Molly Maid franchise review
Entity: Molly Maid SPV LLC
Parent: KKR / Neighborly
Ownership: PE-backed (Neighborly SPV)
Franchising since: 1984
448
System Size
franchised outlets, end 2024
$139K–$197K
Initial Investment
Item 7 range
$31,056
Annual Fees at $300K
#3 of 7 compared
-53 units
3-Year Net Growth
Steady contraction
Where Molly Maid Stands vs. Peers
Fee burden (at $300K)
$31,056/yr
#3 of 7
Royalty rate
6.5% / 6% / 5.5% / 5% / 4.5% / 4% / 3.5% / 3%
8-tier marginal — declines to 3% above $2.8M
Marketing floor
2% + $1/TH/yr local
moderate (MAP 2% + declining per-TH local)
2024 attrition
5.4%
above cohort average
Disclosure quality
Strong
2nd of 7
Peer comparisons from
fee burden,
system health,
cost to enter
analysis.
Want the full Molly Maid analysis — Item 19 interpretation, buyer-side economics, risk flags, and discovery-day questions?
Biggest Watchouts Editorial
- △ System has contracted every year for 3 consecutive years (501 → 481 → 464 → 448, −10.6%).
- △ Item 19 does not disclose absolute total gross sales per franchisee — only per-cleaning and per-TH metrics. Revenue comparisons require inference.
- △ Technology costs total ~$463/month ($58 ZorWare + $405 CLEO/ServiceTitan).
- △ Same Neighborly/KKR SPV structure as Mosquito Joe — securitization layers.
- △ Minimum License Fees apply from Year 2 based on TH in territory.
Strongest Positives Editorial
- ✓ Tiered marginal royalty genuinely rewards growth: 6.5% on first $500K declining to 3% above $2.8M. Most favorable royalty structure in the cleaning cohort at scale.
- ✓ 91% recurring customer rate — one of the highest in any franchise vertical.
- ✓ 79% of franchisees grew YoY in 2024. Only 4% declined more than 10%.
- ✓ Per-cleaning revenue of $173 average ($170 median) is a useful unit metric.
- ✓ 45-year system history (founded 1979, US franchising since 1984).
Fee Burden Position Modeled
| Revenue Level |
Annual Fees |
% of Revenue |
Rank |
| $200,000 |
$22,556 |
11.3% |
3 of 7 |
| $300,000 |
$31,056 |
10.4% |
3 of 7 |
| $400,000 |
$39,556 |
9.9% |
3 of 7 |
| $500,000 |
$48,056 |
9.6% |
3 of 7 |
Year 5 assumptions, single territory. See full methodology.
Minimum License Fees
Minimum fees based on TH in territory apply from Year 2. At low revenue, these minimums may exceed the percentage-based royalty.
System Health
| Year |
Opened |
Closed |
Net Change |
End Count |
| 2022 |
5 |
25 |
-20 |
481 |
| 2023 |
7 |
24 |
-17 |
464 |
| 2024 |
9 |
25 |
-16 |
448 |
Steady contraction
System has lost 53 units over 3 years (−10.6%). Contraction is consistent but slowing slightly (−20, −17, −16).
Disclosure Quality Editorial
Item 19 provides 4 parts: per-cleaning revenue ($173 avg), per-TH penetration, 91% recurring customer rate, and YoY growth distribution. 79% of franchisees grew in 2024. Does not disclose absolute total gross sales per franchisee. 25 businesses that closed during 2024 excluded.
Get the Molly Maid Decision Report
A 15–25 page single-brand memo built from the 2025 regulator-filed FDD —
not a summary, not AI-generated, not franchisor marketing.
Fee modeling at 4 revenue levels, Item 19 interpretation, buyer-side economics,
risk signals, and 8–10 discovery-day questions specific to this brand.
✓ Built from regulator-filed FDD
✓ No franchisor affiliation
✓ Every claim FDD-traceable
✓ One-time $99 · instant PDF
Get the Decision Report — $99
Not legal, accounting, or investment advice. Structured analysis to support your own due diligence.
What’s in the report
1Fee Burden Deep Dive
Dollar-level modeling at 4 revenue levels with component breakdown, minimum triggers, and year-by-year escalation
2Item 19 Translation
What the financial performance data actually says — and what it conspicuously omits
3Investment Breakdown
Where the initial investment goes, what’s negotiable vs. fixed, what the FDD footnotes bury
4System Health Narrative
Churn context, closure patterns, transfer trends — what the Item 20 numbers actually mean
5Risk Flags & Litigation
Regulatory history, entity changes, franchise dispute outcomes, and what they signal
6Discovery Day Questions
Specific, data-informed questions to ask the franchisor — derived from this brand’s FDD
7Peer Positioning
How this brand compares across the full residential cleaning category with narrative context
Head-to-Head Comparisons
Side-by-side FDD comparisons featuring Molly Maid.
Compare Other Brands
See how Molly Maid compares to other residential cleaning franchise brands in the cohort.