The home services industry is a $600+ billion market in the United States, and it's growing every year. Americans are spending more on their homes than ever before — and they need people to clean them, mow them, paint them, fix them, move them, and maintain them.
The franchise industry wants you to believe that the only way into this market is through them. That you need to pay $50,000–$300,000 upfront, sign a 10-year contract, give up 5–10% of your gross revenue forever, and operate under someone else's brand name.
That's a lie.
Every single home service vertical can be started independently — without a franchise. What you do need is what franchises actually provide: systems, training, coaching, and accountability. That's the franchise alternative model — and it costs starting free with HomePro instead of six figures with a franchisor.
Here are 10 home service businesses you can start without a franchise in 2026, what each one costs, what you can earn, and why you don't need to buy someone else's brand to build a great business.
The opportunity nobody outgrows. Every home gets dirty. Every week. Recurring revenue is built into the model.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $2,000–$10,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $75,000–$250,000 (Molly Maid, Merry Maids, MaidPro) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $50,000–$150,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $200,000–$500,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ✅ High — weekly/biweekly clients |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0 (start solo) |
Cleaning is the most franchise-heavy vertical in home services — and it's also the one where brand names matter least. Customers choose their cleaner based on reviews, referrals, and price — not whether there's a nationally recognized name on the van. An independent cleaner with a 4.9-star Google rating will outbook a Molly Maid franchise every time.
What you do need: a pricing system, quality control checklists, a hiring framework (when you're ready to scale), and a customer retention strategy. Those are the systems that make cleaning franchises work — and they're all available through the franchise alternative model.
Franchise alternative advantage: Keep 100% of your revenue instead of paying 5–8% in royalties. On $300,000 in revenue, that's $15,000–$24,000/year back in your pocket.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/cleaning
The gateway to home services. Low barrier to entry, massive market, and easy to scale by adding crews.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $5,000–$20,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $50,000–$150,000 (Lawn Doctor, U.S. Lawns, Weed Man) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $50,000–$120,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $200,000–$750,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ✅ High — weekly mowing contracts, seasonal services |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0–1 |
Landscaping is hyperlocal. Nobody in suburban Texas cares whether their lawn guy is a Lawn Doctor franchise or an independent operator with a great reputation. What they care about: Does the lawn look good? Are they reliable? Are they fairly priced?
Landscaping franchises charge $50,000–$150,000 for operational systems, a brand name, and seasonal marketing templates. The franchise alternative gives you the operational systems — pricing for different property sizes, crew management frameworks, upsell strategies for seasonal services — without the brand tax.
Franchise alternative advantage: Landscaping has strong seasonality in many markets. Paying royalties on gross revenue during peak months (when you're also paying seasonal employees) crushes margins. With the franchise alternative, your only platform cost is starting free regardless of season.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/landscaping
High ticket, high margin. A single residential painting job can net $2,000–$10,000. Low startup costs, no special licensing in most states.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $3,000–$15,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $80,000–$250,000 (CertaPro, Five Star Painting, WOW 1 DAY) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $75,000–$200,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $300,000–$1,000,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ⚠️ Moderate — exteriors every 5–7 years, but referrals drive steady pipeline |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0–2 |
Painting franchises like CertaPro charge $150,000–$250,000+ to get started. That's staggering for a business you can launch with a truck, ladders, brushes, and a few gallons of Sherwin-Williams.
The franchise model in painting is primarily about sales systems and estimating. Knowing how to accurately estimate a job, price for profit, and sell the proposal — that's the skill that makes painting businesses profitable. Those systems are exactly what a franchise alternative provides. You don't need to pay CertaPro $250,000 to learn how to estimate a 2,500 sq ft exterior.
