Which costs less to open, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing or Roto-Rooter?

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing: $143,273 – $286,702 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 29); Roto-Rooter: $123,110 – $281,550 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 22). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Roto-Rooter. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.

Which has more locations, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing or Roto-Rooter?

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing: 409 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75); Roto-Rooter: 448 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 40). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.

Do Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and Roto-Rooter disclose financial performance (Item 19)?

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has reviewed Item 19 figures for 3 location groups; Roto-Rooter makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Different location groups are not directly comparable, and revenue is not profit.

Franchise opportunities compared

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing vs Roto-Rooter

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.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing2026 FDD

Roto-Rooter2026 FDD

Initial investment · Item 7

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

$143,273 – $286,702

2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 29

Roto-Rooter

$123,110 – $281,550

2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 22

Initial franchise fee · Item 5

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

$43,000

2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 15

Roto-Rooter

Not available

Royalty · Item 6

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

6% of Gross Revenue or $1,500 per month, whichever is greater

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 17

Roto-Rooter

Not available

Before you compare

Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
Only Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has reviewed Item 19 figures here.

Financial commitment

Disclosure

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Roto-Rooter

Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

$143,273 – $286,702

TOTALS

2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 29

Roto-Rooter

$123,110 – $281,550

Total Estimated Initial Investment

2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 22

Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

$43,000

An Additional Population Fee of $0.43 applies for each person above 100,000 in the franchise territory.

2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 15

Roto-Rooter

Not available

No single standard fee identified

Royalty (Item 6)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

6% of Gross Revenue or $1,500 per month, whichever is greater

Royalty Fee

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 17

Roto-Rooter

Not available

No reviewed royalty record

Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

0% of percentage of gross revenue

Brand Fund Contribution

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 17

Roto-Rooter

Not available

No reviewed brand or advertising fund fee

System scale & health

Disclosure

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Roto-Rooter

Total outlets (Item 20)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

409

Outlets at end of 2025

2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75

Roto-Rooter

448

Outlets at end of 2025

2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 40

Net outlet change (Item 20)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

+74

Calculated: 335 at end of 2023 → 409 at end of 2025

Roto-Rooter

−10

Calculated: 458 at end of 2023 → 448 at end of 2025

Outlet exits (Item 20)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Closures, terminations & non-renewals in 2025 · Calculated turnover 6.9% of outlets at start of year

2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75

Roto-Rooter

Not available

No complete exit records for a year

Franchising since (Item 1)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

2021

2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 6

Roto-Rooter

1936

2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 12

Franchisor founded (Item 1)

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

2021

2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 6

Roto-Rooter

1935

2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 12

Financial performance (Item 19), by location group

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing

Franchised (86 franchisees) — revenue

$2,847,962

other Gross Revenue for Franchisees

2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 72

Franchised (414 locations) — revenue

$248,704,546

other Systemwide Sales

2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74

Franchised (72 franchisees) — revenue

8.9 percent

other Same Store Sales

2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73

Roto-Rooter

Not disclosed — no Item 19 financial performance representation

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.

Benjamin Franklin Plumbing vs Roto-Rooter: common questions

Which costs less to open, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing or Roto-Rooter?: Benjamin Franklin Plumbing: $143,273 – $286,702 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 29); Roto-Rooter: $123,110 – $281,550 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 22). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Roto-Rooter. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.
Which has more locations, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing or Roto-Rooter?: Benjamin Franklin Plumbing: 409 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 75); Roto-Rooter: 448 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 40). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.
Do Benjamin Franklin Plumbing and Roto-Rooter disclose financial performance (Item 19)?: Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has reviewed Item 19 figures for 3 location groups; Roto-Rooter makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. 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