Snap-on Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Snap-on is a mobile franchise selling professional-grade tools and diagnostic equipment directly to auto and industrial technicians. Franchisees run a stocked tool truck along a protected route of repair shops, building repeat customer relationships.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Snap-on franchise requires a total initial investment of $223K – $509K, including a $8K – $16K franchise fee. Per the 2026 FDD, average unit revenue was $796K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 11.8% charge-off rate across 286 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $223K – $509K
- 30th pct Automotive
- Avg gross sales
- $796K
- Outlet subset7th pct Automotive
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 3,328
- 56th pct Automotive
- SBA charge-off
- 11.8%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Automotive · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Automotive 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 $223K – $509K including a $16K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $796K/year (median $756K) (reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system).
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 60/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 11.8% across 286 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- SCALEEstablished system with 3,328 units across 36 years of franchising. Strong brand recognition and operational playbook.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Snap-on Tools Company LLC
- Parent company
- Snap-on Incorporated
- Predecessor
- Snap-on Incorporated and Snap-on Tools Company (Wisconsin corporation)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Timothy L. Chambers
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 2801 80th Street, Kenosha, Wisconsin 53143
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $5.2B
- vs $5.1B prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Timothy L. Chambers
- Headquarters
- WI
- Founded
- 1920
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 52
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 58% below the typical automotive franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $16K | $16K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $5K | $38K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $202K | $455K |
| Total initial investment | $223K | $509K |
Source: Snap-on 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
- $223K – $509K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $5K – $38K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $8K – $16K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- $156.00 per month
- Ad fund
- No advertising fund; franchisor states there is no advert…
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty (flat) | Monthly License Fee $156/month; Monthly Software Fee $94/month (both flat, non-refundable) |
| Technology fee | $94 |
| Transfer fee | $16K |
| Renewal fee | $8K |
| Inventory (initial) | $140K – $154K |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 43% below the automotive norm.
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Snap-on until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$388K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Snap-on unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for royalty rate, ad fund rate, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
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
Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system
- Avg gross sales
- $796K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $756K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Paid Sales
- Sample size
- 2,802 franchisees
- vs category median 70 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $8K→$2.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Source filing
- FDD 2026
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 1 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 167 Automotive brands
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $796K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 2.2x. Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.
Disclosure
Transparency score 1/10 — minimal disclosure beyond the required average. Hard to judge the distribution of outcomes across units.
Operator retention
System contracting at -2.4% 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 Automotive averages
How Snap-on Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 3,328
- Opened
- 195
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 25
- Turnover rate
- 13.5%
- Company-owned
- 169
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 95%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -2.4%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -2.4%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 195
- Closed (3yr)
- 227
- Terminated (3yr)
- 195
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 4
- Transfers (3yr)
- 141
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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
- 286
- Loan volume
- $34.2M
- Median loan
- $130K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 11.8%
- 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)
- 88.2%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 13.6%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 116
- Defaults
- 25
- Typical loan rate
- 8.0%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 29.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 111
- 1.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 10%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 22% went to startups / new businesses, 78% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in other direct selling establishments, franchised businesses charge off at 29.8% vs 15.9% for independents — franchising is associated with 87% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Snap-on charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Snap-on franchisees
Showing 3 of 116 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 Snap-on'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
- 9-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 11.8% — 26% 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
Three pending matters including a franchise rescission/misrepresentation claim and a $2.35M misclassification class-action settlement — normal count for a large 3,328-unit system with financials in the billions (net worth $5.96B, net income $1.04B). Audited, Item 19 disclosed, no bankruptcy or going-concern.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
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 60 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR3 pending suits incl. rescission and $2,350,000 class settlement — low relative to 3,328 units
- 02MINORVery strong financials: net worth $5,956,800,000, net income $1,042,300,000
- 03MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed
- 04MINORNo bankruptcy, no going-concern
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | List of Calls |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Office of the American Arbitration Association closest to franchisee's Regional Sales Office (or home state if not same) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | State in which the List of Calls is located |
| Litigation count | 7 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 80 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 135 hrs
- Ongoing training
- Optional
- Field support
- 135 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Site selection
- not applicable (no fixed site; van-based route/List of Calls assigned by franchisor)
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Snap-on Chrome
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Snap-on Chrome
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
95 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Snap-on · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Snap-on franchise?
The total investment to open a Snap-on franchise ranges from $223K – $509K, with an initial franchise fee of $16K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Snap-on franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Snap-on FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $796K. The median is $756K. Important context: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Snap-on 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 Snap-on FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Snap-on's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Snap-on has a charge-off rate of 11.8% across 286 loans, meaning 11.8% 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 Snap-on franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Snap-on has 3,328 total units in the United States, including 3,159 franchised units and 169 company-owned units. 195 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Snap-on a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Snap-on as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 60 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.