Ace Hardware Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Ace Hardware franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Ace Hardware discloses little or no owner-earnings data (Item 19) — the franchisor won't put real profit in writing.
What their own earnings claim actually says
No financial performance data disclosed whatsoever. Franchisor explicitly declines to make any representations about past or future financial performance of franchised or company-owned outlets. Complete blackout with zero revenue, income, or sales figures provided.
What a Ace Hardware franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $89,250 – $153,470 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
6% royalty plus 2% brand fee plus $640/mo software fee plus $15K-$30K/yr mandatory local marketing spend.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Ace Hardware system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 11 |
| Ceased operations | 0 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 0 |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets |
Brand-new system; only 8 franchised outlets opened in 2024, zero closures or terminations yet recorded.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2025. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Ace Hardware worth it? — how it compares to 85 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $89,250 | cheaper than most (median $119,850) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade F | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.0% of outlets | better than most (median 2.8%) |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 3 | more litigious than 85% of peers |
Benchmarked against every home & trade services franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Ace Hardware
The franchisor's framing: No financial performance data disclosed whatsoever. Franchisor explicitly declines to make… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Ace Hardware franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Ace Hardware franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $89,250–$153,470, including a $50,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Ace Hardware franchise owners make?
- Ace Hardware discloses little or no earnings data (Item 19) — meaning the franchisor won't put real owner profit in writing. That's a red flag worth questioning.
- What are the Ace Hardware franchise fees?
- Ace Hardware's FDD discloses a $50,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 6% royalty plus 2% brand fee plus $640/mo software fee plus $15K-$30K/yr mandatory local marketing spend.
- What is the Ace Hardware franchise profit margin?
- Ace Hardware discloses no Item 19 earnings representation, so no profit margin can be derived from the FDD at all. Any margin figure quoted elsewhere is an estimate, not a disclosure.
- What is the Ace Hardware franchise failure rate?
- Brand-new system; only 8 franchised outlets opened in 2024, zero closures or terminations yet recorded.
- How many Ace Hardware locations are there?
- Ace Hardware's FDD reports 11 total outlets, with 0 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 0 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Ace Hardware have complaints or lawsuits?
- Ace Hardware discloses 3 legal matters in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Ace Hardware franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Ace Hardware scores F on disclosure honesty, carries about 8% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 3 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Ace Hardware to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 33250-202503-03 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Ace Hardware or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.