vs Franchise
The cleaning franchise alternative — without the lifetime tax.
A franchise sells you permission and charges you rent on your own revenue, forever. A CleanBucks license sells you the platform and the brand — then gets out of the way.
| Feature | CleanBucks License | Traditional Franchise |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | One flat license fee | $25K–$70K franchise fee |
| Royalties on revenue | ||
| Marketing surcharge | ||
| Set your own prices | ||
| Choose your own suppliers | ||
| Protected territory | ||
| Full platform included | ||
| Time to launch | As little as 7 days | 3–6 months |
| Keep 100% of revenue | ||
| Sell or exit freely |
The 10-year math nobody shows you
Say you build a $400,000/year cleaning business — very achievable inside a good territory by year three. A typical franchise charges around 7% royalty plus a 2% marketing fee. That's 9% off the top: $36,000 a year, every year, forever.
Over 10 years, that's $360,000 you handed to corporate for the privilege of running your own business. On a CleanBucks license, that number is zero. You paid once. The rest is yours.
Deeper comparisons against specific franchises are on our Molly Maid, Merry Maids, and MaidPro comparison pages.