19 Best Cleaning Business Franchise Opportunities

Ever wondered what cleaning franchise opportunities are out there? We reviewed the cleaning industry to help you find commercial cleaning services that will help you build a company faster.

Neel Parekh started MaidThis in 2013 when he realized that cleaning companies were operating like they were pre-internet companies. Requests for Airbnb cleaning led him to focus on this niche of the cleaning industry and earned him recognition on the 2022 Top 500 New & Emerging Franchise list.

We’ll discuss the following cleaning franchises to help you decide which one is best for you.

Get ready to find out more about how to get a cleaning franchise.

General Cleaning Industry Overview

According to IBIS World, cleaning services is a growing industry. There are three main areas that cleaners operate under:

• Commercial Cleaning Services: Commonly referred to as janitorial cleaning, these services made over $90 billion in 2022 and are expected to grow to $96.1 billion by 2028. This segment of the industry averages 6.9% profit.
• Residential Cleaning Services: The housekeeping, maids, and gardening industry made over $30 billion last year and is expected to grow to $33 billion by 2028. This industry has a nearly 52% profit margin.
• Specialty Cleaning Services: This is a catchall for other services like carpet cleaning, upholstery cleaning, power washing, and window washing. These add up to around $10 billion in revenue, and profits vary.

That means cleaning is a nearly $130 billion industry. You should also be aware that customers expect green cleaning services to be offered in all types of buildings.

Office space, retail stores, medical facilities, and even homeowners are becoming more aware of hospital-grade disinfectants and HEPA vacuums. So there are a lot of evolving industry trends.

Despite all the changes, Queen Bee Cleaning Services Owner Christopher Mondragon told us:

Check out our interview with him below.

How much does a cleaning franchise make?

Cleaning franchises can make up to $3.25 million annually based on the information disclosed on their various websites. Merry Maids disclosed the highest revenue statistic. Every franchise for cleaning business operations is different, but some share their numbers on their websites.

All cleaning companies should disclose how much their franchises make in their Financial Disclosure Document. If they don’t, run! That means they don’t have a proven track record (and are breaking franchising laws). Next, we’ll answer how much a cleaning franchise costs.

How much does a cleaning franchise cost?

Cleaning companies franchise their business operations to small business owners for an initial franchise fee ranging from about $1,000 to $100K. The differences are impacted by:

1. Local market potential
2. Reputation of the brand
3. Size of the zone
4. Corporate greed
5. Master vs. Service franchise
6. How much assistance the corporate office provides

In addition, you’ll have initial costs to other suppliers that may bring the total cost to buy franchise cleaning businesses up to $250,000. I know that’s a huge range, but many cleaning franchises are less than $100K for a recognized brand.

Can I Buy a Cleaning Franchise Under $1,000?

No, you can’t start a cleaning franchise for under $1,000 in most locations. That said, if you are considering franchising a cleaning business for under $1,000, there are some companies that will allow a down payment of as little as $1,000 to start your own business using their brand recognition. Options include:

• UpFlip Cleaning Business Blueprint
• Jan-Pro
• Stratus Building Solutions
• Anago Cleaning Systems

We’ll cover all of these and more before you finish this article. First, we want to introduce you to the MaidThis cleaning franchise.

Our #1 Cleaning Franchise Brand: MaidThis

As a franchise owner, you’ll be operating a cleaning franchise that focuses on residential and Airbnb cleaning. You’ll mostly be focused on growing the business and supporting your team using the best processes in the cleaning industry.

• Initial License Fee: $35K
• Other Startup Costs: $12.6K to $31.6K
• Total Expenses: $47.6K to $66.55K
• Royalty Fees: 6%
• Advertising: 2%

This cleaning franchise opportunity is relatively rare. Finding a franchise where you can work completely remotely is amazing. Given most states don’t already have a franchise, it’s even better.

Hear Neel’s story below.

We’ve partnered with Neel to provide you a unique opportunity to start a remote cleaning company. He’ll even give you $6,000 off the marketing when you sign up through our link. Request information from MaidThis.

Neel explained the most important thing he does to grow his business answering the phone:

Next, we introduce another completely unique option: the Upflip Cleaning Business Blueprint.

The UpFlip Cleaning Business Blueprint

The UpFlip Cleaning Business BluePrint is a comprehensive program developed in collaboration with Christopher Mondragon.

