Franchise opportunities compared
Ace Hardware vs traditional
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 7traditional
$1,330,000 – $4,841,500
2026 FDD · Item 7Initial franchise fee · Item 5
Ace Hardware
Not available
traditional
Not available
Royalty · Item 6
Ace Hardware
Not available
traditional
5%
2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 14Before you compare
- Ace Hardware figures come from its 2025 FDD and traditional figures from its 2026 FDD, so the years differ.
- Ace Hardware and traditional disclose 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, traditional: 5). Different groups are not directly comparable.
Financial commitment
Ace Hardware
traditionalAce Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
System scale & health
Ace HardwaretraditionalAce Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
Ace Hardware
traditional
Financial performance (Item 19), by location group
Ace HardwaretraditionalItem 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 traditional: common questions
- Which costs less to open, Ace Hardware or traditional?
- Ace Hardware: $134,600 – $2,001,550 (2025 FDD · Item 7); traditional: $1,330,000 – $4,841,500 (2026 FDD · Item 7). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Ace Hardware. 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 traditional?
- Ace Hardware: 5,144 (2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 74); traditional: 161 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 80). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.
- Do Ace Hardware and traditional disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
- Ace Hardware has reviewed Item 19 figures for 8 location groups; traditional 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.
Keep researching
Full Ace Hardware report
Every reviewed fee, Item 19 group, outlet table and territory disclosure
Full traditional report
Every reviewed fee, Item 19 group, outlet table and territory disclosure
