Great Clips franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Great Clips franchise takes $187,800 – $419,900 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $73,800 – $104,400. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 5%. To qualify, Great Clips asks for $50,000 in liquid cash and a $300,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Great Clips franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $73,800 | $104,400 | $73,800 to $104,400 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $187,800 | $419,900 | $187,800 to $419,900 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $187,800 | $419,900 | $187,800 to $419,900 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 5% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Great Clips cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Great Clips's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Great Clips's disclosed cost sits against the Health & Fitness category:
- Minimum startup cost of $187,800 — about in line with the Health & Fitness median of $184,861.
- Initial franchise fee of $73,800 — about 1.5× the Health & Fitness median of $49,000.
Category medians are computed from the Health & Fitness brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Health & Fitness franchises
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How Great Clips's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2021: began the window at 3,002 units; 2,002 units opened, 790 closed, ending at 4,447 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Great Clips or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask Great Clips for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether Great Clips is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether Great Clips grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only Great Clips can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About the Great Clips franchise
Great Clips is a health & fitness franchisor with 4,447 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2021, it began the window at 3,002 units; its filings record 2,002 unit openings and 790 closures, ending at 4,447 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Great Clips, Inc..
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
A franchised GREAT CLIPS® Salon offers a required line of haircare services and products from a designated location, customarily in a shopping center, identified by trademarks licensed by the franchisor and using distinctive trade dress and business methods prescribed by Great Clips.
Great Clips franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Great Clips franchise cost?
- $187,800 – $419,900 all-in to open, per Great Clips's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Great Clips units are there?
- 4,447 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Great Clips's units held up?
- 92.2% of units at risk between 2019 and 2021 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is Great Clips SBA-eligible?
- Great Clips is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.