Sport Clips vs Sola Salon Studios franchise USA 2026: is the $713K investment gap worth it?
Sport Clips is 4.0× cheaper to get into — $237K vs $950K (about $713K less). Sport Clips runs the bigger network at 1702 vs 677 outlets. Sola Salon Studios takes less off the top (5.5% royalty vs 6%).
01 What actually matters
Numbers that separate them on a 5-year horizon — not the franchise-development pitch.
Sport Clips charges 6% royalty on revenue — recurring, uncapped, and deducted before your own margin is calculated. Factor it into every pro-forma.
Sport Clips is expanding fastest here — 52 outlets per year since founding in 1993. High-velocity brands signal momentum but also mean new territory for individual franchisees gets handed out quickly; lock in your preferred area early.
02 The numbers, visualised
Primary format per brand, from FDD Item 7. A brand's smaller express or non-traditional formats can cost materially less.
Initial investment (FDD Item 7)
Total initial investment, low end of each brand's FDD Item 7 range for its primary format. Several US brands also run smaller express, non-traditional or conversion formats at materially lower investment — check the brand page for the full Item 7 table.
Network scale — total outlets
Total US outlets from FDD Item 20. Bigger networks mean more brand recognition and supplier scale; smaller ones mean less intra-brand competition in your trade area.
Customer ratings
Which brand's outlets are rated higher by customers, aggregated across locations. Exact star rating and review volume are in Brand Health.
Direction only — the underlying rating & review count are Pro data.
03 Side-by-side
Straight from each brand’s FDD. Green badge marks the more favourable value for a typical first-time operator.
| Metric | Sport Clips | Sola Salon Studios |
|---|---|---|
| Initial investment (Item 7) | $237K ↓ Lower | $950K |
| Royalty (Item 6) | 6% | 5.5% ↓ Lower |
| Gross margin | — | — |
| Min space (sq ft) | 1000 ↓ Smaller | 4200 |
| Total US outlets (Item 20) | 1702 ↑ Bigger | 677 |
| Franchise fee (Item 5) | $70K | $60K ↓ Lower |
| Additional funds | — | — |
Not sure if Sport Clips or Sola Salon Studios actually fits *you*?
BrandFit asks 6 visual questions about your operator profile, capital, and location — then ranks all 182 brands by predicted success-fit for your situation. See where these brands really stand for someone like you.
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04 Explore these brands in depth
Same data plus the full FDD breakdown, fee load, contract fairness and SBA lending picture — free on every brand page.
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05 Frequently asked
Wrapped in FAQPage JSON-LD for SERP rich-result eligibility.
Can I own multiple Beauty & Personal Care franchises?
Yes — multi-unit ownership is the norm in mature US Beauty & Personal Care systems, and most franchisors sell it as an area development agreement: a fee paid up front for the right to open N units on a fixed schedule inside a defined territory. The terms sit in FDD Items 5 and 12. Miss the development schedule and the franchisor can usually reclaim the territory, so treat the schedule as a covenant, not a target.
Sport Clips vs Sola Salon Studios — which is the better franchise investment?
There's no universal winner. Sport Clips suits operators who value lower entry capex and faster capital recovery. Sola Salon Studios suits operators who have the capital for a premium launch and prefer established scale. Your location's traffic profile, your available capital, and your operating style together determine the right answer.
How do Beauty & Personal Care franchises pay out — revenue share or fixed margin?
US Beauty & Personal Care franchisors almost always take a percentage of gross sales, not a share of profit — so the fee is due whether or not the unit is profitable. FDD Item 6 lists the full stack: royalty (commonly 4–8%), a national advertising fund (1–4%), technology fees, and often a local-marketing minimum. Add them together before modelling take-home; the headline royalty is rarely the whole load.
How long does it take to break even on a Beauty & Personal Care franchise?
Payback on a Beauty & Personal Care franchise in the US typically runs 24–48 months, depending on site traffic, build-out cost, and the royalty plus ad-fund load in FDD Item 6. The brands on this page start at $237K of initial investment (Item 7); pair that with the brand's Item 19 financial performance representation, where one is published, to model your own payback instead of relying on a franchise-development pitch.
Are these Beauty & Personal Care franchises still awarding territory in my state?
FDD Item 20 lists every outlet by state, plus openings, closures, transfers and terminations for the last three years — the fastest way to see whether a brand is still expanding near you or has gone quiet. Sport Clips runs the largest network here at 1702 outlets. Note that fourteen states — California, New York, Illinois, Virginia, Washington and others — require franchise registration, so a brand may simply be unregistered in yours.