Molly Maid

Molly Maid structures its upfront costs differently from most service franchises. There's a flat $14,900 initial franchise fee — relatively low — but that's just the entry ticket. The real cost is the territory fee, priced at $1.00 per Target Household in your market. A standard-size territory runs $45,000–$70,000 on top of that. Add the $1,500 software enrollment fee, an $8,000–$9,000 startup package, vehicle costs (the business requires at least two vehicles from day one), and three months of working capital ($50,000–$60,000), and your total launch range is $139,900–$197,200.

This is on the lower end for a home services franchise. Mr. Handyman, which is a direct Neighborly sibling, comes in at $143K–$180K but with a much higher $65,000 franchise fee. Molly Maid keeps the fixed franchise fee low and charges more for territory size — which means your entry cost directly reflects the market you're buying into.

Ongoing fees are structured as a 'License Fee' — not called a royalty — that starts at 6.5% of gross sales and actually steps down with volume: 6.0% over $500K, 5.5% over $800K, down to 3.0% over $2.8M annually. This tiered structure rewards growth and is more franchisee-friendly than a flat royalty. The MAP (marketing) contribution is 2% of gross sales, making total fees to corporate 5–8.5% depending on volume.

ServiceTitan (CLEO) adds $405/month directly to ServiceTitan — this is outside the $58/month technology package and is a meaningful fixed cost. Required minimum local marketing spending scales with your territory size (roughly $1/target household/year at lower volumes, declining as sales grow).

Molly Maid doesn't disclose total annual revenue figures in Item 19. Instead, they report per-cleaning averages: the system average was $173 per cleaning in 2024, with a median of $170 across 197 reporting operators. The top quartile averages $214 per cleaning; the bottom quartile averages $133.

To translate this into annual income, you need cleaning volume — which isn't disclosed. A rough framework: if a team does 6–8 cleanings per day and operates 5 days a week, that's 1,500–2,000 cleanings per year. At $173 average, that's $260K–$346K gross per van/team. Multi-team operators would multiply from there.

The customer mix data is notably strong: 91% of cleanings are for recurring customers, which suggests stable, predictable revenue once established. Only 21% of reporting operators saw declining sales in 2024, and 79% showed positive growth — a reasonably healthy split.

No net income or profit figures are disclosed. The FDD notes that costs of labor (typically 50–60% of revenue in residential cleaning), supplies, vehicle costs, royalties, and local marketing are not reflected in any Item 19 figure.

Molly Maid is a shrinking system, and that warrants attention. The unit count has declined in each of the last three years: from 501 units at the start of 2022 down to 448 by end of 2024, a net loss of 53 units over three years. In 2024 alone, 17 closures outpaced 9 openings for a net loss of 16 units.

This is not a catastrophic decline — the system operates across 41 states and the per-cleaning revenue metrics show most operators growing. But the persistent contraction raises questions about franchisee profitability and whether the economics have shifted as labor costs increased post-pandemic. The high closure rate relative to openings is the primary red flag here.

Molly Maid is part of the Neighborly family of home services brands (alongside Mr. Handyman, Mr. Rooter, and others), which provides corporate infrastructure support. But consolidation hasn't reversed the headcount trend.

The shrinking unit count is the headline concern — when closures persistently outpace openings, it means operators are exiting faster than new ones are entering. Validate this by speaking to both current and former franchisees before signing.

The territory violation penalty structure is punishing: intentional service in another franchisee's territory triggers a 50% revenue penalty on all cumulative revenue from that violation; a second violation is 100% and grounds for termination. In a business where you're driving to client homes, territory boundary disputes can happen.

The mandatory biennial Reunion attendance ($1,000/person) carries a $2,000 non-attendance fee if you skip. This is becoming standard in Neighborly brands but is worth flagging.

Molly Maid competes at the higher end of residential cleaning (average $173/clean), which leaves it exposed in a price-competitive market if consumer sentiment shifts. The largest multi-unit operators show significantly higher per-cleaning averages, suggesting geographic pricing power matters — don't assume the system average reflects your market.