Freeze dryer business calculator
Batches a week, output, costs, margin and payback for a freeze-dried candy or food business, on one machine or several. Change any number and the result updates; the address bar keeps your inputs, so you can bookmark or share a result.
How the calculator works
Candy. Output per batch is tray area times how densely you load it. At 14.4 oz of finished candy per square foot, a single layer of Skittles-size pieces with room to puff, the 5-Shelf makes about 80 oz a batch, the 7-Shelf 112, the Large 128 and the Mega 173. Candy loses very little weight drying, so the candy you buy is close to the candy you sell. Electricity assumes one hour of chilling at the compressor’s draw and the rest of the cycle at the machine’s average drying draw. Batches a week are limited by the hours someone is there to unload and reload, with half an hour between batches.
Food. A batch is freezing, then main drying, then final dry:
- Freezing: 8 hours on the 5- and 7-Shelf, 10 on the Large and 12 on the Mega for an average fresh load, scaled with the load, at least 2. Food that goes in frozen starts drying after about 2 hours.
- Main drying: the water in the load divided by the machine’s drying rate, set at the middle of the published range: 16 to 30 hours for 8 lb on the 5- and 7-Shelf, and 20 to 40 hours for 20 lb on the Large and Mega.
- Final dry: 5, 9 or 12 hours for a small, medium or large load, and at least 10 hours for sugary fruit.
Machines run around the clock with two hours between batches to defrost, clean and reload. Dry output is the solids left after the water goes, plus about 3% residual moisture.
Power and upkeep. Average draw while drying is about 950 W on the 5- and 7-Shelf, 1,200 W on the Large and 1,400 W on the Mega; while freezing, 400, 550 and 600 W. Pump oil and filters average about $1.08 a batch on the Commercial pump and $1.14 on the Mega’s. These are Stay Fresh’s own figures.
Prices come from the live catalog, checked November 12, 2026.
What it leaves out
- Rent, insurance, licenses and permits
- Payment processing and marketplace fees
- Unsold stock, samples and spoiled batches
- Electrical work for a dedicated circuit
- Spare trays, a freezer for pre-freezing, and a sealer upgrade
- Taxes
It also assumes every package you list sells. For most new businesses, that’s the optimistic number. If you can’t yet say how many packages you’ll sell a week, start with a smaller machine; our guide to whether you need a commercial freeze dryer explains why.
Before you sell anything, check what your state allows.
Calculator questions
Why does the Mega make only a little more fruit a week than the Large?
The Large and Mega share a published drying rate, so a Mega’s bigger load mostly means a longer cycle. On wet food it runs about 1.8 batches a week to the Large’s 2.5. The Mega pulls ahead on candy and bulky, low-moisture loads, where tray area and headroom are the limits.
Why use the middle of the drying range rather than the fast end?
Because a business plan built on the fast end comes up short. Dense, sugary or thick food dries slower than thin slices, and your first batches of a new product will too.
Can I trust the payback number?
Only as far as your sales estimate. The calculator assumes every package sells at your price. Use a number you’ve proven, at a market or online, not a hope.
Need a written quote?
Buying two or more machines, shipping outside the US, or need a quote for a purchase order? Send the details and we’ll reply with a written quote.