Franchise opportunities compared
Fantastic Sams Hair Salons vs Great Clips, Inc.
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.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- Great Clips, Inc. 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, Inc.: 11). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Fantastic Sams Hair Salons |  Great Clips, Inc. |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $162,500 – $453,000 Total estimated initial investment lower estimate — $162,500 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 18 | $14,000 – $187,800 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | Not available No single standard fee identified | $20,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 17 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed royalty record | $6.00 OTHER FEES Type of Fee 1 Amount Due Date Remarks Continuing Franchise Fee 2 — 6% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 20 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $147 Current weekly National Advertising Fund fee — $147.49 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 14 | $40,000 lus a non - refundable Initial Advertising Contribution to the MDAF of $5,000 (i.e., — 40000 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 18 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 1,452 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 44 | Not available No reviewed outlet counts |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −243 Calculated: 1,695 at end of 2023 → 1,452 at end of 2025 | Not available Only one year reported |
| Outlet exits (Item 20) | Not available No complete exit records for a year | Not available No complete exit records for a year |
| Franchising since (Item 1) | 1976 From a verified franchisor listing | 1983 From a verified franchisor listing |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | 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 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — All2025eligible-to-open salons $8,484 other Table1 Product Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 61 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — $350 - $400thousand annualsales $68,492 other Table3 $350 - $400 thousand annualsales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 63 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — $450 - $500thousand annualsales 22.54 percent other Table3 $450 - $500 thousand annualsales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 63 +8 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.