Quick Verdict · who it fits
Merry Maids fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mature cleaning concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$127K - $170K
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$55K
Royalty (Item 6)
7% + 1.3% ad
Item 19 median rev
$339k Qualified Franchises
System size (Item 20)
684 +23
Years in business
6+ yrs
Training (Item 11)
10 days
Item 3 litigation
4 suits
Model Merry Maids's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Buyer qualifications
✓Exclusive territory✓Semi-absentee eligible✓No bankruptcy disclosed•4 Item 3 cases
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Where units actually land — not just the headline average.
P25
$130k
Median
$339k
P75
$808k
▪ n = 414 units · Qualified Franchises · January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025 · Source: 2026 FDD Item 19
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 7% + ad fund 1.3% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$340,000
$100k$2M
Royalty (7%)
—
Ad fund (1.3%)
—
Total / year
—
▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
802
Total units open
8
Units opened last year
73
Units closed last year
-82
Net unit growth
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
5
Risks to review
4
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How Merry Maids ranks against 136 Cleaning & Maintenance peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
49th pct · of 136 peers
Franchise fee
66th pct · of 136 peers
System size
90th pct · of 136 peers
Cleaning & Maintenance industry averages
Avg investment
$164K - $415K
Avg franchise fee
$44K
Avg system size
400
Franchises analyzed
136
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merry Maids | Disclosed | $55K | $127K - $170K | 7% | 684 |
| Aire-Master of AmericaSimilar price | Disclosed | $30K | $46K - $171K | 5% | 124 |
| Jani-King of CaliforniaBiggest system | None | $3K | — | 11% | 202,320 |
| Vanguard CleaningTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $100K | $165K - $473K | 5% | 48 |
Not sure Merry Maids is the one?
Answer five questions and get matched against 2,000+ analyzed FDDs — including every Cleaning & Maintenance brand we cover. Free, no account needed.
Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
Home service franchises offer lower overhead than restaurants and strong recession resistance. Compare investment costs, royalties, and territory sizes across plumbing, cleaning, restoration, lawn care, HVAC, and handyman brands.
Brand Analysis
Window Genie's 2026 FDD discloses a $387K median AUV across 90 units, with a $128K-$828K interquartile range that tells the real story. Inside the Neighborly portfolio, the verdict depends on how the brand fits adjacent operations.
Brand Analysis
Tide Cleaners' 2025 FDD shows total investment of $698K to $2.5M, a $20K-$50K franchise fee, and a 6.5% royalty plus 4% ad fund. The 12-14 year typical payback period is among the longest in major U.S. franchising. Here's the honest math and the buyer profile that makes it work.
Merry Maids requires a $55,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $126,880–$170,110, per the most recent FDD on file.
Merry Maids franchises are sold by Merry Maids SPE LLC, the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the corporate structure, including any parent companies and predecessors.
Yes. Merry Maids discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $339,352. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 7% of Gross Sales and an advertising fund contribution of 1.3% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Merry Maids has 684 total locations, with 23 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
Yes. Merry Maids' most recent FDD documents approximately 10 days of initial training, typically split between classroom and on-site components. See Item 11 of the FDD for the full training and support schedule.
Yes. Merry Maids grants franchisees an exclusive territory under Item 12 of the FDD. Note that exclusive territories often carve out online sales, alternative distribution channels, and non-traditional venues — review the full Item 12 language before signing.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt