Average hair salon revenue in the Netherlands: what the figures do and do not tell you
A large national revenue figure does not tell you what a single hair salon takes in on average. Search for the average revenue of a hair salon in the Netherlands and you mostly find industry totals, business counts and index figures. Those numbers are useful, but they measure something other than your till. In this article you will read what the Dutch figures actually measure, why a simple average per salon can be misleading, which four checks to do before comparing, and how to convert your own revenue into a measure you can fairly set against other salons or other periods.
What the national figures on hair salons measure
According to the Monitor Kerndata Kappers (2025 edition, with figures for 2024), total revenue of the Dutch hairdressing industry in 2024 was €2.33 billion. At the end of 2024, the same monitor counted 31,920 hairdressing businesses in the Netherlands, of which 26,010 were sole proprietorships: 81.5%. The full report (in Dutch) is available via the ANKO Kerndata Kappersbranche 2025.
Divide the total by the number of businesses and you get roughly €73,000 per business. The sum is arithmetically correct, but the number says little about your salon. Four out of five businesses are sole proprietorships, so the average mixes a self-employed stylist working a few days a week with a five-chair salon with staff. You also need to be sure that the revenue total and the business count cover exactly the same group and the same year.
An industry total is context, not an average per salon, and certainly not profit. Use it to understand how the industry is made up, not as a yardstick for your own ambitions.
Revenue, revenue development and revenue index: three different things
Revenue is the income from sales in a given period, in euros. Revenue development is the change between two periods. A revenue index shows that change relative to a base year set at 100. An index is therefore not an amount: an index of 120 means 20% more than in the base year, not €120.
Also check how the industry is defined. The Statistics Netherlands (CBS) series for SBI 9602 combine hairdressing and beauty treatment, so an index figure from them does not describe hair salons alone. For every statistic, look at the title and definitions first, not just the table number. A code such as table 83648NED on CBS StatLine says nothing about the content on its own; only the title and the notes tell you what is measured and whether it covers your industry.
Four checks before you set your revenue against an industry figure
1. The same period. Compare a calendar year with a calendar year, not with a quarter or a seasonal month. How to compare periods fairly within your own salon is covered in financial reports for hairdressers.
2. The same revenue definition. Is the amount including or excluding VAT? Do product sales, gift cards and chair rental count? For your accounts, revenue is usually excluding VAT.
3. The same business type. Do not set a self-employed stylist who works three days a week against a salon with staff without context. Working days, number of chairs and any chair rental determine the revenue base.
4. The same activities. Keep treatments separate from product sales and check whether the industry figure covers only hairdressers or beauty treatment as well. A salon doing lots of colour work has a different revenue pattern from one that mainly cuts.
Make your own number comparable: revenue per working day and per chair hour
A yearly total is hard to compare because every salon has a different capacity. So convert your revenue into a measure that takes the available time into account.
Revenue per working day = revenue excluding VAT ÷ number of days the salon was open.
Revenue per available chair hour = revenue excluding VAT ÷ (number of chairs × opening hours per day × working days).
A worked example: a salon turns over €6,000 excluding VAT in a month, is open 16 days and has two chairs of 8 hours. That is €375 per working day and 256 available chair hours, so about €23.44 per chair hour. If you work 20 days the next month and revenue rises to €7,000, revenue per working day actually drops to €350. The total grew, but each day earned less.
The chair hour is closely linked to your occupancy: how many of those hours were actually booked? How to calculate that is explained in calculating your hair salon occupancy rate. For a fixed set of key figures with clear definitions, see the salon KPI overview.
Revenue growth does not automatically mean more profit
More revenue can come with higher costs: more expensive products, extra staff or higher rent. A salon with lower revenue but lower costs can be in better financial shape than a busy salon with thin margins. So always judge a revenue figure alongside your expenses and your result.
How to get from daily takings to a realistic view of your profit is explained in salon revenue reporting. Concrete steps to improve your margin are in making your hair salon more profitable.
From number to decision: how to track your own salon revenue
National figures give context; your own records help you make decisions. Pick a fixed rhythm, for example monthly, and always note the same numbers: revenue excluding VAT, working days, revenue per working day and the split between treatments and products. Add anything unusual, such as holidays, a price increase or a colleague who left. A report makes a pattern visible, but it does not prove by itself what caused it.
In Salonnare, the till records every sale with the correct VAT rate. From the Starter plan, the reports show your revenue per treatment and product, per staff member and per payment method, plus how busy each day and hour is and a VAT overview; the accounting export produces files for packages such as Moneybird and e-Boekhouden. Which reports matter most is covered in salon reporting software.
The plans have a fixed monthly price: Free €0, Starter €29 and Pro €59. There is no marketplace commission on new clients, but there is a transaction fee of 0.5% (min. €0.30) on online and card payments. Start free with Salonnare and keep your own salon figures clearly organised.
Keep your own salon figures clearly organised
Till, reports and accounting export in one place. Start free and choose the plan that fits your salon later.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
Is hair salon revenue including or excluding VAT?
For your accounts, revenue is usually excluding VAT: the VAT you charge clients is passed on to the tax authorities and is not income for your salon. A receipt, on the other hand, often shows the total including VAT. So check which amount you are using before comparing figures, so you do not count collected VAT as your own revenue.
How do you calculate revenue per staff member in a hair salon?
Consistently assign each treatment to the staff member who performed it and add up each person's revenue excluding VAT over the same period. Decide in advance how you allocate shared treatments and product sales, so no sale is counted twice. You can then divide by days worked, so a part-timer can be fairly compared with a full-timer.
Why does hair salon revenue vary so much?
The number of chairs, opening days, service mix, prices and location differ from salon to salon. More than four out of five hairdressing businesses in the Netherlands are sole proprietorships, so size varies widely too. Within your own salon, price changes, promotions, cancellations and refunds can make revenue fluctuate. So look not only at the total, but also at revenue per working day.