What it really costs to start in home services.
The typical home services franchise starts at $135,832. None of 19 of the best-known dealer programs publish what it costs to start. Both are true, and both tell you what to ask before you sign.
By ServiceStake Research · Published October 23, 2026 · Figures checked October 3, 2026 to November 1, 2026 · PDF
Franchises print a price. The 19 dealer programs price it differently.
A franchise has to put a starting cost in its disclosure document, and most home services brands post it on their own site. Of the 230 franchises in our data with a full published range, the middle one starts at $135,832 and tops out at $242,325.
The 19 dealer programs work another way. We checked the websites of 19 of the best-known dealer programs, as of October 22, 2026. None of them publish what it costs to start. 13 say nothing about cost at all.
That doesn't mean they're hiding anything. These programs are priced through what you buy and what you commit to: product purchases, volume minimums, training and a starting inventory, instead of a franchise fee. The cost is real. It just isn't a number on a website. So you have to ask for it, and get it in writing.
What 19 of the best-known dealer programs publish about the cost to start
Counted from each program's own site, checked October 22, 2026. None publish a total.
What they ask for instead of a franchise fee
Number of the 19 programs that publish each rule (some apply only to a top tier).
What to ask a dealer program before you sign.
These questions come straight from the rules the 19 programs publish. Each card shows how many of them publish that rule.
Volume or purchase minimums
“What do I have to buy, and by when? What happens if I fall short?”
For these programs, much of the cost sits in what you commit to buy. Published by 3 of 19: Goodman, Roof Maxx, TimberTech.
A required starting purchase
“What's in the opening order or starter kit, what does it cost, and can any of it go back?”
This is often the first real check you write. Published by 2 of 19: Navien, Roof Maxx.
Buying through a distributor
“Which distributor will I buy from, and what does that distributor expect from me?”
Your distributor is part of the deal from day one. Published by 2 of 19: Hayward, Rheem Heating & Cooling.
Customer reviews or ratings
“What rating do I have to keep, how many reviews a year, and what happens if I slip?”
Some programs tie their best status to your reviews. Published by 3 of 19: Carrier, Rheem Heating & Cooling, Trane.
A dedicated vehicle
“Do I need a truck or van just for this program, and what does the wrap cost?”
A vehicle rule can be the biggest line in your start-up budget. Published by 1 of 19: Roof Maxx.
Two more that no website will answer for you. Talk to dealers who left the program and ask what went wrong. And ask how many households in your market actually fit what you'd be selling, with real numbers.
No such thing as easy. The people who do well put in the work, learn to sell and keep getting better. Our free guide, Before You Sign, has the full list of questions, a fee worksheet and a scorecard.
What a home services franchise costs to start.
Only 9 of 232 franchises with a published starting figure start under $50,000. 54 start under $100,000, and 142 under $150,000.
How many franchises you can start under each budget
Brands whose published starting figure is under each amount, of 232.
- 9Under $50K
- 54Under $100K
- 142Under $150K
- 211Under $250K
The trade moves the price.
Here is the middle of the range for each trade with at least 5 brands publishing a full range. Home Inspection & Testing is lowest. Roofing is highest.
Franchise startup cost by trade
Median low and high end of each brand's published range. Trades with 5+ brands.
| Trade | Brands | Median low end | Median high end | Lowest – highest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Inspection & Testing | 5 | $73,878 | $130,661 | $41,200 – $178,050 |
| Painting | 9 | $105,200 | $189,200 | $81,450 – $320,500 |
| Blinds & Shades | 5 | $105,700 | $182,100 | $78,000 – $211,250 |
| Surface Repair & Refinishing | 9 | $108,750 | $178,350 | $74,500 – $511,000 |
| Cleaning & Maid Service | 10 | $122,988 | $166,338 | $37,250 – $218,500 |
| Lawn & Landscape | 14 | $123,550 | $166,366 | $24,000 – $489,775 |
| Pest & Mosquito Control | 9 | $124,612 | $191,575 | $39,000 – $330,600 |
| Moving & Storage | 5 | $128,368 | $238,750 | $75,760 – $512,450 |
| Handyman & Remodeling | 19 | $135,135 | $226,000 | $72,568 – $654,860 |
| Windows & Gutters | 12 | $136,478 | $271,984 | $96,900 – $385,280 |
| Closets & Garages | 14 | $137,700 | $261,516 | $69,095 – $903,500 |
| Junk Removal & Dumpsters | 13 | $145,000 | $337,760 | $38,700 – $1,059,865 |
| Plumbing & Drains | 6 | $148,699 | $322,162 | $127,780 – $490,641 |
| Commercial Services | 22 | $155,100 | $249,904 | $46,234 – $10,189,650 |
| Restoration & Mold | 23 | $157,180 | $318,860 | $84,650 – $804,900 |
| Roofing | 7 | $174,998 | $300,000 | $99,750 – $393,166 |
The high end matters as much as the low end.
For 61 of 230 brands, about 1 in 4, the high estimate is at least double the low one. So ask what drives the difference. Is it the number of trucks? The size of the territory? Whether you need an office or a warehouse? The answer tells you which end of the range you'll land on.
The fee is only part of it.
205 brands publish a franchise fee. The median is $52,500. At the median, the fee alone is 39% of a brand's lowest published startup cost. The rest goes to vehicles, equipment, launch marketing and cash to run on until the work pays.
99 brands also publish how much cash you need to have on hand. The median is $75,000.
Royalties aren't in our data, so this report gives no royalty range. Where a brand charges one, it usually pays for real things, like a proven way to get customers, training and a known name. Ask what yours pays for.
Where the numbers come from.
- This report covers 856 programs listed on ServiceStake: 297 franchises and 559 dealer programs across 35 trades. Programs with a business relationship to ServiceStake's owner are excluded to avoid a conflict of interest.
- Franchise figures come from each brand's own website (183 brands) or a franchise disclosure document filed with the State of Minnesota (60 brands). Brand-site figures were checked between October 3, 2026 and November 1, 2026. Every figure links to its source on the brand's ServiceStake page.
- Older figures are left out. 5 figures come from filings more than 12 months old, so they're not in any number above: 76 FENCE (2025-04), ByeBye Stumps (2025-01), Clear Pest Pros (2025-04), Garage Force (2025-05), Shack Shine (2025-08).
- Not every franchise publishes figures. We found published or filed figures for 248 of 297 franchises. The other 49, about 3 in 10, aren't in the cost numbers.
- Medians use the 230 franchises with a full low-to-high range. The budget counts use the 232 with a published starting figure. A trade gets its own median only with at least 5 brands. The 'Specialty' group isn't one trade (it mixes bin cleaning, appliance repair, siding, pet waste removal and fitness equipment repair), so it has no trade median. Its 6 brands still count in every overall number.
- Dealer programs: we checked the websites of 19 of the best-known dealer programs on October 22, 2026 and recorded what each publishes about the cost to join and the rules to get in, with a source for each. The 19: Basement Systems, Carrier, Daikin, EcoWater Systems, Generac, Goodman, Hayward, Hot Spring Spas, Hunter Douglas, Jacuzzi Bath Remodel, Kinetico, Lennox, Navien, RainSoft, Renewal by Andersen, Rheem Heating & Cooling, Roof Maxx, TimberTech, Trane.
- No earnings figures. This report uses no revenue, income or profit numbers, even where a brand publishes them.
Get the underlying rows: data (CSV). The full report as a PDF. Questions about the data: contact ServiceStake.
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