Merry MaidsFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Merry Maids franchise requires a total initial investment of $127K – $170K, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $487K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 5.0% charge-off rate across 115 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $127K – $170K
- 48th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- $487K
- 17th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 28th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Units
- 802
- 81st pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA default
- 5.0%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 3.3x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1980. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
The system contracted 7% year-over-year. Investigate why units are closing.
Bottom line
- Total investment $127K – $170K including a $55K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $487K/year (median $427K).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 31/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 5.0% across 115 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- System growing at 18.0% CAGR over 3 years with 802 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- MERRY MAIDS SPE LLC
- Parent company
- RW Parent LLC
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- One Glenlake Parkway, 14th Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30328
- Auditor
- PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $19.3M
- Most recent fiscal year
Overview
About
Merry Maids franchisees operate residential and light commercial cleaning services, managing teams of trained cleaners who service customer homes on recurring schedules. Day-to-day responsibilities include customer acquisition/retention, staff scheduling, quality control, equipment/supply management, and local marketing. The model is labor-intensive and territory-dependent.
- CEO
- Jon Nobis
- Headquarters
- GA
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 45
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 13 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $55K | $55K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses During Training | $3K | $7K | |
| Real Estate and Improvements | $2K | $4K | |
| Software and Hardware | $2K | $4K | |
| Office Equipment | $5K | $7K | |
| Opening Inventory | $7K | $8K | |
| Insurance | $3K | $9K | |
| Employee Screening | $80 | $160 | |
| Telephone Answering Service | $50 | $300 | |
| Opening Marketing | $6K | $8K | |
| Miscellaneous Opening Costs | $1K | $10K | |
| Professional Fees | $5K | $15K | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $38K | $43K | |
| Total initial investment | $127K | $171K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$52K
10.7% margin
Unlevered ROIC
28%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.6 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $127K – $170K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $38K – $43K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $55K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- percentage_of_gross · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.3%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.3%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.3% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $499 |
| Transfer fee | $14K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Total fee load | 8.3% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $487K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $427K
- Item 19 type
- Qualified Franchises
- Sample size
- 306 units
- vs category median 31 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $43K→$1.8M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $170K→$920K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 204 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Merry Maids Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 802
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 90
- Turnover rate
- 11.2%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- -7.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +18.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 35
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 25 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 115
- Loan volume
- $31.4M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 5.0%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 95.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 56
- Defaults
- 4
Vintage analysis
Merry Maids charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Merry Maids's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 29-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Established brand with solid unit base, but undisclosed profitability metrics, corporate litigation exposure, and slowing growth warrant careful validation of actual franchisee earnings.
Litigation (Item 3)
Three cases involving affiliates (Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. and Dunkin' Brands, Inc.): (1) California v. Arby's - settlement regarding no-poaching provisions in franchise agreements (March 2019); (2) California v. Dunkin' Brands - settlement regarding no-poaching provisions in franchise agreements (March 2019); (3) New York v. Dunkin' Brands - settlement regarding credential-stuffing cyberattacks and inadequate data breach notification (September 2020). All cases were settled. FDD explicitly states these actions have no impact on franchisor (Merry Maids) or its brand and allege no unlawful conduct by franchisor.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 31 / 100 rating
- 01MEDNet income not disclosed in FDD Item 19 — cannot validate profit claims against $487K average revenue
- 02HIGHParent company litigation involving affiliate brands (no-poaching, cybersecurity) signals corporate governance and legal exposure risks
- 03MINOR7% YoY unit growth is modest for a 802-unit system; suggests market saturation or franchisee churn concerns
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($126.8K–$170.1K) plus 7% royalty leaves thin margins if net income is below 20–25% of revenue
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | Geographic |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Georgia |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Three cases involving affiliates (Arby's Restaurant Group, Inc. and Dunkin' Brands, Inc.): (1) California v. Arby's - settlement regarding no-poaching provisions in franchise agreements (March 2019); (2) California v. Dunkin' Brands - settlement regarding no-poaching provisions in franchise agreements (March 2019); (3) New York v. Dunkin' Brands - settlement regarding credential-stuffing cyberattacks and inadequate data breach notification (September 2020). All cases were settled. FDD explicitly states these actions have no impact on franchisor (Merry Maids) or its brand and allege no unlawful conduct by franchisor.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and at franchisor location
- POS system
- Merry Maids 360 (MM360)
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Merry Maids 360 (MM360)
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
56 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Merry Maids · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Merry Maids franchise?
The total investment to open a Merry Maids franchise ranges from $127K – $170K, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Merry Maids franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Merry Maids FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $487K. The median is $427K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Merry Maids's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Merry Maids has a charge-off rate of 5.0% across 115 loans, meaning 5.0% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Merry Maids franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Merry Maids has 802 total units in the United States, including 802 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Merry Maids a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Merry Maids as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 31 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.