ITEMS 5–7 · FDD 2026
How much is a Ace Hardware franchise?
Per Ace Hardware's 2026 FDD, the initial franchise fee is $10K (Item 5) and the total initial investment runs $612K–$2.0M (Item 7).
$10K
one-time, to buy in
$612K–$2.0M
franchisor's own estimate
| Cost line | Ace Hardware | Sector median |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee ITEM 5 | $10K | $52K |
| Total initial investment ITEM 7 | $612K–$2.0M | $118K–$207K |
MEDIANS: LATEST REAL FDD FILINGS OF 42 HOME SERVICES SYSTEMS · FULL HOME SERVICES BENCHMARK →
The buy-in is the smaller number. The larger one is the drag: royalties and fees leaves before rent, labor, or your salary — so breakeven depends on volume you cannot know from the FDD; use the Item 19 figures as a starting point, not a promise.
To open (Item 7)
$612K–$2.0M
all-in investment range
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$10K
upfront, one-time
Royalty (Item 6)
—
of sales, ongoing
Your figure — cross-check against this brand's Item 19 and current-owner validation.
Royalty you'd pay / yr
$0
0% of sales, before profit
Over a 10-yr term
$0
royalties alone, excl. ad fund
This is not profit. It's the only money the FDD actually pins down — what you put in, and the royalty you owe on every dollar of sales. Your real take-home depends on labor, rent, food cost, and ramp-to-breakeven, none of which any FDD discloses.
Build a real pro-forma for Ace Hardware with an independent CPAAce Hardware cost questions, answered from the filing
How much is a Ace Hardware franchise?
Per Ace Hardware's 2026 FDD, opening a franchise requires an initial franchise fee of $10K (Item 5) and a total initial investment of $612K–$2.0M (Item 7). Item 7 is the franchisor's own estimate — treat the low end as a floor, not a budget.
Does Ace Hardware tell you what franchisees earn?
Partly — Ace Hardware makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its 2026 FDD. Unit revenue is not owner profit: subtract royalties, ad fund, rent, labor, and debt service.
The Ace Hardware validation checklist
questions built from this brand's own filings · read them all on the profile
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A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. I'm paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing Ace Hardware's numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.