up the one-off costs, then your fixed monthly costs, and multiply those by the months you expect before enough students pay them. The total is the money you need before you open.
- 1
Add up the one-off costs
Deposit, works, opening paperwork, furniture, setting up the company and launch marketing. Use real quotes, with VAT included.
- 2
Add up the fixed monthly costs
Rent with VAT, cuota de autónomos, insurance divided by 12, gestor, software and any salaries you pay whatever happens.
- 3
Work out your break-even
Divide your fixed monthly costs by what one student pays you a month. The result is how many students you need just to cover costs.
- 4
Add the cash for the first months
Estimate how many months it will take to reach that number of students, multiply them by your fixed monthly costs and add the result to the one-off total.
To try different prices and numbers of lessons, use our tutoring business plan, and read our guide to language school fees before you set yours.
How to open a language school for less
Spend on what students see and use, and leave the rest for later. These are the usual ways to make the first budget smaller without skipping any rule.
- Start as autónomo and move to an SL once the numbers work: you skip the notary and the Registro Mercantil at the start.
- Choose premises that need little work: works that need a building project also need a licence, which takes longer and costs more.
- Rent classrooms by the hour in another centre, or start online, until you have enough students to fill a place of your own.
- Buy second-hand furniture and screens, and add classrooms as groups fill up.
- Hire teachers one at a time, as groups fill, instead of a full staff for the first term.
For the order to do things in, follow our guide to starting a language school, and check the legal requirements before you sign a lease.
Know your numbers from the first enrolment
With SmartCookie Teams, each teacher has their own timetable and students, and you see attendance and payments for the whole school in one place.