Is Cost Cutters or Fantastic Sams cheaper to open?

Cost Cutters costs $180,990–$342,340 and Fantastic Sams costs $162,500–$453,000 to open (FDD Item 7). Fantastic Sams has the lower entry cost.

Which earns more, Cost Cutters or Fantastic Sams?

Cost Cutters reports $279,898 average annual unit revenue vs $325,419 for Fantastic Sams (FDD Item 19). Fantastic Sams is higher.

Which is the better franchise, Cost Cutters or Fantastic Sams?

FranchiseVerdict grades Cost Cutters C and Fantastic Sams C, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Cost Cutters vs Fantastic Sams

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both Cost Cutters and Fantastic Sams are personal care & beauty franchises. Cost Cutters requires an investment of $181K – $342K while Fantastic Sams requires $163K – $453K. In terms of revenue, Fantastic Sams reports higher average unit revenue at $325K. Fantastic Sams has SBA lending data on file with a 22.2% charge-off rate. FranchiseVerdict rates Cost Cutters C (Average) and Fantastic Sams C (Average).

Metric	Cost Cutters	Fantastic Sams
Verdict Grade	CAverageAverage	CAverageAverage
Investment Range	$181K – $342K	$163K – $453K
Franchise Fee	$40K	$35K
Royalty Rate	4.0%	6.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$280K	$325K
SBA Charge-Off Rate	Limited data	22.2% (537 loans)
Total Units	405	512
Unit Growth (YoY)	N/A	N/A
Year Began Franchising	1982	1976
FDD Year	2025	2026