Franchise opportunities compared

    Ace Hardware vs Card My Yard

    Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.

    Initial investment · Item 7

    Ace Hardware

    $134,600 – $2,001,550

    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Card My Yard

    $10,350 – $18,550

    2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 24

    Initial franchise fee · Item 5

    Ace Hardware

    Not available

    Card My Yard

    $8,500

    2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14

    Royalty · Item 6

    Ace Hardware

    Not available

    Card My Yard

    Not available

    Before you compare

    • Ace Hardware figures come from its 2025 FDD and Card My Yard figures from its 2026 FDD, so the years differ.
    • Ace Hardware discloses more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
    • Item 19 figures cover the location groups each FDD names (Ace Hardware: 8, Card My Yard: 5). Different groups are not directly comparable.

    Financial commitment

    Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

    Ace Hardware

    $134,600 – $2,001,550
    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Card My Yard

    $10,350 – $18,550
    TOTAL
    2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 24
    Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)

    Ace Hardware

    Not available
    No single standard fee identified

    Card My Yard

    $8,500
    2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14
    Royalty (Item 6)

    Ace Hardware

    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record

    Card My Yard

    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record
    Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)

    Ace Hardware

    $65
    Digital Circular: $65/month; advertising placement $425/month per store
    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 22

    Card My Yard

    $50/mo
    Marketing Fund — Greater of 0.5% of monthly Gross Sales or $50 per month in the first 12 months and $100 per month thereafter
    2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 17

    System scale & health

    Total outlets (Item 20)

    Ace Hardware

    5,144
    Outlets at end of 2024
    2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 74

    Card My Yard

    492
    Outlets at end of 2025
    2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 59
    Net outlet change (Item 20)

    Ace Hardware

    +277
    Calculated: 4,867 at end of 2022 → 5,144 at end of 2024

    Card My Yard

    −40
    Calculated: 532 at end of 2023 → 492 at end of 2025
    Outlet exits (Item 20)

    Ace Hardware

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year

    Card My Yard

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year
    Franchising since (Item 1)

    Ace Hardware

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Card My Yard

    October 2020
    2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 9
    Franchisor founded (Item 1)

    Ace Hardware

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Card My Yard

    September 3, 2020
    2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 9

    Financial performance (Item 19), by location group

    Ace Hardware
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — 2023 RFR participating Ace branded single-store Reporting Stores in the Super H…
    $5,308,506
    other Super Hardware Format average annual sales volume
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Participating Ace branded single-store Reporting Stores in the 2023 RFR
    689 stores
    other Number of participating Ace branded Reporting Stores in 2023 RFR
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 72
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — 2023 RFR Reporting Stores in the Super Hardware Format
    $1,301,349
    other Super Hardware Format low annual sales
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73
    +5 more groups in the full report
    Card My Yard
    Franchised (457 locations) — other measures and revenue
    $127 per order
    mean Ticket Price per Order
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 56
    Franchised (94 locations) — revenue and other measures
    $9,298
    mean Gross Sales
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 54
    Franchised (410 locations) — adjusted operating results — System (all franchise locations over 1 year old)
    $4,524
    mean First Year Gross Profit
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 56
    +2 more groups in the full report

    Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.

    Ace Hardware vs Card My Yard: common questions

    Which costs less to open, Ace Hardware or Card My Yard?
    Ace Hardware: $134,600 – $2,001,550 (2025 FDD · Item 7); Card My Yard: $10,350 – $18,550 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 24). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Card My Yard. At least one range spans several business formats. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.
    Which has more locations, Ace Hardware or Card My Yard?
    Ace Hardware: 5,144 (2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 74); Card My Yard: 492 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 59). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.
    Do Ace Hardware and Card My Yard disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
    Ace Hardware has reviewed Item 19 figures for 8 location groups; Card My Yard has reviewed Item 19 figures for 5 location groups. Different location groups are not directly comparable, and revenue is not profit.

    Answers restate the reviewed figures above. Not a ranking or recommendation.

    How Franopolis reviews FDD figures

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