Hello Garage Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Hello Garage franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Hello Garage discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
2025 data: 25 franchised/corporate businesses over 87 territories. Year 1 avg revenue $372,569; Year 5 avg $1,223,113. Only 36-50% met averages. Excludes 8 franchises in 30 territories.
What a Hello Garage franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $59,500 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 8% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 13% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $165,340 – $205,250 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 5%, Brand Fund 2%, Local Advertising 8%, National Appointment Center 1%, Software variable. Multiple potential additional fees.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Hello Garage system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 87 |
| Ceased operations | 19 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 11 |
| Transferred to new owners | 13 |
| Closure rate | 21.8% of outlets |
106 outlets ceased/terminated in 3 years (2023-2025); 30% decline 2023-2025.
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 Hello Garage worth it? — how it compares to 85 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 13% of sales | steeper than 88% of home & trade services franchises |
| Startup cost | from $165,340 | pricier than 80% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 21.8% of outlets | worse than 91% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 1 | about average |
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 Hello Garage
The franchisor's framing: 2025 data: 25 franchised/corporate businesses over 87 territories. Year 1 avg revenue $372… 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
Hello Garage franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Hello Garage franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $165,340–$205,250, including a $59,500 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Hello Garage franchise owners make?
- 2025 data: 25 franchised/corporate businesses over 87 territories. Year 1 avg revenue $372,569; Year 5 avg $1,223,113. Only 36-50% met averages. Excludes 8 franchises in 30 territories. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Hello Garage franchise fees?
- Hello Garage's FDD discloses a $59,500 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 8% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 13% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 5%, Brand Fund 2%, Local Advertising 8%, National Appointment Center 1%, Software variable. Multiple potential additional fees.
- What is the Hello Garage franchise profit margin?
- Hello Garage does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: 2025 data: 25 franchised/corporate businesses over 87 territories. Year 1 avg revenue $372,569; Year 5 avg $1,223,113. Only 36-50% met averages. Excludes 8 franchises in 30 territories. Recurring fees alone take about 13% 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 Hello Garage franchise failure rate?
- 106 outlets ceased/terminated in 3 years (2023-2025); 30% decline 2023-2025.
- How many Hello Garage locations are there?
- Hello Garage's FDD reports 87 total outlets, with 19 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 13 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Hello Garage have complaints or lawsuits?
- Hello Garage discloses 1 legal matter 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 Hello Garage franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Hello Garage scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 13% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 1 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Hello Garage to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 35867-202604-08 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Hello Garage or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.