Mr. Rooter franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Mr. Rooter franchise takes $83,100 – $225,390 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $43,750. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 7% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. To qualify, Mr. Rooter asks for $50,000 in liquid cash. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Mr. Rooter franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $43,750 | $43,750 | $43,750 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $83,100 | $225,390 | $83,100 to $225,390 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $50,000 | $50,000 | $50,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $83,100 | $225,390 | $83,100 to $225,390 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Mr. Rooter's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 7% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Mr. Rooter cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Mr. Rooter's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Mr. Rooter's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $83,100 — about in line with the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $43,750 — about in line with the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How Mr. Rooter's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 224 units; 162 units opened, 165 closed, ending at 209 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 Mr. Rooter 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 Mr. Rooter 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 Mr. Rooter 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 Mr. Rooter 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 Mr. Rooter 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 Mr. Rooter franchise
Mr. Rooter is a professional services franchisor with 209 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 224 units; its filings record 162 unit openings and 165 closures, ending at 209 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Neighborly.
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
As a franchisee you will perform residential and commercial plumbing and plumbing repair services; sewer, drain and pipe cleaning services; septic tank pumping; water heater replacement; video pipe inspection; line and leak detection; excavation, replacement and repair/relining of sewer lines; replacement and repair of water service and supply lines; replacement and repair of gas service and supply lines; grease trap pumping; the rental and maintenance of portable toilet facilities; the sale and service of private sewage systems; the sale and service of water-based heating systems; the sale and service of water treatment systems; installation and service of lawn sprinkler systems; and other related services and products pursuant to certain standards and specifications.
Mr. Rooter franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Mr. Rooter franchise cost?
- $83,100 – $225,390 all-in to open, per Mr. Rooter's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Mr. Rooter units are there?
- 209 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Mr. Rooter's units held up?
- 90.4% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is Mr. Rooter SBA-eligible?
- Mr. Rooter 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.