11 Most Profitable Low Cost Franchises to Own

These 11 most profitable low cost franchises to own offer excellent opportunities for small investments that can return a handsome profit.

Franchising has been a popular business model for quite some time and many companies have made fortunes off of it. The appeal is quite easy to understand. Why bother with coming up with an original idea and novel products when you can simply adopt the existing one and take advantage of established brand name with instant recognition without having to bother with marketing? It would just be reinventing the wheel at this point. The other benefit is that the training required is often minimal, so you don’t have to waste your time learning new skills, like Easiest Database Programs to Learn.

Unfortunately, franchises can cost quite a bit. Getting a McDonalds or Carl Jr. franchise can easily cost upwards of one million dollars. Even Planet Fitness will set you back at least $800,000, not to mention hotel franchises like Hilton, whose starting costs begin in multi-million range. This image of franchises costing an arm and a leg is forcing people away from even thinking about them.

However, there are plenty of low cost alternatives to these expensive franchises, which isn’t something that is widely known.

In order to make the best selection of most profitable low cost franchises to own, we consulted the experts. Entrepreneur has their picks, based on their ongoing evaluation of the best 500 franchises to own. We cross-referenced it with a list CNBC created in association with Franchise Reviews and created the ultimate list of franchises that are both cheap and highly profitable. In order to make our selection as wide as possible, covering as much ground as we could so that everyone could find something they are interested in, we chose only one franchise in each field. Most of our picks are easy franchise opportunities and cost less than $50,000 to start, with few exception, but even those that are above that aren’t breaking the bank either.Many of them are franchises that can cost under $5,000, which is quite a bargain.

10. Proforma

Advertising Services
Initial Investment: $4,730 – $39,695

Joining Proforma franchising system is an excellent way to get started in advertising.

9. Critter Control

Animal Control
Initial Investment: $23,725 – $94,575

Removing animal carcasses and capturing live animals isn’t for everyone, but if that is something you can do, Critter Control would an ideal partner.

8. Weed Man

Lawn maintenance

Initial Investment: $68,453 – $85,513

Weed Man is the most expensive among our selection of low cost franchises, but there’s a good reason for that. Lawn maintenance is a multi-billion dollars industry in the United States and Weed Man is among the best in the business.

7. Just Between Friends

Children’s and maternity consignment events
Initial Investment: $32,774 – $45,449

Started out as few friends organizing a sale of used toys, Just Between Friends has grown into a respectable business.

6. National Property Inspections

Home and commercial property inspections
Initial Investment: $43,200 – $47,000

Property inspections are always in demand and with NTI you can head a head start on the competition.

5. Liberty Tax Service

Accounting and Tax Services
Initial Investment: $58,700 – $71,900

If you are an accountant looking to expand, Liberty Tax Service may be worth taking a look. With initial investments around $58,700 it is one of the most profitable low cost franchises to own.

4. Jazzercise

Fitness
Initial Investment: $3,530 – $12,900

One of the cheapest franchises on our list, Jazzercise is a good way to make some cash for fitness coaches. Their concept of having fun while exercising has proved to be quite popular among the customers.

3. Jan-Pro

Commercial Cleaning

Initial Investment: $3,985 – $51,605

With over 10,000 units in North America, Jan-Pro is a highly profitable franchise offering commercial cleaning to all sort of business, including car dealerships and gyms. It is the best-ranked cleaning franchise on Enterprenuer list.

2. RE/MAX LLC

Real Estate Services
Initial Investment: $37,500 – $224,000

Real estate agents can make a killing on their own, but as a part of a successful franchise, their profits can be fantastic. RE/MAX LLC has been franchising since 1975 and tapping all that experience may be just the thing you need in order to take your business to the next level.

1. Cruise Planners

Travel Agencies
Initial Investment: $2,095 – $22,867

Cruise planners rank highly on both of our sources, so we decided to make it our top recommendation among most profitable low cost franchises to own. Agents for Cruise Planners work from home since the entire procedure is online. The only reason to go out on business is to attend one of many familiarization trips, with all expenses paid (well, except air tickets).