With a history of founding Queen Bee Cleaning Services and achieving an impressive annual revenue exceeding $1 million, Chris shares his proven strategies for entrepreneurial triumph. This exceptional package encompasses:

1. A 10-module comprehensive course
2. Your personalized website and SEO
3. Pre-designed marketing and sales scripts
4. Templates for Google Local Service Ads
5. An Airbnb client booking handbook
6. Specialized review software
7. Ongoing mentorship throughout your cleaning business launch and operations

In essence, we provide you with the full spectrum of resources synonymous with a cleaning business franchise, all without the burden of royalties. This translates to substantial cost savings, enabling you to embrace entrepreneurship and become the master of your own enterprise.

We’ve broken the rest of this blog into sections based on the three major cleaning segments. We’ll start with residential cleaners.

Residential Cleaning Franchises

Want to know how to start a cleaning franchise? Start by considering a residential cleaning company like these:

1. The Maids
2. Two Maids (and a Mop)
3. You’ve Got Maids
4. Molly Maid
5. Merry Maids
6. Maid Right

#2. The Maids: Top-Ranked Cleaning Company by Entrepreneur

The Maids, an official partner of Mr. Clean, offers residential and small business cleaning services. Franchise operators who want to join this proven business model need to pay:

• Initial License Fee: $12.5K
• Additional Fees at Signing: $32K to $80K
• Other Startup Costs: $10K to $33K
• 3 Months Operating Expenses: $22K to $39K
• Total Expenses: $76K to $165K
• Royalty Fees: 3.9% to 6.9%
• Advertising: 2%

Learn more about cleaning franchise opportunities on The Maids website.

#3. Two Maids: Best Employee Pay Model

Another residential cleaning company franchise is Two Maids, which compares to other cleaning franchise opportunities by offering:

1. Pay for Performance: Employees get paid based on performance instead of hourly pay, incentivizing the best performers.
2. Guidance with Systems: The company is highly focused on creating the right systems for you to succeed.

Starting a cleaning business franchise with Two Maids will require a business owner to have the following financial considerations:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $19,950
• Initial Investment: $83,140 to $123,890
• Net Worth Requirement: $200,000
• Cash Requirement: $51,140
• Royalty Fees: 4-7%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

Check out the Two Maids Franchise website to learn more about being your own boss.

#4. You’ve Got Maids: Best for High-Value Residential Clients

You’ve Got Maids franchise cleaning company might be right for you if you want to clean people’s homes. They offer weekly and biweekly cleaning, move-in/move-out cleaning, spring cleaning, and full-time residential cleaner placements. You’ve Got Maids Cleaning franchises require:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $7,000
• Initial Investment: $36K to $108K
• Net Worth Requirement: $200,000
• Cash Requirement: $40K to $100K
• Royalty Fees: 2.99% to 5.99%
• Ad Royalty: $75/week

Note that there’s been a 29% decline in You’ve Got Maids franchises over the last three years and don’t be afraid to ask questions about what that means for you if you want to become one of these franchise owners.

#5. Molly Maid: Most Cleaning Franchise Options

Another residential cleaning franchise opportunity is Molly Maid. You’ll need to meet the following qualifications to start your own business under Molly Maid cleaning franchises:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $14,900
• Initial Investment: $127K to $185K
• Net Worth Requirement: $250,000
• Cash Requirement: $65,000
• Royalty Fees: 3% to 6.5%
• Ad Royalty: $104/week

Molly Maid’s weekly ad royalty might distract new franchisees from focusing on getting cleaning clients. Personally I’d prefer paying franchise fees less routinely.

Neighborly is the parent company of Molly Maids and offers other cleaning franchise opportunities including window washing, junk removal, lawn care, and carpet cleaning for franchise owners.

#6. Merry Maids

Merry Maids is one of the most well-known cleaning franchise brands in the cleaning industry. Twenty-five percent of Merry Maids franchises make over $3 million annually.

• Initial Franchise Fee: $37,500 to $51,500
• Initial Investment: $50K to $100K
• Net Worth Requirement: $250,000
• Cash Requirement: $65,000
• Royalty Fees: 5% to 7%
• Ad Royalty: 1.3%

Data is according to Entrepreneur.

