Franchise Factbook
Cost Cutters

Cost Cutters

Partial FDD data
Hair/Beauty · Minneapolis, MN · Founded 1968 · Franchising since 1970
Limited confidence · 0.65Unclaimed profile
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Franchise fee · Item 5
$39,500
Included in the total above
Owner turnover
0.0%/yr
3-yr average from Item 20 — lower is better
Factbook Score
Pending
The Item 20 outlet table on file does not reconcile — opening count pl
✓ Shares earnings data · Item 19Why these flags?

Beyond the filing

Everything else on this page is quoted from Cost Cutters's franchise disclosure document. This is not — it is measured off the open web, it is not verified by the franchisor, and it never affects the Factbook Score.

Customer rating
4.6 / 5
5,499 Google reviews across 9 locations
Best to worst location
3.3 – 4.8
Where this brand's locations sit on the same scale — the gap is what varies between franchisees
Website health
8 / 10
Basic checks. Issues here: missing title or description, no structured data
Store locator
No
No finder on their site, so customers can't look up a nearby branch from it
iPhone app
4.8 / 5
5,332 App Store ratings · Cost Cutters Hair Salon
Android app
None found
No Play Store link on their site — an app they don't link from their homepage would read the same way
Google returns at most twenty locations for a search, so the rating is a sample of Cost Cutters's outlets rather than all of them. Measured Sep 11, 2026.

Research this brand properly

Every figure on this page comes from Cost Cutters's own disclosure filings, source linked. Compare it against its category before any discovery call — and read the FDD with an attorney before signing anything.

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Get introduced to Cost Cutters

We pass your details to their franchise development team so they can contact you directly. We are not a broker, we are not paid per introduction, and your details are never sold to a lead network.

Where you'd want to open — territory availability is the first thing they'll check.

We record the time and IP of the request — privacy policy.

Claim Cost Cutters

For people who work for the brand. Once approved you can correct anything we have wrong and respond on this profile. Claiming is free and never affects the Factbook Score, the ranking, or which facts we publish.

A company address at the brand's own domain is approved fastest. A personal address is fine, but we'll ask you to verify another way.

Reviewed by a person. We record the time and IP — privacy policy.
No spam, and we never sell your details — an introduction happens only when you ask for one, to the brand you named. How we make money · Own this brand?
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Franchise Factbook · verified
Opening a Cost Cutters: $177K–$324K
From its official FDD · franchisefactbook.com
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Data-integrity flags on this profile
  • infook
Figures below were extracted with limited confidence (0.65 of 1.00)

They have not cleared our 0.85 QA bar, usually because no primary regulator-hosted filing was reachable and the figures come from a secondary source. Treat them as indicative and check the linked source before relying on them. We publish the score rather than hiding it — see the methodology.

Royalty
4%
4% of gross revenues for weeks 1-52 of a location's operation; 6% of gross revenues (or $100/week minimum) from week 53 onward
Franchised units
521
As of 2022
3-yr unit growth
+-12.3%/yr
CAGR from Item 20

What it really costs

Every cost figure this brand's filing discloses — not just the headline range

Total initial investment · Item 7$177K–$324K
$0$500K
ExpenseLowHigh
Initial franchise fee$39,500$39,500
Total initial investment$177,466$323,558

Item 7 reports a total range, not a full line-item breakdown, in this brand's filing excerpt — the franchise fee is the only cost we can show separately today.

Costs more to open than 36% of health beauty and wellness franchises on this site with a disclosed Item 7 range (120 compared). Computed from total investment, not a figure from the filing itself.

Earnings disclosure

Does the franchisor share performance data? Yes

Average revenue$248,581
Median revenue$229,234
Sample size506

Legal history

CLEAR
No bankruptcy disclosures for the franchisor or its officers.
PROTECTED
Item 12 grants a protected territory.
NOT DISCLOSED
Non-compete term/radius wasn't separately quantified in the filing excerpt we have on file.

Openings, closures & reacquisitions

The numbers ranking sites don't show — straight from the brand's filings

OpenedClosed / terminated / not renewedReacquired
000202000020210002022

Tell me when Cost Cutters files something new

Franchisors refile every year, and fees, investment ranges and closure counts move between filings. We'll email you when this brand's figures change — nothing else, and never a sales sequence.

Tell me when these brands file something new

Fees change, disclosure documents get refiled, and outlet counts move every year. We'll email you when any of your 1 saved brand changes — Cost Cutters. This is the only time your shortlist leaves your browser, and no franchisor is told you are watching them.

The Factbook Brief

Fee changes, closure-rate movers, and one honest brand teardown. One email a week. We never sell your address see how we make money.

Common questions

Answered from this brand's own FDD filing. Where the filing is silent, the question is left out rather than answered with a guess.

How much does a Cost Cutters franchise cost?

Cost Cutters' most recent Franchise Disclosure Document puts the total estimated initial investment at $177K–$324K. That is Item 7, which covers everything needed to open — the franchise fee, build-out, equipment, opening inventory and initial working capital. The initial franchise fee itself is $39,500, and is included in that range.

What royalty does Cost Cutters charge?

Cost Cutters charges a continuing royalty of 4% of gross sales, disclosed in Item 6. A separate brand or advertising fund contribution of 4% applies on top. Royalties are charged on revenue, not profit, so they are owed whether or not the outlet is profitable.

Does Cost Cutters disclose earnings (Item 19)?

Yes. Cost Cutters makes a financial performance representation in Item 19 of its FDD. The filing reports average annual gross revenue of $248,581 and a median of $229,234. That figure covers 506 outlets. Item 19 is optional under the FTC Franchise Rule, and gross revenue is not profit — it is stated before royalties, rent, staff and every other cost.

Does Cost Cutters give a protected territory?

Cost Cutters' FDD describes a protected territory in Item 12. Protection varies in what it actually excludes — franchisors commonly reserve online sales and alternative channels inside it — so the wording in the filing matters more than the yes.

Facts on this page are sourced from a third-party archive's copy of Cost Cutters' Franchise Disclosure Document, not filed with us directly — treat figures here as one step further from the original filing.

Fast Start multi-unit program adds $10,000 per additional store beyond 6. Item 6 does not reduce to one clean royalty percentage (two-tier structure by week), recorded as descriptive text per instructions. Item 20 figures combine the source's separately-reported franchised and company-owned outlet start/end counts into single outlets_start/outlets_end totals (e.g., 2020: 548 franchised + 129 company-owned start = 677); opened/closed/terminated/transferred breakdowns were not disclosed in either source. Item 3, 4, and 17 not found in either source and left null. Technology-related costs mentioned ($1,680-$3,600/yr software, $3,700-$5,000 initial hardware) are fee-based rather than a clean monthly tech fee, so left out of item6_tech_fee.