Diesel Barbershop franchise cost is $360,550 to $503,050 per the 2025 FDD, with a $45,000 fee and 7.5% royalty. Full Item 19 revenue tiers and owner math.
Quick answerA Diesel Barbershop franchise costs $360,550 to $503,050 per the 2025 FDD Item 7, including a $45,000 franchise fee. Ongoing fees run 7.5% of gross sales in royalty plus a 1-2% ad fund. Item 19 shows 2024 average gross revenue of $697,234 for top-third shops and $336,186 for the middle third.
Diesel Barbershop’s 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, one of the 2,000+ FDDs parsed in VetMyFranchise’s database, puts the total investment between $360,550 and $503,050 in Item 7. The initial franchise fee is $45,000. Diesel shops are compact, 1,200 to 1,500 square feet in strip centers or high-traffic retail per the FDD, which keeps the build-out bill far below what most food franchises demand.
The concept itself is specific: an industrial-garage take on men’s grooming out of San Antonio, with video games at the stations and a drink with your cut. Premium positioning means premium pricing, in the $35-$60 range typical for the segment, and the 2025 Item 19 shows exactly what that produces in revenue (the tier tables below are unusually candid for a system this size).
Diesel reported 31 total shops at the end of 2024: 27 franchised and 4 operated by affiliates, per Item 20. Before you get attached to the concept, read the FTC’s consumer guide to buying a franchise so you know what an FDD must disclose and what it can leave out.
Every figure below comes straight from Item 7 of the 2025 FDD:
| Cost Component | Low Estimate | High Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45,000 | $45,000 |
| Leasehold improvements (net of tenant allowance) | $129,000 | $214,000 |
| Equipment, FF&E & signage | $95,000 | $125,000 |
| Computer system & AV package | $20,000 | $37,000 |
| Barber supplies & opening inventory | $16,000 | $21,000 |
| Architectural fees | $8,500 | $10,000 |
| Deposits, insurance & first month’s rent | $8,000 | $10,000 |
| Initial marketing spend | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Technology & POS fees (pre-opening) | $4,050 | $4,050 |
| Legal fees | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| Training travel & living | $2,000 | $4,000 |
| Additional funds (3 months) | $25,000 | $25,000 |
| Total | $360,550 | $503,050 |
Three line items deserve a closer look. The leasehold improvement figure is the net out-of-pocket cost after a typical tenant improvement allowance (Item 7, note 2). If your landlord offers little or no TI money, your real build-out climbs past the high estimate. The $25,000 in additional funds covers only three months of runway; barbershops ramp on repeat visits, and most operators need six months or more to reach steady traffic. And Diesel states plainly that it does not finance any portion of your initial investment, so your capital stack is cash, SBA lending, or a conventional loan.
Diesel also sells a development agreement. Committing to two additional shops costs an $82,500 development fee up front, with the second and third builds estimated at $315,550 to $458,050 each (the single-unit total minus the franchise fee). Run the arithmetic and a three-shop commitment lands between roughly $1.07 million and $1.50 million using the 2025 FDD’s own figures.
| Factor | Diesel Barbershop | Floyd’s 99 | V’s Barbershop | Roosters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total investment | $360,550-$503,050 | $50,000-$767,500 | $290,000-$690,000 | $265,690-$432,390 |
| Franchise fee | $45,000 | $49,500 | $30,000 | $39,500 |
| Royalty rate | 7.5% | 6% | 3.5%-6% | 4% |
| Ad fund | 1%-2% | 1%-2% | 1%-3% | 2% |
| Item 19 disclosed? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| FDD year | 2025 | 2026 | 2026 | 2026 |
Diesel sits mid-pack on entry cost and at the top of the category on royalty. Floyd’s 99’s disclosed range is unusually wide, so read its Item 7 line by line before comparing low ends. For the broader field, including value players like Sport Clips and Great Clips, see our ranking of the best hair salon and barbershop franchises.
| Fee Type | Rate | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty fee | 7.5% | Weekly gross sales |
| Ad fund | 1%, up to 2% | Gross sales (increase on 30 days’ notice) |
| Technology fee | $300/month | Flat, plus $5/month per extra email address |
The 7.5% royalty is the number to sit with. On a middle-third shop grossing $336,186, the premium over a 6% royalty costs you about $5,000 a year, every year of the 10-year agreement term. Diesel does grant a protected territory, which some peers hedge on, but you should press the franchisor on what the extra points buy in marketing, recruiting, and operations support. Our guide to franchise royalty fees covers how to weigh royalty against support before signing.
Instead of one blended average, Diesel’s Item 19 splits franchised shops into thirds and reports each tier for fiscal 2022 through 2024. Here is fiscal 2024 (December 2023 through November 2024):
| Franchisee Tier (2024) | Shops | Average Gross Revenue | Median | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top third | 9 | $697,234 | $604,664 | $1,132,157 | $547,115 |
| Middle third | 9 | $336,186 | $328,929 | $475,858 | $284,501 |
| Bottom third | 8 | $209,263 | $207,153 | $272,330 | $149,254 |
Blend the tiers and the systemwide average lands near $422,000 across the 26 franchised shops reporting in 2024. The middle third’s $336,186 is the honest underwriting number. If your deal only pencils at the top-third average of $697,234, you are underwriting hope.
