Key numbers
5+ jugs a month is about where a bottleless cooler (about $55 a month) starts costing less than jug delivery: $64 a month at 5 jugs, $54 at 4.
Estimate26% of the bill for a typical small office (about 4 jugs a month) is delivery fees and cooler rental, not water: $13.99 of $54.15 a month.
Estimate4 jugs a month is the median for a small business on 5-gallon delivery (527 businesses gave a monthly count).
Measured$10.04 vs. $5.25 is the median posted price for a delivered jug, vs. the median that government water contracts pay.
Measured
Where bottleless starts saving money
Most of a small jug bill is fixed: a median $6.99 delivery fee and $7.00 cooler rental each month, before any water. At $10.04 per jug, 4 jugs a month costs about $54.15, just under a typical bottleless cooler (about $55 a month). At 5 jugs it's about $64.19, so from about 5 jugs a month a bottleless cooler likely costs less.
| Jugs a month | Businesses | Median jugs | Est. monthly jug cost | Costs less |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | 205 | 1 | $24.03 | Jugs |
| 3-4 | 92 | 3.5 | $49.13 | Jugs |
| 5 | 51 | 5 | $64.19 | Bottleless |
| 6-10 | 117 | 6.5 | $79.25 | Bottleless |
| 11+ | 62 | 21.25 | $227.34 | Bottleless |
Bottleless price: we use about $55 a month. Posted monthly rental prices from 12 bottleless providers had a median of $57.50 (range $35 to $80, October 2026). These are entry prices; larger units and one-time installation fees can cost more.
By state
States with 5 or more businesses in the survey. Smaller groups and responses without an address are combined in the last row.
| State | Businesses using jugs | Gave a monthly count | Median jugs a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 206 | 62 | 5 |
| Michigan | 194 | 93 | 4 |
| Virginia | 164 | 33 | 4 |
| Arizona | 158 | 60 | 4 |
| Georgia | 137 | 9 | 5 |
| Alabama | 133 | 36 | 3.5 |
| Nevada | 126 | 27 | 5 |
| Maryland | 115 | 64 | 3 |
| Kentucky | 109 | 55 | 2 |
| South Carolina | 102 | 43 | 4 |
| Florida | 84 | 11 | 4.5 |
| Illinois | 63 | 12 | 6 |
| Ohio | 36 | 17 | 2 |
| Other states and no address | 25 | 5 | 5 |
How we got these numbers
Based on GoJugFree's 2026 Office Water Survey: responses from more than 1,600 businesses using 5-gallon jugs across 13 states, plus 64 posted dealer prices and 32 government water contracts.
- Jugs per month comes from the 527 businesses that told us how many 5-gallon jugs they use a month. A range such as "2 to 3" counts as its midpoint; answers like "less than 6" are left out.
- Posted dealer prices were read from public price pages in 15 metro areas in October 2026. We requested no quotes, so national brands that only show prices after a ZIP code are not included.
- Bottleless cooler price: posted monthly rental prices from 12 bottleless providers, read from their public pages in October 2026 (median $57.50). We use about $55 a month.
- Government water contracts come from public procurement documents in 11 states. The 14 awarded since 2023 with a per-jug price set the government median. These are volume prices, so read them as a floor.
The survey covers the businesses that responded, not a random sample of US businesses. Every figure is a median; we don't publish averages.
Measured: jugs per month, posted dealer prices, delivery fees and cooler rentals, and government contract prices. Estimated: monthly jug cost (jugs × median posted price + median delivery fee and cooler rental), the fee share of the bill, and the break-even point.
GoJugFree connects businesses with vetted bottleless water providers.
Cite this index
Source: GoJugFree Office Water Cost Index, 2026 (gojugfree.com/office-water-cost-index)Charts are free to use with a link to gojugfree.com/office-water-cost-index. Journalists: see the press page for quotable stats and downloads.
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