#7. Maid Right

For those wondering how to start a franchise cleaning business with Maid Right, you’ll need:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $65,000
• Initial Investment: $103K to $148K
• Net Worth Requirement: $200,000
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fee: 6%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

Go to the Maid Right website to learn more about their franchise fees, cleaning standards, and processes.

Now that you know about home cleaning services, want to learn about commercial cleaning franchises?

Commercial Cleaning Services Franchises

These commercial cleaning franchises perform office cleaning and other janitorial work :

• Jan-Pro
• Jani-King
• Coverall
• Stratus Building Solutions
• Vanguard Cleaning Systems
• Anago Cleaning Systems

#8. Jan-Pro: Best Commercial Cleaning Franchise Under $50K

One of the top commercial cleaning industry franchises is JanPro, which ranks at the top of multiple Entrepreneur categories.

Work with commercial clients as a Jan-Pro franchise for as little as $3,150, which includes the down payment, $1,000 for emergency expenses, and the Franchise Development Starter Kit.

Jan-Pro cleaning systems helps book commercial facilities that need commercial cleaners, and you choose your hours or client count each month. Expect the following startup costs when cleaning commercial businesses:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $2K to $4.5K
• Initial Investment: $4.8K to $58K
• Royalty: 10%
• Ad Royalty: 1%

#9. Jani-King: Largest Global Franchise Cleaning Company

With over 7,000 global franchises, Jani-King is the largest cleaning franchise for sale. This janitorial franchise opportunity is losing franchises, but Franchise Times shows that they have rising revenue.

Be careful when considering buying this cleaning franchise for sale. Audit the prior business owners’ books carefully before buying.

• Initial Franchise Fee: Not Disclosed
• Initial Investment: $20K to $52K
• Net Worth Requirement: Not Disclosed
• Cash Requirement: Not Disclosed
• Royalty Fees: Not Disclosed
• Ad Royalty: Not Disclosed

#10. Coverall: Most Focused on A Positive Work Environment

If you’re wondering how to start your own cleaning business, consider Coverall. Coverall cleaning franchises are marketed as janitorial cleaners focused on helping friends and families build wealth.

You should expect the following costs for these cleaning business franchises:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $16K to $41K
• Initial Investment: $18K to $52K
• Royalty Fee: 5%
• Net Worth Requirement: Not Disclosed
• Cash Requirement: Not Disclosed
• Ad Royalty: Not Disclosed

Next, find out how to start a cleaning business with Stratus.

#11. Stratus Building Solutions: Lowest Cost Cleaning Franchise

Would you rather focus on booking janitorial services or cleaning and managing a crew?

Stratus offers two ways of franchising:

1. Unit Franchises
2. Master Franchises

Their janitorial franchises are some of the lowest-cost franchises in the cleaning industry. They start at just $1,000 for an owner-operator without employees. This commercial cleaning franchise opportunity requires that you focus on the manual labor.

Meanwhile, the Stratus master franchise opportunity is a 9-to-5 admin, invoicing, and business consulting service for the janitorial services franchises. Master franchising requires:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $3,600 to $69,000
• Initial Investment: $4,600 to $79,000
• Net Worth Requirement: $5K to $40K
• Cash Requirement: $2K to $20K
• Royalty Fees: 5%
• Ad Royalty: 1%

This franchise opportunity lets you focus on the parts of a janitorial services business that most interest you.

#12. Vanguard Cleaning Systems

Commercial cleaning business Vanguard Cleaning Systems operates a lot like Stratus Building Solutions. You can either perform daily janitorial services or perform admin tasks for the other cleaning franchises.

• Initial Franchise Fee: $5K
• Initial Investment: $6K to $37K
• Net Worth Requirement: $50K and $250K
• Cash Requirement: $7K and $45K
• Royalty Fees: 11.5%
• Ad Royalty: N/A

Check out Vanguard Cleaning Systems’ franchise opportunities.

#13. Anago Cleaning Systems: Easiest-to-Get-Approved Cleaning Franchise

Anago Cleaning Systems franchises have low net worth and cash requirements for commercial cleaning services franchises. Anago Cleaning Systems uses the same franchise business model as the other commercial cleaning franchise opportunities on the list, where you have master franchise and unit franchise options.

The master franchise gets an exclusive territory where they book clients and sell unit franchises.

