Grease Monkey franchise unit economics
Grease Monkey franchisees run freestanding drive-through quick lube centers that sell oil changes and preventive maintenance for cars and trucks.
Grease Monkey in the news
- FullSpeed Automotive Shifts Franchise Growth into High Gear During First Half of 2026 · Franchising.com ·
The Grease Monkey headline above is the publisher's own and links to the publisher. Averan Advisors checked this Grease Monkey link on 11 October 2026. Franchise news lists news on 95 brands, including Grease Monkey. Grease Monkey is in the Home and Commercial Services franchise guide.
Grease Monkey franchise at a glance
Grease Monkey’s Item 19 reports 2025 net sales, costs, earnings before rent, daily vehicle counts and average tickets for 174 centers in five sales groups.
Grease Monkey franchisees averaged $1,068,198 of sales in 2025, according to Item 19 of Grease Monkey’s 2026 FDD, issued 7 April 2026. The 174 in that group are 75%* of Grease Monkey’s 233 locations. Fees paid to Grease Monkey come to about 6.5%* of sales. A Grease Monkey franchise costs $708,057 to $2,284,321 to open.
- A Grease Monkey franchise costs $708,057 to $2,284,321 to open, including a $39,900 initial franchise fee, according to the brand's 2026 FDD.
- Grease Monkey charges a royalty of 6% of sales, a 0.5% brand fund contribution and a $369 monthly technology fee.
- Grease Monkey’s 174 reporting centers had EBITDAR of 20% of net sales in 2025 on Averan’s weighting of the FDD’s five sales groups. Grease Monkey’s FDD defines EBITDAR as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, occupancy costs and owner pay.
- At the average Grease Monkey location, wages took 31.5% and cost of goods took 24.4% of sales.
- Work out Grease Monkey's fees at your own sales with the minimum fee calculator.
These figures come from Grease Monkey's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, as the brand reported them, and were read by Averan Advisors.
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Talk to Averan → Move your books and accounting to Averan →- Earnings before rent of $16,692 fall short of the low rent estimate. That is for centers under $600,000 of sales, against a low rent estimate of $6,000 a month *, 2.8 months of rent from a full year of trading.
- Crossing $600,000 of sales converts 43 cents of every extra dollar into earnings. That is $271,915 more sales turning $16,692 into $134,312 *. That is the largest step change in the whole table.
- Wages take 40.1% of sales at the smallest centers and 30.2% at the largest. $175,680 against $510,520, nearly ten points of margin sitting in how many cars the same crew serves.
- One more car a day is worth $36,495 to $43,952 a year. At each group’s own ticket across about 316 trading days *, so a single extra vehicle each day moves a small center from losing to breaking even.
- Average ticket varies by 20% across Grease Monkey's five sales groups and average daily volume by 217%. That is $115.49 to $139.09 against 12 cars a day to 38 *.
How much does a Grease Monkey franchise make?
The average Grease Monkey unit reported $1,068,198 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and Item 19 prints no median for all centers. The brand’s disclosure document puts EBITDAR, earnings before rent and owner pay, at 20% of revenue on Averan’s weighting of its five sales groups. Fees come off the top first, at about 6.5% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Grease Monkey performers
Grease Monkey splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The top group averaged $1,693,209 a year. The lowest averaged $438,063. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees.
Decided before you open
- Site and trade area.The top band sells 3.9× the bottom band. Catchment, daytime population and neighboring businesses affect where a location falls.
- Location.A Grease Monkey center is one approved three-to-six-bay site with no territorial protection. Average daily vehicle count ran from 12 in the lowest sales group to 38 in the highest in 2025.
- Opening cost range.Opening costs $708,057 to $2,284,321, a 3.2× range inside one brand.
Live operating levers
- Wages.Wages take 31.5% of sales, against EBITDAR of 20.0%. Wages fall from 40.1% of sales in the smallest group to 30.2% in the largest.
