Franchises Under $100K

22 brands with a minimum initial investment below $100K, ranked by startup cost.

#	Brand	Min. Investment	Max. Investment	Royalty	Health
1	Express Employment Professionals Staffing	$31K	$391K	40%	72
2	Century 21 Real Estate Real Estate	$35K	$466K	6%	55
3	Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate	$36K	$734K	6%	52
4	Club Z! Education	$41K	$57K	8%	54
5	Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Real Estate	$43K	$88K	6%	59
6	RE/MAX Real Estate	$45K	$246K	—	34
7	Mosquito Authority Home Services	$54K	$128K	10%	74
8	ActionCOACH Business Services	$64K	$139K	—	54
9	CarePatrol Senior Care	$65K	$136K	10%	72
10	Kumon Education	$73K	$165K	—	49
11	Five Star Painting Home Services	$77K	$185K	6%	84
12	Sandler Business Services	$78K	$102K	8%	60
13	Bark Busters Pet	$78K	$117K	0.1%	60
14	Weed Man Home Services	$81K	$109K	—	44
15	Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Home Services	$85K	$205K	6%	89
16	Ace Hardware Painting Services Retail	$89K	$153K	6%	64
17	Always Best Care Senior Services Home Services	$90K	$146K	—	69
18	Home Instead Home Services	$91K	$270K	0.05%	79
19	Right at Home Home Services	$92K	$165K	0.05%	89
20	Pet Butler Pet	$95K	$118K	12%	69
21	Assisting Hands Home Care Home Services	$97K	$180K	5%	89
22	Griswold Home Care Senior Care	$100K	$181K	4%	73

The sub-$100K bracket is the sweet spot for first-time franchise buyers — enough brands to compare seriously, with capital requirements that SBA 7(a) loans routinely cover. Most lenders want 20-30% down, so you're looking at $20-30K liquid capital to get started.

Watch for the royalty trap: some of the cheapest franchises to open carry the highest ongoing royalty percentages (8-10%), which eats into profitability for years after the initial investment is paid off. Check the lowest royalty list to find brands that balance low entry cost with reasonable ongoing fees.