Molly Maid Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Molly Maid is a residential cleaning franchise providing recurring professional house-cleaning with trained teams. Franchisees run a route-based operation managing crews, scheduling, and customer retention in a local territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Molly Maid franchise requires a total initial investment of $144K – $204K, including a $15K franchise fee. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 10.2% charge-off rate across 169 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $144K – $204K
- 55th pct Cleaning & Ma…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 432
- 82nd pct Cleaning & Ma…
- SBA charge-off
- 10.2%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Cleaning & Maintenance · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Cleaning & Maintenance avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $144K – $204K including a $15K franchise fee.
- RETURNSItem 19 discloses Average and Median Gross Sales Per Target Household (TH), grouped by top 10%, 1st-4th quartile, and bottom 10% of Reporting Franchisees (188 Operators / 402 franchised businesses) for FY2025; also discloses % recurring vs. occasional customer services and 2024-2025 same-business Gross Sales growth distribution. This is a per-Target-Household metric, not whole-unit average gross sales, so avg_gross_sales/avg_net_income are left null per spec; underlying chart values were graphical and not captured in extracted text.
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 10.2% across 169 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- FLAGBankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Molly Maid SPV LLC
- Parent company
- Neighborly Assetco LLC
- Ultimate parent
- Nest Holdings LP (controlled by investment funds affiliated with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. / KKR)
- Predecessor
- Molly Maid, LLC (f/k/a Molly Maid, Inc.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President
- Michael J. Silva-Nash
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 1010 North University Parks Drive, Waco, Texas 76707
- Auditor
- Ernst & Young LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $480.8M
- vs $461.7M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Michael J. Silva-Nash
- Headquarters
- Texas
- Founded
- 1979
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 41
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 44% below the typical cleaning & maintenance franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $15K | $15K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $50K | $60K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $79K | $129K |
| Total initial investment | $144K | $204K |
Source: Molly Maid 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $144K – $204K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $50K – $60K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $15K – $15K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- License Fee is tiered/declining based on annual Gross Sal…
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 38.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $155 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $15K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 38.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Molly Maid did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Molly Maid unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
36%
Within the 30–60% "attractive franchise" band
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2026 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 discloses Average and Median Gross Sales Per Target Household (TH), grouped by top 10%, 1st-4th quartile, and bottom 10% of Reporting Franchisees (188 Operators / 402 franchised businesses) for FY2025; also discloses % recurring vs. occasional customer services and 2024-2025 same-business Gross Sales growth distribution. This is a per-Target-Household metric, not whole-unit average gross sales, so avg_gross_sales/avg_net_income are left null per spec; underlying chart values were graphical and not captured in extracted text.
- Item 19 type
- per metric average median gross sales per target household
- Sample size
- 188
- vs category median 32 · large
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- Disclosed in the 2026 filing, covering 2025
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 192 Cleaning & Maintenance brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 38.0% — above the Cleaning & Maintenance average of 9.7%.
Disclosure
Item 19 reports per metric average median gross sales per target household rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
Operator retention
System contracting at -10.2% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Cleaning & Maintenance averages
How Molly Maid Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 432
- Opened
- 5
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 20
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 4.9%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -10.2%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -10.2%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 5
- Closed (3yr)
- 20
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 20
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 40 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 169
- Loan volume
- $31.3M
- Median loan
- $131K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 10.2%
- 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)
- 89.8%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 67
- Defaults
- 13
- Typical loan rate
- 7.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 2,296
- 7.3 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 8%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 52% went to startups / new businesses, 48% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in janitorial services, franchised businesses charge off at 15.4% vs 22.8% for independents — franchising is associated with 32% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Molly Maid charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Molly Maid franchisees
Showing 3 of 67 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Molly Maid'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
- 32-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 10.2% — 37% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Declining franchise system with material litigation history, missing financial disclosures, and unclear unit-level profitability creates meaningful investment risk despite low going concern exposure.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two disclosed matters: (1) State of Kansas v. Molly Maid, Inc. - 2010 Consent Judgment under Kansas Consumer Protection Act re: background-check documentation and gift certificate sales, $25,000 civil penalty + $25,175 costs reimbursement, satisfied 2011. (2) California Commissioner of Business Oversight v. FOR Franchising LLC d/b/a Window Genie (affiliate's predecessor, not the Franchisor) - 2017 Consent Order re: failure to file advertisements, $5,000 penalty.
Largest disclosed settlement: $25,175
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
No bankruptcy proceedings involving the Franchisor (Molly Maid SPV LLC) itself; Item 4 discloses bankruptcy proceedings of unrelated KKR portfolio companies (Marelli Holdings, The Collected Group, Envision Healthcare, Genesis Care, IPI Legacy Liquidation/Impel Pharmaceuticals, Cafe Coffee Day) not involving the Franchisor.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Ernst & Young LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORSystem declining 3.5% YoY with 464 units suggests market saturation or operational challenges
- 02MINORNo Item 19 disclosure (Avg Revenue/Net Income) prevents realistic ROI assessment and suggests weak franchisee performance data
- 03HIGHTwo litigation consent judgments (background checks, gift certificates, advertising) indicate compliance weaknesses and consumer protection vulnerabilities
- 04MEDRoyalty range of 3-6.5% is high-end for home cleaning and combined with undisclosed income creates uncertainty about true profitability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 38.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 45,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 10 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | McLennan County, Texas (only if a court invalidates jury/class-action waiver; otherwise litigation) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Texas |
| Litigation count | 2 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two disclosed matters: (1) State of Kansas v. Molly Maid, Inc. - 2010 Consent Judgment under Kansas Consumer Protection Act re: background-check documentation and gift certificate sales, $25,000 civil penalty + $25,175 costs reimbursement, satisfied 2011. (2) California Commissioner of Business Oversight v. FOR Franchising LLC d/b/a Window Genie (affiliate's predecessor, not the Franchisor) - 2017 Consent Order re: failure to file advertisements, $5,000 penalty.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 133 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- Waco or Irving, Texas (or virtual) for classroom/business training week; Molly Maid Franchise Owner's Office (various locations) for hands-on training
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 2 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor approves location within franchisee's Territory per site selection guidelines
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Housecall Pro
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Housecall Pro
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
234 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Molly Maid · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Molly Maid franchise?
The total investment to open a Molly Maid franchise ranges from $144K – $204K, with an initial franchise fee of $15K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Molly Maid franchise owners earn?
Molly Maid does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Item 19 in the Molly Maid FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Molly Maid FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Molly Maid's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Molly Maid has a charge-off rate of 10.2% across 169 loans, meaning 10.2% 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 Molly Maid franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Molly Maid has 432 total units in the United States, including 432 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 5 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Molly Maid a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Molly Maid as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 out of 100 (higher is better), 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.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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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.