Great Clips Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Great Clips franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Great Clips discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses average/median sales ($410K avg, $391K median) and operating cash flow ($83.5K avg, $75.9K median) for 2,376 of 4,158 salons. Excludes 1,782 non-reporters skewed below median; omits owner salary, taxes, depreciation, capex reserves.
What a Great Clips franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $20,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 11% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $187,800 – $419,900 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
11% combined royalty/ad fee; additional 1-3% local ad spend recommended; remodel $20K-$80K every 7-10 years.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Great Clips system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 4,441 |
| Ceased operations | 103 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 3 |
| Transferred to new owners | 175 |
| Closure rate | 2.3% of outlets |
103 ceased operations in 2025; includes relocations. Zero terminations is misleadingly low given closures.
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 Great Clips worth it? — how it compares to 47 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 11% of sales | steeper than 89% of hair, beauty & personal care franchises |
| Startup cost | from $187,800 | cheaper than most (median $347,050) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 75% of hair, beauty & personal care franchises |
| Closure rate | 2.3% of outlets | worse than 74% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every hair, beauty & personal care franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Great Clips
The franchisor's framing: Discloses average/median sales ($410K avg, $391K median) and operating cash flow ($83.5K a… 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
Great Clips franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Great Clips franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $187,800–$419,900, including a $20,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Great Clips franchise owners make?
- Discloses average/median sales ($410K avg, $391K median) and operating cash flow ($83.5K avg, $75.9K median) for 2,376 of 4,158 salons. Excludes 1,782 non-reporters skewed below median; omits owner salary, taxes, depreciation, capex reserves. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the Great Clips franchise fees?
- Great Clips's FDD discloses a $20,000 initial franchise fee, a 6% royalty on gross sales, a 5% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 11% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 11% combined royalty/ad fee; additional 1-3% local ad spend recommended; remodel $20K-$80K every 7-10 years.
- What is the Great Clips franchise profit margin?
- Great Clips does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses average/median sales ($410K avg, $391K median) and operating cash flow ($83.5K avg, $75.9K median) for 2,376 of 4,158 salons. Excludes 1,782 non-reporters skewed below median; omits owner salary, taxes, depreciation, capex reserves. Recurring fees alone take about 11% 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 Great Clips franchise failure rate?
- 103 ceased operations in 2025; includes relocations. Zero terminations is misleadingly low given closures.
- How many Great Clips locations are there?
- Great Clips's FDD reports 4,441 total outlets, with 103 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 175 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Great Clips have complaints or lawsuits?
- Great Clips discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Great Clips franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Great Clips scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 11% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Great Clips to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35696-202603-08 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Great Clips or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.