Franchises Under $150K

43 brands with a minimum initial investment below $150K, ranked by startup cost. FDD-sourced data.

#	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
23	PuroClean Home Services	$101K	$137K	—	84
24	HomeVestors of America Real Estate	$108K	$477K	3%	52
25	Sylvan Learning Education	$108K	$239K	11%	59
26	Matco Tools Automotive	$108K	$383K	—	62
27	Mathnasium Education	$113K	$150K	10%	83
28	The Maids Home Services	$118K	$141K	—	74
29	Nurse Next Door Home Services	$119K	$217K	5%	54
30	Comfort Keepers Home Services	$120K	$329K	0.05%	79
31	Homewatch CareGivers Home Services	$122K	$178K	5%	84
32	British Swim School Education	$122K	$168K	10%	79
33	Mr. Rooter Plumbing Home Services	$122K	$264K	6%	49
34	FirstLight Home Care Senior Care	$127K	$219K	5%	78
35	Merry Maids Home Services	$127K	$170K	—	64
36	Jan-Pro Home Services	$130K	$422K	4%	74
37	Ace Handyman Services Home Services	$132K	$224K	6%	84
38	BrightStar Care Home Services	$132K	$235K	5.25%	88
39	Stretch Zone Health and Wellness	$139K	$320K	7%	72
40	Molly Maid Home Services	$140K	$197K	—	59
41	Mr. Handyman Home Services	$143K	$180K	7%	84
42	Senior Helpers Home Services	$149K	$221K	0.05%	89
43	9Round Fitness	$149K	$416K	—	24

Franchises under $150K are dominated by three categories: home services (pest control, lawn care, painting), real estate (RE/MAX, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices), and education (Kumon, Club Z!). What they share: low physical footprint, minimal equipment, and often the ability to start from a home office or vehicle. Mosquito Authority at $54K and Five Star Painting at $77K are examples where the capital goes primarily to training, territory, and working capital — not real estate.

The tradeoff at this investment level is revenue ceiling. A Mosquito Authority territory generates $175K–$350K annually — high margin but hard to scale past one owner-operator without adding a second territory. If you want to build a business that runs without you in Year 2, look at education (Kumon has a manager-run model) or multi-territory pest control, not single-unit home services.

Real estate franchise brands (RE/MAX, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices) are outliers in this bracket — the low entry cost reflects that you're buying into a brokerage system, not a traditional franchise. Revenue depends entirely on recruiting agents. These are closer to a business-in-a-box for experienced real estate professionals than a scalable franchise opportunity.