Halloween Express franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Halloween Express franchise takes $170,000 – $267,700 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $10,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Halloween Express franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $170,000 | $267,700 | $170,000 to $267,700 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $170,000 | $267,700 | $170,000 to $267,700 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Halloween Express's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Not disclosed |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 5 years |
See the full Halloween Express cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Halloween Express's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Halloween Express's disclosed cost sits against the Retail category:
- Minimum startup cost of $170,000 — about in line with the Retail median of $165,000.
- Initial franchise fee of $10,000 — about 73% below the Retail median of $36,750.
Category medians are computed from the Retail brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Retail franchises
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How Halloween Express's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2021: began the window at 185 units; 87 units opened, 185 closed, ending at 49 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 Halloween Express 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 Halloween Express 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 Halloween Express 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 Halloween Express 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 Halloween Express 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 Halloween Express franchise
Halloween Express is a retail franchisor with 49 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2021, it began the window at 185 units; its filings record 87 unit openings and 185 closures, ending at 49 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Halloween Express, LLC.
Disclosure filings report 3 franchise-related lawsuits. Review Item 3 of the FDD. (as of 2026-05)
From the franchisor's materials
The Franchise offered is for the establishment and operation of a temporary seasonal Halloween store, which sells Halloween costumes and related merchandise.
Halloween Express franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Halloween Express franchise cost?
- $170,000 – $267,700 all-in to open, per Halloween Express's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Halloween Express units are there?
- 49 units at the end of 2021 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Halloween Express's units held up?
- 49.5% 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).