Compare the top plumbing franchises for 2026 — Mr. Rooter, Roto-Rooter, Benjamin Franklin, RooterMan, Zoom Drain, bluefrog — on FDD investment, fees, royalty, and Item 19.
Quick answer Plumbing franchises run $45,075 to $570,500 in total investment. RooterMan is cheapest at $45,075 with a $4,975 fee and 517 franchised units. Mr. Rooter reports the highest median revenue at $1,257,146 across 193 units per the 2026 FDD, against a $152,900 to $298,675 investment range.
Plumbing is the most recession-resistant service category in franchising and the one with the widest gap between what buyers expect to spend and what the current FDDs actually require. Below is every plumbing and drain franchise in our database with meaningful system depth, compared on total investment, fees, royalty load, and disclosed Item 19.
| Brand | Total Investment (Item 7) | Franchise Fee | Royalty | Item 19 Revenue | Franchised Units | FDD Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RooterMan | $45,075–$82,475 | $4,975 | $3 per 1,000 territory population + 2% ad fund | None disclosed | 517 | 2026 |
| Benjamin Franklin Plumbing | $143,273–$286,702 | $0 listed, see note | 6% + 0.75–1.5% tiered ad fund | $610,560 median (373 territories) | 399 | 2026 |
| Roto-Rooter | $123,110–$281,550 | $25,000 | Not disclosed in extract | None disclosed | 333 | 2026 |
| Mr. Rooter Plumbing | $152,900–$298,675 | $42,500 | 6% + 2% ad fund | $1,257,146 median (193 units) | 238 | 2026 |
| Zoom Drain | $266,250–$570,500 | $54,500 | 6% + 2% ad fund | $518,781 median (52 units) | 163 | 2026 |
| 1 Tom Plumber | $238,307–$454,248 | $49,000 | 6% + 2% ad fund | $1,334,236 median (35 territories) | 56 | 2026 |
| Z PLUMBERZ | $264,670–$426,710 | $44,900 | 6% above a $2M sales threshold + 2% | Thin, 11 reporting units | 46 | 2026 |
| bluefrog Plumbing + Drain | $144,498–$345,648 | $59,900 | 4.0–6.0% + 2% ad fund | $918,708 average (10 units) | 43 | 2026 |
A note on Benjamin Franklin’s fee: the 2026 FDD extraction returns a $0 initial franchise fee, which reflects the Neighborly SPE structure rather than a free license. Confirm the actual signing consideration and territory purchase terms directly with the franchise development team, and read Item 5 alongside Item 7 before you model it.
Total investment runs $45,075 to $570,500. The spread is wider than any other home services category because plumbing brands differ on whether Item 7 assumes one truck or a full initial fleet.
A realistic single-truck cost stack beyond the franchise fee:
That equipment load is why the honest floor for a national-brand plumbing launch sits well above the Item 7 minimum at most brands. RooterMan’s $45,075 low end assumes a lean owner-operator start, not a dispatch operation with a hired master plumber.
Customers rarely defer plumbing emergencies. A leaking water heater, a backed-up sewer line, or a frozen pipe demands service regardless of the economy. Average residential tickets run $280 to $650 per call, with emergency calls commanding $400 to $900 premiums. Commercial projects scale to $2,000 to $25,000.
The structural constraint is labor. Skilled plumber supply is genuinely scarce, the existing workforce is aging, and apprenticeship pipelines have not kept pace with retirement attrition. That scarcity is a moat for franchises with real recruiting infrastructure and a trap for buyers without a concrete plan to hire and retain technicians. It is the single most common reason a plumbing franchise lands in the bottom quartile.
Mr. Rooter Plumbing is the Neighborly-owned brand and the most-searched name in plumbing franchising. Per the 2026 FDD, total investment is $152,900 to $298,675 with a $42,500 franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, and a 2% ad fund contribution, across 238 franchised units.
The Item 19 is the strongest disclosure in the category. Across 193 franchised businesses in operation a full 52 weeks during calendar year 2025, Mr. Rooter reports a $1,257,146 median, a $288,402 25th percentile, and a $5,243,078 75th percentile. Read that spread carefully. An 18x gap between quartiles does not mean top operators are 18 times better. It means the top of the distribution is populated by owners running multiple territories and large truck fleets, while the bottom quartile is single-truck operations still building dispatch volume.
For modeling, the $288,402 25th percentile is your Year 1 to Year 2 reality on one truck. The $1,257,146 median is a 3-to-4-truck operation. Anything near the 75th percentile assumes multi-territory ownership. Note also that the older figure circulating for Mr. Rooter’s entry cost, around $74,855, is out of date; the 2026 FDD floor is more than double that.
