Franchises $100K – $250K: 1,549 brands by filed minimum
1,549 brands file a minimum investment between $100,000 and $250,000, per their franchise disclosure filings. The median filed minimum here is $160,700, and the median initial franchise fee is $40,000. The biggest categories at this level are Food & Beverage (478 brands), Professional Services (396), and Health & Fitness (284). Placement uses each filing's low end — "starting from" money — so read the full range and the fees on every brand page before you shortlist.
What's actually available at $100K – $250K
Franchises with a filed minimum in the $100K – $250K band
Banded by the filed minimum — the low end of each brand's own estimate. The "Cash to open" column shows the full filed range, which can run past the band. Where a row carries a "3-yr survival" figure, it is our metric recomputed from filed unit history; brands without three reported years show no figure — never a guess.
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Annex Brands Retail Centers | PostalAnnex | PAKMAIL | AIM MAIL CENTERS | PARCEL PLUS | Sunshine Pack & Ship | Packaging StoreProfessional Services3-yr survival: 94.7%Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
- Cash to openFranchise feeRoyalty
Know the trade before the brand
The cost columns can't tell you what the daily work is — the hours, the physical reality, who actually runs the schedule. These trades have brands in the $100K – $250K band, and each guide covers what the work is really like:
- Spa at $100K – $250K? Read the trade guide (24 matched brands here)
- QSR at $100K – $250K? Read the trade guide (20 matched brands here)
- Boba tea at $100K – $250K? Read the trade guide (17 matched brands here)
- Senior care at $100K – $250K? Read the trade guide (17 matched brands here)
- Massage at $100K – $250K? Read the trade guide (4 matched brands here)
- Handyman at $100K – $250K? Read the trade guide (3 matched brands here)
What to watch at this price
The band is a starting-from label, not a cap: placement uses each brand's filed minimum, and full ranges often run past the band's top. The real opening number is the whole range plus the initial fee plus working capital while the unit ramps.
Ongoing fees are the quiet cost: 609 of the 1,549 brands here disclose a royalty rate (median 6% of sales); the rest leave it out of the figures we can source. Where a cell reads "n/d," ask the franchisor for Item 6 of the FDD before you compare brands on the opening number alone.
Which franchises count as $100K – $250K?
Brands whose filed minimum investment is at least $100,000 and under $250,000, per their disclosure filings. Placement uses the filing's low end, so a brand listed here can have a full range that runs past the band — each row shows the whole range.
What does a franchise in the $100K – $250K band typically cost?
Across the 1,549 brands in this band, the median filed minimum is $160,700 and the median initial franchise fee is $40,000. Medians are computed over disclosed figures only — "not disclosed" is a filing gap, not a zero.
Does the filed minimum cover everything?
No. It is the low end of the franchisor's own estimate of opening costs. Ongoing royalties (median 6% among the 609 brands here that disclose a rate), working capital while the unit ramps, and your local build-out prices sit outside that number.
Not sure this is your band? Run the 60-second affordability check — no contact info needed to see your result — or compare all investment levels.