Merry Maids Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Merry Maids franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2025), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Merry Maids discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses only gross sales (no expenses, net income, or profit). Excludes 419 Legacy Franchises and 90 that ceased operations. Only 306 of 802 total outlets represented. Significant cherry-picking via Qualified Franchise filter.
What a Merry Maids franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $55,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 7% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 1.3% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 8.3% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $126,880 – $170,110 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty drops to 6-5% above $400K-$500K sales; local marketing 0.7% additional; $499/mo tech fee.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Merry Maids system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 802 |
| Ceased operations | 73 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 10 |
| Transferred to new owners | 35 |
| Closure rate | 9.1% of outlets |
Net loss of 82 outlets in 2024; 73 ceased operations, 10 terminated; system shrinking three consecutive years.
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 Merry Maids worth it? — how it compares to 47 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 8.3% of sales | about average |
| Startup cost | from $126,880 | pricier than 67% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 9.1% of outlets | worse than 82% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 3 | more litigious than 87% of peers |
Benchmarked against every cleaning services franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Merry Maids
The franchisor's framing: Discloses only gross sales (no expenses, net income, or profit). Excludes 419 Legacy Franc… 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
Merry Maids franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Merry Maids franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $126,880–$170,110, including a $55,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Merry Maids franchise owners make?
- Discloses only gross sales (no expenses, net income, or profit). Excludes 419 Legacy Franchises and 90 that ceased operations. Only 306 of 802 total outlets represented. Significant cherry-picking via Qualified Franchise filter. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the Merry Maids franchise fees?
- Merry Maids's FDD discloses a $55,000 initial franchise fee, a 7% royalty on gross sales, a 1.3% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 8.3% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty drops to 6-5% above $400K-$500K sales; local marketing 0.7% additional; $499/mo tech fee.
- What is the Merry Maids franchise profit margin?
- Merry Maids does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses only gross sales (no expenses, net income, or profit). Excludes 419 Legacy Franchises and 90 that ceased operations. Only 306 of 802 total outlets represented. Significant cherry-picking via Qualified Franchise filter. Recurring fees alone take about 8.3% 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 Merry Maids franchise failure rate?
- Net loss of 82 outlets in 2024; 73 ceased operations, 10 terminated; system shrinking three consecutive years.
- How many Merry Maids locations are there?
- Merry Maids's FDD reports 802 total outlets, with 73 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 35 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Merry Maids have complaints or lawsuits?
- Merry Maids 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 Merry Maids franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Merry Maids scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 8.3% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 3 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Merry Maids to similar franchises
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Source: MN CARDS 34574-202507-08 (Clean FDD 2025). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Merry Maids or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.