Budget Blinds Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Budget Blinds franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Budget Blinds discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses gross sales only (avg, median, 25th/75th percentile) for single, two, and three+ territory franchisees who reported full-year 2025 sales (82% of eligible). No profitability, expenses, or net income disclosed. Cherry-picks reporters only; omits 18%.
What a Budget Blinds franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $19,950 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 3.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Total recurring fees | 3.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $100,500 – $211,250 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Ad fee is flat monthly dollar amount per tier, not a percentage; technology fee $600/month additional per territory.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Budget Blinds system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 1,355 |
| Ceased operations | 6 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 15 |
| Transferred to new owners | 97 |
| Closure rate | 0.4% of outlets |
2025: 15 terminations, 6 ceased operations, net loss of 11 outlets system-wide; confidentiality clauses limit franchisee candor.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Budget Blinds worth it? — how it compares to 85 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 3.5% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $100,500 | cheaper than most (median $119,850) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 0.4% 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 Budget Blinds
The franchisor's framing: Discloses gross sales only (avg, median, 25th/75th percentile) for single, two, and three+… 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
Budget Blinds franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Budget Blinds franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $100,500–$211,250, including a $19,950 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Budget Blinds franchise owners make?
- Discloses gross sales only (avg, median, 25th/75th percentile) for single, two, and three+ territory franchisees who reported full-year 2025 sales (82% of eligible). No profitability, expenses, or net income disclosed. Cherry-picks reporters only; omits 18%. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Budget Blinds franchise fees?
- Budget Blinds' FDD discloses a $19,950 initial franchise fee, a 3.5% royalty on gross sales, for roughly 3.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Ad fee is flat monthly dollar amount per tier, not a percentage; technology fee $600/month additional per territory.
- What is the Budget Blinds franchise profit margin?
- Budget Blinds does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses gross sales only (avg, median, 25th/75th percentile) for single, two, and three+ territory franchisees who reported full-year 2025 sales (82% of eligible). No profitability, expenses, or net income disclosed. Cherry-picks reporters only; omits 18%. Recurring fees alone take about 3.5% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Budget Blinds franchise failure rate?
- 2025: 15 terminations, 6 ceased operations, net loss of 11 outlets system-wide; confidentiality clauses limit franchisee candor.
- How many Budget Blinds locations are there?
- Budget Blinds' FDD reports 1,355 total outlets, with 6 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 97 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Budget Blinds have complaints or lawsuits?
- Budget Blinds 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 Budget Blinds franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Budget Blinds scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 3.5% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 3 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Budget Blinds to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35876-202604-08 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Budget Blinds or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.