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    Franchise opportunities compared

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons vs Great Clips

    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.

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons2026 FDDGCGreat Clips2025 FDD

    Initial investment · Item 7

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    $162,500 – $453,000

    2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 18

    Great Clips

    $14,000 – $187,800

    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Initial franchise fee · Item 5

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    Not available

    Great Clips

    $20,000

    2025 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 18

    Royalty · Item 6

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    Not available

    Great Clips

    6%

    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 22

    Before you compare

    • Fantastic Sams Hair Salons figures come from its 2026 FDD and Great Clips figures from its 2025 FDD, so the years differ.
    • Great Clips 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 (Fantastic Sams Hair Salons: 14, Great Clips: 23). Different groups are not directly comparable.

    Financial commitment

    Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    $162,500 – $453,000
    Total estimated initial investment lower estimate — $162,500
    2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 18

    Great Clips

    $14,000 – $187,800
    2025 FDD · Item 7
    Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    Not available
    No single standard fee identified

    Great Clips

    $20,000
    2025 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 18
    Royalty (Item 6)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record

    Great Clips

    6%
    Continuing Franchise Fee
    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 22
    Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    $147
    Current weekly National Advertising Fund fee — $147.49
    2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 14

    Great Clips

    $5,000
    Initial Advertising Contribution to MDAF
    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 18

    System scale & health

    Total outlets (Item 20)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    484
    Outlets at end of 2025
    2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 44

    Great Clips

    4,439
    Outlets at end of 2024
    2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 69
    Net outlet change (Item 20)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    −81
    Calculated: 565 at end of 2023 → 484 at end of 2025

    Great Clips

    +12
    Calculated: 4,427 at end of 2022 → 4,439 at end of 2024
    Outlet exits (Item 20)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year

    Great Clips

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

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    1976
    From a verified franchisor listing

    Great Clips

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records
    Franchisor founded (Item 1)

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Great Clips

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Financial performance (Item 19), by location group

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Top Quartile of311 reporting salons
    $493,651
    other Top Quartile
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 43
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Second Quartile of311 reporting salons
    49 percent
    other Second Quartile
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 43
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Bottom Quartile of311 reporting salons
    $206,894
    other Bottom Quartile
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 43
    +11 more groups in the full report
    GCGreat Clips
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Reporting 2024 Salons that provided sufficient data for the Average Operating C…
    $202,219
    other annual Labor
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 63
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Great Clips 2024 Salons in the United States and Canada that were eligible to b…
    $388,522
    other Service Sales average annual sales
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 62
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Great Clips 2024 Salons in the United States and Canada eligible to be open thr…
    $37,920
    other Total Sales lowest value
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 62
    +20 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.

    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons vs Great Clips: common questions

    Which costs less to open, Fantastic Sams Hair Salons or Great Clips?
    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons: $162,500 – $453,000 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 18); Great Clips: $14,000 – $187,800 (2025 FDD · Item 7). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Great Clips. At least one range spans several business formats. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.
    Which has more locations, Fantastic Sams Hair Salons or Great Clips?
    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons: 484 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 44); Great Clips: 4,439 (2025 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 69). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.
    Do Fantastic Sams Hair Salons and Great Clips disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
    Fantastic Sams Hair Salons has reviewed Item 19 figures for 14 location groups; Great Clips has reviewed Item 19 figures for 23 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

    Keep researching

    Full Fantastic Sams Hair Salons report

    Every reviewed fee, Item 19 group, outlet table and territory disclosure

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    Full Great Clips report

    Every reviewed fee, Item 19 group, outlet table and territory disclosure

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