State of Vending Operators, Q4 2026

VendBuddy is where vending operators look for locations, reach the people who approve them, and track the deals. This report is what that activity looks like when you add it all up. We publish it every quarter, and every figure on this page carries its own sample size.

Key findings

• The location types operators search for most: office buildings (7%), manufacturing and warehouses (3%), apartment complexes (2%).
• 65% of searches did not filter by location type at all, which usually means the operator is still working out what to go after.
• The most-searched state was California, with 13% of searches that resolved to a state.
• The largest group of operators is based in Florida (10%).
• New operators got their first lead in a median of under a minute; 94% had one within a day of signing up.

What operators search for

Every Lead Finder search starts with a ZIP code and, usually, a type of location. Across 1,385 searches from 344 operators in the 90 days to October 8, 2026, this is how those searches split.

Updated October 8, 2026.

If you want to see what these look like around your own ZIP, VendBuddy's Lead Finder runs the same search operators ran here.

Where the activity is

States where operators searched most. States with fewer than 20 searching operators are counted in the total but not named.

Updated October 8, 2026.

Where operators themselves are based, from the ZIP on their profile. States with fewer than 20 operators are counted in the total but not named.

Updated October 8, 2026.

How fast new operators get a first lead

We measured the time between creating an account and the first location lead the account received, for every operator who has had one.

Updated October 8, 2026.

How good the contacts are

A lead is only useful if you can reach the person who says yes.

Updated October 8, 2026.

Under review: a rate here came out at exactly 100% on n=55, which usually means a data problem rather than a real result. It is not used in the headlines or key findings until it has been checked.

What we left out this quarter

Some numbers did not have enough data behind them yet. Rather than publish a figure that could swing on a handful of accounts, we held them back:

• Pipeline: from saved lead to a placed machine: Only 1 of 73 operators have moved a pipeline card past the first column, so stage rates would mostly measure whether people update the board, not how deals go. Left out until at least 20 operators use the stages.
• Operations: machines and service visits: Fewer than 20 operators in the data this quarter (n=0), so this is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
• Monthly revenue goals operators set: Fewer than 20 respondents in the data this quarter (n=0), so this is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
• Biggest challenges operators name: Fewer than 20 respondents in the data this quarter (n=0), so this is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
• Machines operated at signup: Fewer than 20 respondents in the data this quarter (n=0), so this is left out rather than shown on a thin sample.
• Marketplace asking prices: No listing type had 20 or more priced listings (n=11 across all types), so asking prices are left out.

Methodology

Everything here comes from activity on VendBuddy itself: Lead Finder searches, contacts operators unlocked, the pipeline stages they set, the answers they gave when they signed up, marketplace listings, and the machines and visits logged in the Operations tools. It describes the operators who use VendBuddy, not the whole vending industry.

• Dates. Snapshot taken October 8, 2026 (Q4 2026). Searches and unlocked contacts cover the 90 days from July 10, 2026 to October 8, 2026. Signup answers, pipeline stages and time to first lead cover every account up to the snapshot date. Visit intervals use the last 180 days.
• Who is counted. 628 operator accounts. We exclude VendBuddy staff and admin accounts, test and throwaway accounts, and accounts flagged for abuse (13 in total).
• Minimum sample. A number is only published when at least 20 accounts (or, for audits and listings, 20 leads or listings) stand behind it. A state is only named when 20 or more operators are in it. Inside a table, any answer given by fewer than 5 accounts is folded into "Other".
• Privacy. The report is built from aggregate counts only. No names, emails, business names or ZIP codes are stored in the snapshot or shown here.
• Definitions. Street-address coverage comes from VendBuddy's own lead-accuracy audit, which checks served leads against Google Places. Pipeline stages are self-reported. Percentages are rounded to whole numbers.
• Schedule. We publish a new snapshot every quarter and update this page in place. The date at the top is always the date of the numbers.

Related: vending machine profit margins across 664 real products and how to find vending machine locations.