Franchise alternative advantage: Painting has the highest per-job margins in home services. Every dollar you don't pay in franchise royalties goes directly to your bottom line. On a $500,000 revenue year, 6% royalties = $30,000. That could fund a second crew.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/painting
The Swiss Army knife of home services. Broad skill set, broad market, and almost zero competition from national brands in most markets.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $3,000–$10,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $80,000–$200,000 (Mr. Handyman, Handyman Connection, Ace Handyman) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $60,000–$150,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $200,000–$500,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ⚠️ Moderate — repeat customers, property management contracts |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0 (start solo) |
Handyman services are the ultimate local business. Customers want someone nearby, reliable, and fairly priced. A franchise brand adds almost nothing to that equation. Mr. Handyman charges $80,000+ to start — for a business model that's fundamentally "one skilled person with a truck and tools."
The challenge in handyman isn't the work — it's the business side. Pricing dozens of different service types, scheduling efficiently, converting one-time callers to recurring maintenance customers, and knowing when to say no to a job that's outside your scope. Those are the franchise alternative systems that matter.
Franchise alternative advantage: Handyman franchises typically restrict your service area and what services you can offer. As an independent with franchise alternative systems, you serve whatever market you want and offer whatever services you're skilled at. No artificial ceilings.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/handyman
Physical work, premium prices. Local moving averages $1,000–$5,000 per job. High demand every month of the year.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $10,000–$30,000 (truck is the big expense) |
| Franchise Cost | $100,000–$500,000 (Two Men and a Truck, College Hunks, 1-800-GOT-JUNK) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $100,000–$250,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $300,000–$1,000,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ⚠️ Low per customer, but high volume and referral-driven |
| Employees Needed to Start | 1–2 (you need a crew for most moves) |
Two Men and a Truck charges $150,000–$500,000 to start. College Hunks Hauling Junk is in a similar range. For a moving business. Where the primary assets are a truck and strong backs.
Moving companies live and die on three things: online reviews, pricing accuracy, and crew reliability. None of those require a franchise. In fact, some of the most successful moving companies in the country are independent operators who built local brands with killer reputations on Google and Yelp.
Franchise alternative advantage: Moving has thin margins if you don't price correctly. The franchise alternative's pricing and financial systems help you bid profitably from day one — without paying $150,000+ for the privilege.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/moving
Simple model, high demand. People have stuff they need gone. You show up with a truck, you haul it away, you charge by volume. Few businesses are easier to explain.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $5,000–$20,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $100,000–$500,000 (1-800-GOT-JUNK, Junkluggers, Junk King) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $75,000–$200,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $250,000–$750,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ⚠️ Low per customer, but commercial contracts offer recurring streams |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0–1 |
1-800-GOT-JUNK is the 800-pound gorilla in junk removal franchising — and they charge accordingly. $200,000–$500,000 to start. For a business that is, at its core, picking up garbage.
Don't get me wrong — 1-800-GOT-JUNK built a great brand and great systems. But the junk removal model is straightforward enough that any organized independent can replicate the operational side. Volume-based pricing, truck routing, dump/donation logistics, customer communication scripts — these are learnable systems, not proprietary magic.
Franchise alternative advantage: Junk removal is one of the easiest home service businesses to start with near-zero inventory. Why would you burden a simple model with $200,000+ in franchise overhead? The franchise alternative gives you the systems to run it professionally without the financial millstone.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/junk-removal
Low startup, high hourly rate. A good power washer can earn $150–$300/hour. Equipment costs are modest. Market is massive and underserved.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $3,000–$15,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $50,000–$150,000 (ProClean, Men In Kilts, Spray-Net) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $50,000–$150,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $150,000–$400,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ✅ Moderate-high — annual services (driveways, decks, siding) |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0 |
Power washing is one of the simplest, most profitable home service businesses to start independently. The equipment is relatively affordable ($3,000–$8,000 for a professional setup), the skills are learnable in weeks, and the market is enormous — every home, driveway, deck, and commercial building needs washing.
Franchise fees in this vertical are particularly absurd relative to startup costs. Paying $50,000–$150,000 to franchise a business that costs $5,000–$15,000 to start independently is a hard sell when you do the math.
Franchise alternative advantage: Power washing is seasonal in many markets. The franchise alternative model's flat starting free fee means you're not hemorrhaging royalty percentages during your peak season when revenue is highest. Keep every dollar during your busy months.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/power-washing
The under-the-radar gold mine. Emerging vertical with virtually no national franchise competition. Recurring revenue by definition. Low startup costs.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $5,000–$25,000 (specialized truck rig) |
| Franchise Cost | $25,000–$80,000 (Bin There Dump That, Can Cleaners) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $30,000–$100,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $100,000–$300,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ✅ Very high — monthly service per household |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0 |
Bin cleaning is one of the newest home service verticals, and it's growing fast. The model is beautiful in its simplicity: you clean residential trash cans on a recurring schedule (typically monthly), charge $10–$30 per bin per month, and build a route that generates passive-like recurring revenue.
The franchise options in bin cleaning are limited and relatively new themselves — so the franchise "brand advantage" is essentially zero. Nobody is Googling "Bin There Dump That near me." They're searching "trash can cleaning service near me."
Franchise alternative advantage: Bin cleaning is a route-based, recurring-revenue business that scales by adding neighborhoods. The franchise alternative's operations and growth systems teach you how to build efficient routes and scale systematically — the exact skills that turn a bin cleaning side hustle into a real business. No franchise needed for a vertical this new.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/bin-cleaning
Recurring revenue in a sun-drenched market. Pools need weekly maintenance year-round in warm climates, 6–8 months in seasonal markets. Route-based and scalable.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $2,000–$10,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $40,000–$150,000 (Pool Scouts, ASP, America's Swimming Pool Co.) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $50,000–$120,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $150,000–$500,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ✅ Very high — weekly service contracts |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0 |
Pool cleaning is another route-based business with incredible recurring revenue. A single pool tech can service 80–120 pools per week, generating $8,000–$15,000/month from weekly maintenance contracts alone — before repair and renovation upsells.
Pool franchises exist (Pool Scouts, ASP), but the industry is overwhelmingly independent. Most pool cleaning operations are built on referrals and neighborhood density — you clean one pool on a street, and the neighbors see you and sign up. No brand name required.
Franchise alternative advantage: The franchise alternative's customer retention and growth systems help you build route density — the key metric in pool cleaning profitability. Denser routes mean less drive time, more pools per day, and higher revenue per hour. That operational intelligence is worth more than a franchise brand name on your polo shirt.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/pool-cleaning
The business nobody wants to talk about — until they see the numbers. Extremely low startup cost, high recurring revenue, and a surprisingly large market.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Startup Cost (Independent) | $500–$3,000 |
| Franchise Cost | $15,000–$75,000 (Pet Butler, DoodyCalls, Poop 911) |
| Revenue Potential (Year 1) | $30,000–$80,000 |
| Revenue Potential (Year 3+) | $80,000–$250,000+ |
| Recurring Revenue | ✅ Very high — weekly service per household |
| Employees Needed to Start | 0 |
There are approximately 90 million pet-owning households in the United States. A significant percentage have yards and dogs. And a growing percentage of those households would rather pay someone $15–$25/week to clean up after their pets than do it themselves.
Poop scoop might be the single best argument against paying a franchise fee. The startup costs are negligible — bags, a scooper, and reliable transportation. The franchise "systems" for pet waste removal are minimal because the service itself is straightforward. Paying $15,000–$75,000 to franchise a business you could start this weekend for under $1,000 is hard to justify by any math.
Franchise alternative advantage: The franchise alternative isn't just about saving on franchise fees — it's about getting systems that help even the simplest businesses scale. Route optimization, pricing per property size, upselling to dog walking or pet sitting, and building a recurring revenue machine from week one. Those systems matter even when the work itself is simple.
🔗 Start here: startahomeservice.com/poop-scoop
Look at those 10 businesses. Notice anything?
Every single one can be started independently for a fraction of the franchise cost. Every single one has a market that cares more about reviews, reliability, and price than brand names. And every single one has franchise options that charge $50,000–$500,000 for what is fundamentally business systems — pricing, marketing, operations, hiring, and growth frameworks.
That's the franchise model's core offering. Strip away the brand name, the corporate overhead, the fancy Discovery Day presentations, and the 10-year contract — and what you're buying is systems.
A franchise alternative gives you those same systems for starting free.
Not watered-down versions. Not generic business tips. Nine proprietary business systems designed specifically for home service businesses, built by someone who spent 25 years as a business owner, business broker, and franchise consultant:
Plus HomePro University (10-module training program), Ask Sage (AI business coach, 24/7), Friday 15™ (weekly accountability), and a community of fellow independent operators.
That's the franchise alternative. Every vertical. Every system. starting free.
| Vertical | Franchise Cost | Independent Startup | Franchise Alt Cost (5 yr) | You Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | $75K–$250K | $2K–$10K | $1,740 | $73K–$248K |
| Landscaping | $50K–$150K | $5K–$20K | $1,740 | $48K–$148K |
| Painting | $80K–$250K | $3K–$15K | $1,740 | $78K–$248K |
| Handyman | $80K–$200K | $3K–$10K | $1,740 | $78K–$198K |
| Moving | $100K–$500K | $10K–$30K | $1,740 | $98K–$498K |
| Junk Removal | $100K–$500K | $5K–$20K | $1,740 | $98K–$498K |
| Power Washing | $50K–$150K | $3K–$15K | $1,740 | $48K–$148K |
| Bin Cleaning | $25K–$80K | $5K–$25K | $1,740 | $23K–$78K |
| Pool Cleaning | $40K–$150K | $2K–$10K | $1,740 | $38K–$148K |
| Poop Scoop | $15K–$75K | $500–$3K | $1,740 | $13K–$73K |
Franchise costs include initial investment only — not ongoing royalties, ad fund contributions, or technology fees. Actual 5-year franchise costs are significantly higher.
The math isn't even close. Across every vertical, the franchise alternative saves tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to the franchise path — while delivering the same operational systems that make franchises work.
Regardless of which vertical you choose, the framework is the same:
Pick the one that matches your skills, interests, and local market demand. You don't need to love the work — you need to love building the business. But it helps if you don't hate the work.
Join a franchise alternative like HomePro (starting free) and access franchise-grade business systems immediately. Don't start blind. Don't make the mistakes that kill 50% of small businesses in 5 years.
Work through HomePro University's 10 modules. Set up your pricing, marketing, operations, and hiring systems before you take your first customer. Start with a professional foundation, not a scramble.
Start taking customers. Use Ask Sage for real-time coaching on pricing, sales, and operations questions. Complete your Friday 15™ every week. Stay accountable. Stay systematic.
When you're ready — and only when you're ready — use the growth and leadership systems to hire, add crews, and expand. Scale with systems, not with chaos.
That's it. Five steps. No $100,000 franchise fee. No 10-year contract. No royalties. No territory restrictions.
Just you, franchise-grade systems, and the freedom to build something that's entirely yours.
The home services industry is wide open. Demand is growing. Margins are healthy. Barriers to entry are low. And you absolutely, positively do not need a franchise to succeed in any of these 10 verticals.
What you need is what franchises actually sell beneath the brand name: systems. And a franchise alternative gives you those systems for the price of a single dinner out per month.
starting free. All 10 verticals. All 9 systems. Training. Coaching. Accountability. Community.
The franchise industry had a 50-year head start on organizing home service businesses. The franchise alternative is how the rest of us catch up — for a fraction of $250,000.
🔧 Free tools for every vertical — Visit startahomeservice.com for free pricing calculators, business plan templates, and startup guides for cleaning, landscaping, painting, handyman, and more.
🚀 Join HomePro — Get all 9 business systems, HomePro University, Ask Sage AI coaching, Friday 15™, and the member community for starting free at homepro.systems.
📖 Read the complete guide: The Franchise Alternative: Run Your Business Like a Franchise — Without Becoming One
📖 Related: The Franchise Alternative for Cleaning Businesses — deep-dive comparison of cleaning franchise costs vs. the franchise alternative, with real FDD numbers.
📖 Related: I Spent 25 Years in Home Services — Here's Why I Built the Alternative — the founder's story, from business owner to franchise insider to franchise alternative builder.
27 million independent home service operators. 10 verticals. One franchise alternative. starting free. Start building.