• Initial Franchise Fee: $5K to $31K for Units; $98K for Master franchises
• Initial Investment: $11K to 61K for Units; $219K to $339K for Master
• Net Worth Requirement: $31K
• Cash Requirement: $1K
• Royalty Fees: 10%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

Learn more about Anago Cleaning Systems franchising.

Specialty Cleaning Franchises

Haven’t found a cleaning service you like yet?

Specialized services like window washing, green cleaning, and junk hauling are all options to consider when deciding how to start a cleaning company.

Check out some unique cleaning franchises like:

• Aire-Master of America
• Oxi Fresh
• College HUNKS Hauling Junk
• ServiceMaster Clean
• PuroClean
• TruBlue Total House Care

#14. Aire-Master of America: Most Unique Cleaning Services Franchise

If you want to offer air cleaning services, this company franchise is a good one to consider. Aire-Master of America provides fragrances, equipment, and servicing to commercial buildings, enhancing their workspaces and creating environments that help employees and customers feel better.

According to Entrepreneur, you should expect:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $30K to $100K
• Initial Investment: $45K to $170K
• Net Worth Requirement: $20K
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fees: 5%
• Ad Royalty: N/A

Find out more about Aire-Master of America franchises.

#15. Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning: Best Carpet Cleaning Franchise

If you want to start a carpet cleaning franchise, consider Oxi Fresh.

• Initial Franchise Fee: $42,000
• Initial Investment: $48K to $78K
• Net Worth Requirement: $20K
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fees: $395 monthly
• Ad Royalty: 3%

Oxi Fresh has franchises across the U.S. and Canada and offers the opportunity to become a master franchise in other countries.

#16. College HUNKS Hauling Junk: Best Name

College HUNKS Hauling Junk performs junk removal and moving services for homeowners and businesses. These junk removal businesses also donate junk and meals and emphasize their recycling efforts. It gets better though. They average $1.63 million revenue and you’ll need:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $45K to $75K
• Initial Investment: Not Disclosed
• Net Worth Requirement: $200K
• Cash Requirement: $75K
• Royalty Fees: 7%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

I just wish the uniforms were superhero costumes!

#17. ServiceMaster Clean

Want to operate a floor cleaning business? Consider ServiceMaster Clean, which is a residential and commercial cleaning business offering cleaning franchises for:

• Initial Franchise Fee: $32,500
• Initial Investment: $90K
• Net Worth Requirement: $100K
• Cash Requirement: $50K
• Royalty Fees: 7%
• Ad Royalty: 2%

Their top franchises average over $3.2 million in revenue annually, while 25% of single-zone franchises average $1.85 million in revenue.

Find out more about ServiceMaster Clean franchises.

#18. PuroClean: Most Transparent Cleaning Franchises

Offer building remediation with these cleaning franchise opportunities. You’ll clean after property damage from water, fire, mold, and other hazardous materials.

PuroClean lists what you need to start a cleaning franchise business directly on their site and offers financing for up to 50% of the total franchise cost.

#19. TruBlue Total House Care: Most Diverse Offerings

TruBlue is a combination cleaning, handyman, and landscaping franchise, and they also offer accessibility remodeling services. This might be the franchise cleaning business for you if you want to build an empire because of all the additional services you can offer.

You’ll need:

• Total Investment: $65,050 to $91,400
• Franchise Fee: $44,900
• Minimum Liquid Capital: $50,000

Find out more about TruBlue Total House Care cleaning franchises.

Contact the Franchise That Works for You

Once you’ve determined your ideal cleaning franchise based on your location, skill set, and budget, the next step involves initiating contact with them to kickstart your franchise journey.

I’m considering Neel’s MaidThis franchise opportunity because it is available in Las Vegas and I know lots of people who work in the cleaning industry. The estimated total initial investment is comparable to many companies, they offer comprehensive training, and you’ll be one of the earliest cleaning franchise owners in your area.

That means you’ll get more personalized support than those who join later and you’ll have the ability to be on the forefront of cleaning strategies.

Don’t hesitate to explore one or more of the providers that boast more than a decade of industry experience, too.

Which pathway aligns with your preference for embarking on the journey of starting a cleaning business?

• Start my own cleaning business from scratch.
• Start my cleaning business with a course.
• Contact a franchise. Tell us in the comments which one!