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is the second-largest plumbing system in our database at 399 franchised units plus 10 company-owned. Total investment is $143,273 to $286,702 per the 2026 FDD, with a 6% royalty and a tiered ad fund that steps down from 1.5% to 0.75% as revenue grows. That declining ad fund is unusual and genuinely favorable at scale.
The Item 19 covers 373 franchised territories in operation the entire fiscal year 2025, reporting a $610,560 median with a $180,555 25th percentile and a $1,736,066 75th percentile. A 373-unit reporting cohort out of 399 franchised units is close to full-system disclosure, which is the mark of an honest Item 19.
Compare Benjamin Franklin’s $610,560 median against Mr. Rooter’s $1,257,146 and the difference looks stark. Some of it reflects territory sizing and how each system counts a unit. Ask both franchise development teams directly how a territory is defined and how many territories a typical top-quartile owner holds, because that definition explains most of the gap.
Roto-Rooter is widely described as effectively closed to new franchisees, requiring multi-million-dollar acquisitions of existing operations. The 2026 FDD says otherwise: total investment of $123,110 to $281,550, a $25,000 franchise fee, and 333 franchised units, with the brand founded in 1936.
That is the second-lowest entry cost among the national brands and the lowest franchise fee outside RooterMan. Two caveats matter. First, Roto-Rooter discloses no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-published revenue benchmark to model against. Second, the royalty structure was not captured in our extraction, which means you must read Item 6 yourself rather than assume the 6% category norm.
A national brand with 333 franchised units, a low entry cost, and no Item 19 is a validation-heavy proposition. Call 10 franchisees before you consider it, and get their revenue in writing.
Zoom Drain is the largest dedicated drain and sewer franchise at 163 franchised units. Total investment is $266,250 to $570,500 with a $54,500 franchise fee, a 6% royalty, and a 2% ad fund per the 2026 FDD.
The Item 19 covers all franchised units for calendar year 2025 and reports a $518,781 median with a $182,498 25th percentile and an $886,499 75th percentile across 52 reporting units. That is a tighter distribution than the full-service brands, which is what you would expect from a narrower service mix. Less upside, less variance.
The strategic case for a drain specialist over full-service plumbing is operational simplicity. Drain and sewer work needs fewer licensed plumbers, has more standardized pricing, and carries higher-margin equipment-driven services like hydro jetting and camera inspection. The case against it is the ceiling: you cannot upsell a water heater replacement or a repipe.
1 Tom Plumber reports the highest median in the category at $1,334,236 across 35 franchised territories operating the entire 2025 accounting period, with a $378,039 25th percentile and a $4,234,976 75th percentile. Total investment is $238,307 to $454,248 with a $49,000 franchise fee and 6% plus 2%, across 56 franchised units. A 35-unit sample is small enough that one or two large operators move the median, so weight franchisee calls heavily here.
bluefrog Plumbing + Drain runs $144,498 to $345,648 with a $59,900 franchise fee, a 4.0% to 6.0% royalty, and a 2% ad fund, across 43 franchised units. Its Item 19 reports a $918,708 average across just 10 franchised units operating the full 2025 calendar year. Ten units is a signal, not a benchmark. Note also that bluefrog’s investment floor is roughly two and a half times the $58,500 figure that older comparisons cite.
Z PLUMBERZ runs $264,670 to $426,710 with a $44,900 fee across 46 franchised units and 6 company-owned. Its royalty is structured around a $2,000,000 annual sales threshold, which is an unusual clause worth reading closely. The Item 19 covers only 11 reporting locations with a $48,285 figure at the low end of the distribution, which is too thin to model against.
Growth-stage brands work for owners willing to accept less mature systems in exchange for territory access. Validation should focus on franchisee retention, support quality in the first two years, and whether the brand’s unit growth is net positive.
💼 Validate any plumbing franchise FDD before signing. Our $49 brand reports surface the full Item 19 distribution, technician retention data, and territory-fill timelines that brochures gloss over. See available plumbing franchise reports →
The quartile data in this category makes the argument better than any pro forma. Mr. Rooter’s 25th percentile is $288,402 and its median is $1,257,146. That 4.4x gap is almost entirely truck count.
Single-truck plumbing franchise economics rarely justify the capital relative to running an independent operation. The fee and royalty structure pays back when scale produces operational leverage. The threshold sits at roughly 3 trucks, where:
Model 3 to 5 trucks by Year 3 and verify your territory population and capital plan support it. Hiring is the binding constraint and is covered in franchise employee hiring management guide.
For head-to-head brand analysis, see mr rooter vs roto rooter franchise. For method on converting these Item 19 disclosures into a defensible model, see build pro forma from Item 19 and franchise unit economics analysis. Buyers comparing plumbing against adjacent categories should pair this with the home services franchise guide 2026, best home services franchises under 100k, and best garage door franchises.
If you want the best-validated economics in the category, Mr. Rooter reports a $1,257,146 median across 193 units on $152,900 to $298,675 of investment. Model against the $288,402 25th percentile for Year 1, not the median.
If you want the deepest disclosure and a declining ad fund, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing publishes an Item 19 covering 373 of its 399 franchised territories at a $610,560 median. Clarify the initial fee structure before you sign.
If capital is the binding constraint, RooterMan at $45,075 to $82,475 with a $4,975 fee and 517 franchised units is the only genuinely low-cost entry in national plumbing. Understand that the population-based royalty and per-technician technology fee behave very differently from a percentage of sales.
If you want operational simplicity over revenue ceiling, Zoom Drain at 163 units and a $518,781 median is the drain specialist with the tightest distribution.
If you are drawn to Roto-Rooter’s brand recognition, the entry cost is more accessible than its reputation suggests, but the absence of any Item 19 means every revenue assumption has to come from franchisee validation.
Whatever brand you pick, the pattern holds: hire a strong master plumber as technical lead, own operations and sales yourself, scale to 3 to 5 trucks by Year 3, and treat technician recruiting as a permanent priority. The franchises that work here are the ones where the owner builds a business, not the ones where the owner becomes the plumber.
Heating and cooling is the adjacent trade most plumbing buyers also evaluate. We cover it in best HVAC franchises, where only two systems disclose meaningful Item 19 data.
Get the full 12-section FDD analysis — $49
Real franchise data, real Item 19 numbers, personalized to your capital and location. Comparing 2–3 brands? The 3-pack is $99.
Browse franchises · pick your brand Or see a real sample report →
The only franchise report written entirely for the buyer. 12 sections covering financial risks, legal obligations, and a personalized recommendation.
Browse Franchise Library See a real sample report →
$49 per brand · $99 for a 3-brand pack
best plumbing franchises 2026plumbing franchise costplumbing franchise opportunitiesmr rooter franchise costroto rooter franchise costbenjamin franklin plumbing franchiserooterman franchiseplumbing franchise income
About this analysis The franchise data in this article is drawn from VetMyFranchise's structured analysis of 2,300+ Franchise Disclosure Documents filed with U.S. state regulators. See our data & methodology.
Total investment runs $45,075 to $570,500 across the verified brands. RooterMan is lowest at $45,075–$82,475, Roto-Rooter runs $123,110–$281,550, Mr. Rooter $152,900–$298,675, and Zoom Drain tops out at $570,500. Franchise fees range from $4,975 at RooterMan to $59,900 at bluefrog. Budget $80,000–$145,000 per fully equipped service truck beyond Item 7.
RooterMan at $45,075–$82,475 total investment with a $4,975 franchise fee per the 2026 FDD, and it has 517 franchised units behind it. Instead of a percentage royalty it charges $3 per 1,000 of territory population plus a $399 per month per technician technology fee. Roto-Rooter at $123,110 is the next lowest among the national brands.
The disclosed medians are $1,334,236 at 1 Tom Plumber (35 territories), $1,257,146 at Mr. Rooter (193 units), $918,708 average at bluefrog (10 units), $610,560 at Benjamin Franklin (373 territories), and $518,781 at Zoom Drain (52 units). At 14–22% net operating margin, a $1.25M unit produces $175,000–$275,000 before debt service.
Mr. Rooter Plumbing total investment is $152,900–$298,675 with a $42,500 franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, and a 2% ad fund contribution per the 2026 FDD. The system has 238 franchised units. Its Item 19 reports a $1,257,146 median across 193 franchised businesses in operation a full 52 weeks during calendar year 2025.
The 2026 FDD shows $123,110–$281,550 total investment and a $25,000 franchise fee across 333 franchised units, which is far more accessible than the multi-million-dollar acquisitions often quoted. Roto-Rooter discloses no Item 19 financial performance representation, so there is no franchisor-published revenue benchmark. That absence is the reason to validate heavily with existing franchisees.
On disclosed medians, 1 Tom Plumber leads at $1,334,236 but across only 35 territories. Mr. Rooter is close at $1,257,146 with a far larger 193-unit sample, which makes it the better-validated number. Both distributions are skewed heavily by multi-territory operators, and Mr. Rooter's 75th percentile of $5,243,078 against a $288,402 25th percentile shows how much.
Usually not personally, but the business must employ a properly licensed master plumber. State requirements vary. Most franchisees hire a master plumber as technical lead and focus on operations, sales, and growth. Buyers from corporate operations or service-business management backgrounds often outperform tradesperson-owners, who tend to end up working trucks instead of building the business.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt