Franchises Under $400K

102 brands with a minimum initial investment below $400K, 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
44	Lawn Doctor Home Services	$150K	$177K	10%	74
45	Mosquito Joe Home Services	$151K	$193K	10%	57
46	Interim HealthCare Home Services	$156K	$239K	5.5%	59
47	Auntie Anne's Food	$156K	$638K	7%	89
48	Domino's Pizza QSR	$156K	$744K	5.5%	89
49	Stanley Steemer Home Services	$158K	$522K	7%	57
50	Rainbow International Restoration Home Services	$159K	$331K	—	89
51	Huntington Learning Centers Education	$159K	$298K	9.5%	49
52	Fantastic Sams Personal Services	$172K	$462K	6%	64
53	GNC Retail	$172K	$449K	6%	64
54	Dog Training Elite Pet	$174K	$203K	8%	84
55	Code Ninjas Education	$175K	$298K	8%	48
56	Minuteman Press Business Services	$180K	$226K	6%	84
57	Precision Tune Auto Care Automotive	$182K	$478K	7.5%	65
58	1-800-GOT-JUNK? Home Services	$184K	$294K	8%	43
59	Woof Gang Bakery Pet	$184K	$507K	7%	84
60	Jersey Mike's QSR	$186K	$1.4M	6.5%	89
61	Supercuts Personal Services	$186K	$323K	6%	57
62	Great Clips Personal Services	$188K	$420K	6%	74
63	Sport Clips Personal Services	$189K	$355K	6%	89
64	Valvoline Instant Oil Change Automotive	$192K	$640K	0.06%	99
65	Motel 6 Hospitality	$195K	$8.2M	5%	58
66	Maaco Automotive	$196K	$4.0M	0.08%	58
67	College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving Home Services	$203K	$356K	7%	54
68	Charleys Cheesesteaks Food	$204K	$694K	6%	89
69	The UPS Store Business Services	$216K	$609K	5%	78
70	Meineke Car Care Centers Automotive	$225K	$1.2M	0.05%	79
71	Wild Birds Unlimited Retail	$227K	$379K	4%	74
72	PostNet Retail	$230K	$297K	5%	67
73	Jiffy Lube Automotive	$236K	$453K	4%	84
74	Tint World Automotive	$240K	$450K	0.06%	32
75	Sir Speedy Business Services	$252K	$299K	6%	57
76	Servpro Home Services	$259K	$380K	—	34
77	Papa John's QSR	$261K	$853K	5%	84
78	Batteries Plus Retail	$263K	$497K	5%	89
79	Subway QSR	$263K	$630K	8%	44
80	Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique Pet	$264K	$471K	8%	42
81	ServiceMaster Restore Home Services	$267K	$443K	—	29
82	Row House Fitness	$277K	$500K	7%	76
83	Marco's Pizza Food	$287K	$807K	5.5%	84
84	Taco Bell Food	$287K	$856K	5.5%	74
85	Grease Monkey Automotive	$291K	$917K	6%	84
86	SpeeDee Oil Change & Auto Service Automotive	$291K	$2.0M	6%	60
87	AlphaGraphics Business Services	$296K	$379K	7%	54
88	Paul Davis Restoration Home Services	$299K	$805K	4%	89
89	KFC QSR	$303K	$1.4M	5%	64
90	Baskin-Robbins Food	$307K	$623K	5.9%	62
91	Waxing the City Personal Services	$311K	$646K	—	84
92	Pure Barre Fitness	$314K	$629K	7%	30
93	Comfort Inn Hospitality	$319K	$2.3M	6%	79
94	European Wax Center Personal Services	$328K	$837K	6%	73
95	Scenthound Pet	$328K	$550K	6%	89
96	Cold Stone Creamery Food	$336K	$655K	6%	84
97	Tropical Smoothie Cafe QSR	$341K	$815K	6%	59
98	Midas Automotive	$342K	$925K	10%	74
99	F45 Training Fitness	$349K	$786K	—	44
100	Jimmy John's QSR	$366K	$728K	6%	74
101	Firehouse Subs QSR	$380K	$796K	6%	84
102	Club Pilates Fitness	$385K	$839K	8%	94

The $300K–$400K range is where national QSR brands and boutique fitness collide, and they behave very differently as investments. KFC ($302K minimum), Jimmy John's ($366K), Firehouse Subs ($379K), and Tropical Smoothie Cafe ($340K) are volume businesses — low margin per transaction, high transaction count, dependent on location traffic and daypart mix. The minimum investment figure for QSR in this bracket is almost always understated: total development costs with real estate build-out, equipment, and working capital typically run 1.8–2.5× the minimum when the project closes.

Boutique fitness — F45 Training ($349K), Pure Barre ($314K), Club Pilates ($385K) — represents the opposite profile. Higher margin per member, but the business depends on recurring membership revenue that takes 12–18 months to stabilize. F45 has faced significant franchisee attrition since 2023 as the post-COVID fitness rebound plateaued; Pure Barre and Club Pilates have more consistent unit economics in affluent suburban markets where the customer base is sticky.

Personal care continues to be one of the most overlooked categories in this bracket. Waxing the City ($310K) and European Wax Center ($327K) both operate in the body waxing segment — a repeat-service business with high customer retention and lower real estate requirements than a restaurant. The catch: they compete directly with each other and with independent estheticians. In markets where European Wax has strong brand presence, Waxing the City has struggled to differentiate. Check territory saturation before committing to either.