How much does a The Maids franchise cost?

The estimated initial investment is $117,720–$141,200 (FDD Item 7).

How much can you make owning a The Maids franchise?

An estimated $15,000–$90,000 of owner cash flow for one unit per year, BEFORE paying yourself a salary — so it is not take-home pay, and averages are not guarantees. Read the current FDD and talk to existing franchisees.

How many The Maids units does it take to build real wealth?

3-5 territories run from one office, which is what the average owner in the Item 19 already holds. At the $1.18M per-owner average, a 10-20% margin is a real business; one territory alone is an owner-manager wage.

Independent analysis. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by The Maids. All figures sourced from public FDD filings.

Franchise dossier · Residential cleaning

Owning a The Maids: what actually happens

VERDICT · ASSET — IF YOU SCALE

The numbers that make this attractive belong to owners with about three territories; buy one and you have a management job, build several and you have a business.

You'd pocket / yr*

$15K–$90K

1 unit · before your salary

Your time

40–55 hrs/wk

semi-absentee OK

Becomes an asset at

~3 units

real wealth: 3-5 territories

Agreement term

10 yrs

then renewal

Year one, honestly

Year one is building a staffed office from nothing: hiring and retaining four-person cleaning teams, buying or leasing the cars, running local lead generation and converting one-time cleans into recurring customers. The owner manages rather than cleans, but is the general manager, recruiter and sales closer until revenue can carry an office manager. One territory in its first year typically grosses well below the roughly $371,000 per-territory figure implied by the Item 19.

Where each sales dollar goes

Supplies / goods ~6%Labor ~50%Rent ~4%Franchisor fees ~9%Other opex ~24%Left before debt & you ~15%

Illustrative split for a typical unit (industry estimate). The green slice is store cash flow before your loan payment and before paying yourself a salary — not profit.

If you want out

Multi-territory operations with a manager in place and a recurring customer base do sell as going concerns, generally on a multiple of owner earnings, with franchisor approval and the buyer signing the current agreement. A single under-built territory has a thin buyer pool and sells for little more than its customer list and vehicles.

Smart for

An operator with the capital and intent to buy and fill several adjacent territories and to hire a manager once revenue allows.

Dumb for

A single-territory buyer who reads $1.18M as what one territory makes, or who wants income without managing hourly staff.

The disclosure it's built on

The verdict above is our read of the numbers The Maids files with regulators — here they are, cited.

The MaidsFDD 2026

Item 5 · Initial franchise fee

$60,000

Item 7 · Initial investment

$117,720 – $141,200

Item 6 · Royalty

3.9-6.9% sliding (6.9% at entry level)

Item 6 · Ad / brand fund

Item 19 · Avg revenue per owner (~3 territories)

$1,184,666

Item 20 · US units (~2025)

400

SOURCE1851 Franchise summary of the 2026 FDD: territory fees ($60,000 single; $110,000 / $145,000 / $170,000 / $190,000 for two to five), Item 7 $117,720-$141,200, royalty 3.9-6.9% of weekly gross revenue, 2% ad fund, Item 19 average $1,184,666 and median $764,050 for 106 franchisees and 338 territories (high confidence; Franzy shows the same average, fee, 6.9% royalty and 2% brand fund). FranchiseOverview's 2024 summary shows the same Item 7 range; L'Express Franchise cites $81,720-$159,700 and a $1.14M average from the prior year's FDD (medium confidence on the Item 7 range across years). Unit count: 400 franchise units per Franzy, 338 territories in the Item 19 sample (medium confidence). Royalty tier thresholds were not available; 6.9% entry tier used for the calculator. Franchise term was not stated in any source opened; 10 years is an unconfirmed assumption (low confidence).

The catch

The headline $1.18M average is per owner, and the average owner in that sample holds about three territories. The same Item 19 covers 106 franchisees across 338 territories, with a median of $764,050 and only about a third of owners at or above the average. Spread across territories it works out to roughly $371,000 each. A buyer of one territory for $60,000 should underwrite against the per-territory picture, and note the fee schedule itself is built to sell several: $110,000 for two, $145,000 for three, $190,000 for five.

*How to read these numbers. Disclosed (2026 FDD via 1851 Franchise, Franzy): $60,000 fee, Item 7, 3.9-6.9% royalty, 2% ad fund, Item 19 per-franchisee gross revenue. Per-territory revenue is our division, not a disclosed number. Item 19 has no costs, so cost structure, take-home and hours are ESTIMATES (medium-low confidence) from residential cleaning industry norms. Term of 10 years is unconfirmed (low confidence). — "You'd pocket" is estimated owner cash flow for one average unit before a salary for your own full-time work, so it is not take-home pay. Averages are not promises; your unit could earn far less. This is analysis, not advice — read the current FDD in full and talk to current and former franchisees before you commit.

Seriously considering The Maids?

Pressure-test the affordability, then read the full FDD and validate Item 19 (or its absence) with existing franchisees. When we add vetted franchise-consultant and financing partners, they'll be clearly disclosed here and never change our analysis.

Run a rough affordability check →