The client-count charts add a detail most FDDs never show: revenue per client runs close to $46 in every tier. Top-third shops earn their gap on traffic, serving roughly three times the clients of bottom-third shops at the same spend per visit. Site selection and local marketing decide which tier you land in.
Item 19 reports gross revenue only. The cost lines below are our estimates from barbershop industry benchmarks, not FDD data:
| Line Item | Amount | % of Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Gross revenue (2024 middle-third average) | $336,186 | 100% |
| Barber & front-desk labor | -$168,100 | 50% |
| Occupancy/rent | -$43,700 | 13% |
| Royalty (7.5%) | -$25,214 | 7.5% |
| Ad fund (1%) | -$3,362 | 1% |
| Product & supplies | -$16,800 | 5% |
| Other operating expenses | -$30,257 | 9% |
| Estimated pre-tax cash flow | $48,753 | 14.5% |
By this math, a hands-on owner at a middle-third shop clears an estimated $45,000 to $55,000 pre-tax. Hire a full-time manager at $50,000 to $60,000 and the profit mostly disappears at this volume, which is why Diesel expects owner involvement in the business. Top-third shops at $697,234 can plausibly produce $110,000 to $140,000 for an involved owner. A bottom-third shop averaging $209,263 struggles to cover its own costs before the owner takes a dollar. Learn how to pressure-test these disclosures in our guide to Item 19 financial performance representations.
Considering Diesel Barbershop? The free FDD profile shows the parsed 2025 numbers, unit history, and risk flags side by side: see the full Diesel Barbershop analysis.
Small system, concentrated footprint. Twenty-six franchised shops reported in the 2024 Item 19 charts, and the system lost a net 2 units in 2022 before adding 2 in each of 2023 and 2024. Growth is real but slow. Brand recognition outside Texas and a few metros is thin, so a 1% ad fund means the local marketing lift is mostly yours.
Labor is the business. The client-count data makes it plain that throughput drives the tiers, and throughput depends on licensed barbers. Recruiting and retaining them in a tight market is the operating challenge that never goes away; commission-heavy pay structures are why labor absorbs roughly half of gross revenue in the model above.
A decade at 7.5 points. The franchise agreement runs 10 years from opening. Locking in the category’s highest royalty for that long deserves hard questions during validation calls with current franchisees, and the zero disclosed litigation in the 2025 FDD is at least a clean starting point.
If you are torn between buying a brand and building your own shop, our Sport Clips franchise vs. independent barbershop analysis walks through that exact trade-off with real numbers.
Diesel Barbershop is a coherent premium concept with an Item 19 that breaks results into revenue thirds and a build cost most service franchises would envy. It also carries the category’s highest royalty and a system small enough that your outcome rides on your site and your barbers. Pull the parsed 2025 FDD data, tier tables, and risk flags on the Diesel Barbershop franchise profile before you talk to their sales team.
The total investment is $360,550 to $503,050 per Item 7 of the 2025 FDD. That includes the $45,000 initial franchise fee, $129,000 to $214,000 in leasehold improvements (net of typical tenant improvement allowance), $95,000 to $125,000 for equipment and signage, and $25,000 in additional funds for the first three months. A three-shop development commitment totals roughly $1.07 million to $1.50 million.
Diesel's 2025 FDD Item 19 reports gross revenue, not profit. In fiscal 2024, top-third franchised shops averaged $697,234 in gross revenue, the middle third $336,186, and the bottom third $209,263. Applying typical barbershop cost benchmarks, a hands-on owner at a middle-third shop clears an estimated $45,000 to $55,000 pre-tax, while top-third shops can plausibly produce $110,000 to $140,000.
The royalty is 7.5% of weekly gross sales, plus an ad fund contribution of 1% that Diesel can raise to 2% on 30 days' notice, and a $300 monthly technology fee. That royalty sits at the top of the barbershop category. For comparison, Floyd's 99 charges 6%, Roosters 4%, and V's Barbershop 3.5% to 6%.
31 shops were open at the end of 2024 per Item 20 of the 2025 FDD: 27 franchised and 4 owned by affiliates. The system added a net 2 units in each of 2023 and 2024 after shrinking by 2 in 2022. Most locations are concentrated in Texas and a handful of other metros.
It depends on your market and your willingness to operate hands-on. Strengths include a differentiated premium men's grooming concept, a compact build-out at $360,550 to $503,050 all-in, unusually transparent tier-by-tier Item 19 data, zero disclosed litigation, and a protected territory. The trade-offs are a 7.5% royalty at the top of the category, a small 31-shop system, and middle-third revenue of $336,186 that leaves modest profit unless you run the shop yourself.
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