- Cars a day.Average daily vehicle count ran 12, 22, 25, 25 and 38 across Grease Monkey’s five sales groups in 2025, at average tickets of $115.49 to $139.09. Track cars per bay per day and the average ticket.
Context you underwrite around
- Locations included.These figures cover 174 of 233 locations. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded.
- What the filing does not include.Item 19 publishes no median for all 174 centers together and no count of centers above the average. Its earnings line sits above rent, interest, depreciation and owner pay.
The costs, line by line
Operating statement by sales group, 2025
| Line | Under $600k (32) | $600k–$800k (24) | $800k–$1m (34) | $1m–$1.2m (30) | Over $1.2m (54) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average net sales | $438,063 | $709,978 | $900,152 | $1,092,349 | $1,693,209 |
| Cost of goods sold | $108,561 | $175,740 | $229,071 | $261,612 | $408,870 |
| Gross profit | $329,502 | $534,238 | $671,081 | $830,737 | $1,284,339 |
| Salaries, wages and benefits | $175,680 | $227,353 | $283,901 | $343,212 | $510,520 |
| Retail operating expenses | $123,764 | $155,335 | $198,869 | $259,074 | $336,971 |
| Office and general | $13,365 | $17,238 | $21,960 | $18,643 | $38,149 |
| Earnings before rent | $16,692 | $134,312 | $166,351 | $209,808 | $398,698 |
| Share of sales | 3.8% | 18.9% | 18.5% | 19.2% | 23.5% |
Every figure is as the brand reported it for centers trading the whole of 2025 that supplied complete accounts. The earnings line sits above rent, interest, depreciation and owner pay.
Cost of goods sits between 23.9% and 25.4% at every size. That is a range of 1.5 points across a fourfold difference in sales. So oil and filters behave like a true variable cost and scale buys next to zero on this line.
Gross profit of roughly 75% is the same at every size too. 75.2%, 75.2%, 74.6%, 76.1% and 75.9%, which means every dollar of margin difference lives below this line, in labor and in the fixed cost of keeping a building open.
Retail operating expenses fall from 28.3% of sales to 19.9%. $123,764 against $336,971, and that line already has royalty and advertising contributions, so the brand charges are inside the fall.
Weighted across all 174 centers, sales average $1,068,198 and earnings before rent $214,009. 20.0% of sales *, and the quarter tables recombine to the same $1,068,198, so the two cuts of this system agree with each other.
The top quartile averages $1,807,546 and the bottom $498,841. That is 3.6 times, with the highest-selling center at $3,334,527 and the lowest-selling at $264,269 *, a difference of 12.6 times on a single standard format.
Discounts available
- Grease Monkey charges existing franchisees in good standing $20,000 for each additional new-site center.
- Grease Monkey charges existing franchisees in good standing $10,000 for each additional center converted from an existing independent business.
- Grease Monkey charges $29,900 for a single center to honorably discharged U.S. military veterans, first responders, and their spouses.
- Grease Monkey charges $20,000 for the second center and $15,000 for each later center under a Multi-Unit Agreement (minimum three centers).
From Item 5 of the Grease Monkey 2026 FDD. The costs on this page use the full initial franchise fee for one unit, before any discount.
The car as the unit
Daily car count and ticket by sales group
| Band | Cars a day | Range | Ticket | Range | One more car a day * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $600k | 12 | 6 – 19 | $115.49 | $74.94 – $201.86 | $36,495 |
| $600k–$800k | 22 | 10 – 38 | $114.42 | $63.11 – $213.98 | $36,157 |
| $800k–$1m | 25 | 13 – 45 | $120.25 | $70.90 – $203.33 | $37,999 |
| $1m–$1.2m | 25 | 16 – 36 | $135.18 | $89.81 – $197.57 | $42,717 |
| Over $1.2m | 38 | 22 – 81 | $139.09 | $71.29 – $360.34 | $43,952 |
Vehicle counts, ranges and tickets are as the brand reported it and the final column multiplies each group's ticket by the 316 trading days implied by its own sales, volume and price, marked *.
The largest centers serve 3.2 times the cars at a 20% higher ticket. 38 against 12, and $139.09 against $115.49 *, so volume accounts for roughly four fifths of the gap and price the rest.
Weighted across the system, a center serves 26 cars a day at $127 *. On a three-bay building that is about nine cars per bay per day, against 13 at the largest centers and four at the smallest.
A single extra car each day is worth $36,495 at the smallest centers. That is more than twice the $16,692 of annual earnings before rent in that group *.
The groups overlap heavily on daily volume. A center in the second group can run 38 cars a day, the same as the average in the top group. So days open and ticket mix separate businesses that look identical on a Tuesday morning.
Ticket ranges from $63.11 to $360.34 across the system. The highest Grease Monkey ticket is 5.7 times the lowest*, a wider spread than between any two Grease Monkey group averages.
What rent does to it
Earnings before rent against rent estimates
| Band | Earnings before rent | Months of rent at $6,000 * | Months at $31,250 * | Left after a year at $72,000 * |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $600k | $16,692 | 2.8 | 0.5 | $(55,308) |
| $600k–$800k | $134,312 | 22.4 | 4.3 | $62,312 |
| $800k–$1m | $166,351 | 27.7 | 5.3 | $94,351 |
| $1m–$1.2m | $209,808 | 35.0 | 6.7 | $137,808 |
| Over $1.2m | $398,698 | 66.4 | 12.8 | $326,698 |
The earnings figures are as the brand reported it and the coverage columns apply the filed monthly rent estimates of $6,000 and $31,250 for a three-bay unit, marked *.
At the low rent estimate, a year of trading under $600,000 of sales buys 2.8 months of occupancy cost. $16,692 against $72,000 *, and at the high estimate of $375,000 a year it buys sixteen days.
Above $600,000 of sales, the low rent estimate leaves $62,312 before interest, depreciation and owner pay *. So the second group is the first one where the model works at all, and only at the cheap end of the rent range.
At the high rent estimate, only the top group clears a full year. $398,698 against $375,000, leaving $23,698 *, which is the argument for owning the site.
Buying the land instead costs $600,000 to $1,500,000 on top of the build. Before site improvements, against a total lease-based investment of $708,057 to $2,284,321, so the two routes converge at the expensive end.
The build is 0.66 to 2.14 times a year of weighted average sales *. It is 1.62 to 5.21 times what a center in the smallest group bills.
Fees, territory and the system
Franchised centers, 2023 to 2025
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Ceased, other | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 187 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 201 |
| 2024 | 201 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 209 |
| 2025 | 209 | 29 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 233 |
Every column is as the brand reported it and each year's arithmetic returns the filed closing count exactly.
Royalty is 6% of gross revenues with 0.5% to the national fund and 4% spent locally. The brand takes 6.5% of sales, $110,059 a year at the largest centers *. The 4% local advertising and the point-of-sale fee, which goes to the vendor, come on top.
Franchisees from before May 2022 keep a 5% royalty for as long as their ownership holds. Worth $16,932 a year at the largest centers and $4,381 at the smallest *, and it survives one sale, after which the next buyer pays 6%.
The Designated Area grants no exclusive rights. Grease Monkey uses the Designated Area only to pick a site. The affiliate that runs SpeeDee, Kwik Kar, Uncle Ed’s and American LubeFast may open any of them nearby, including another Grease Monkey.
The affiliate runs 175 company centers against 233 franchised ones. That is 43% of the branded system, having added 24 of its own across two years. So the brand is a substantial operator in its own right as well as a franchisor.
Fifty-nine of 233 centers are outside the reported figures. 25.3% *, opened mid-year, transferred, or missing complete accounts, and the reasons stay unsplit.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks
How much does a Grease Monkey franchise make?
Grease Monkey franchisees averaged $1,068,198 of sales in 2025, according to Item 19 of Grease Monkey’s 2026 FDD, issued 7 April 2026. The 174 in that group are 75%* of Grease Monkey’s 233 locations. Fees paid to Grease Monkey come to about 6.5%* of sales. A Grease Monkey franchise costs $708,057 to $2,284,321 to open.
What does a Grease Monkey center bill?
Across 174 centers reporting complete accounts for 2025 the weighted average was $1,068,198 of net sales. By group the averages were $438,063, $709,978, $900,152, $1,092,349 and $1,693,209. The highest-selling center billed $3,334,527 and the lowest-selling $264,269.
What does it earn at Grease Monkey?
Earnings before rent, interest, depreciation and owner pay were $16,692, $134,312, $166,351, $209,808 and $398,698 by group, 3.8%, 18.9%, 18.5%, 19.2% and 23.5% of sales. Weighted across all 174 that is $214,009, or 20.0%, on our reading. Rent and owner compensation both sit below that line.
Why does the smallest group keep so much less at Grease Monkey?
The smallest centers trail because gross profit holds at roughly 75% at every size while wages take 40.1% of sales at the smallest centers against 30.2% at the largest. Retail operating expenses take 28.3% against 19.9%. A three-bay building and a crew cost much the same whether 12 cars arrive or 38.
What is the Grease Monkey unit of volume?
The unit of volume is the car. Daily counts average 12, 22, 25, 25 and 38 by group, at tickets of $115.49, $114.42, $120.25, $135.18 and $139.09. On our reading each group trades about 316 days, so one more car a day is worth $36,495 to $43,952 a year depending on ticket.
What fees does Grease Monkey charge?
Grease Monkey charges 6% of gross revenues in royalty and 0.5% to the national materials fund, with a right to double it. Grease Monkey charges a required 4% of monthly gross revenues on pre-approved local advertising. The point-of-sale maintenance fee runs $193 to $369 a month and goes to the vendor. Franchisees from before May 2022 may keep a 5% royalty while their ownership stays intact.
What territory do you get at Grease Monkey?
You get an approved location and a Designated Area used only to find it. The exact words are that you will receive an exclusive territory in no case. Affiliated brands (SpeeDee, Kwik Kar, Uncle Ed's Oil Shoppe, American LubeFast and others) may operate and solicit within that area, and so may another Grease Monkey.
What does a Grease Monkey center cost to build?
$708,057 to $2,284,321 for a three-bay center on a leased site, of which $39,900 to $49,900 goes to the brand. Building work alone runs $350,000 to $1,200,000 and site work $75,000 to $450,000. Buying the land instead costs $600,000 to $1,500,000 before improvements. Estimated rent is $6,000 to $31,250 a month.
Which two numbers should run monthly at Grease Monkey?
Track cars a day against 26, because one more is worth about $40,000 a year and the whole cost structure turns on throughput. Then track sales against $600,000 a year, because crossing that line converted 43 cents of every extra dollar into earnings across this system.
Questions worth putting to Grease Monkey
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- Is the profit figure in Item 19 before or after owner pay, and how many locations sit below it?
- Which factors does Grease Monkey see in its highest-selling locations, such as trade area, years open and size?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Grease Monkey locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Numbers Check runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. It checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →How many cars is your day holding?
We review your unit economics and cash forecast and build your reporting around 26 cars a day at $127, the $600,000 line where 43 cents of every extra dollar became earnings. A rent bill the reported margin sits above.
Talk to Averanthe franchise library, all 447 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?It works out the sales level where a minimum fee stops applying.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?It builds a 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?It shows how to tell whether payroll is rising or revenue is falling.
- Revenue was the highest it has been. Why did profit not move?It traces where the extra revenue went, line by line.
- At what point do spreadsheets stop coping?It explains what changes at around ten units and why lenders care.
Where these figures come from.
Every figure here comes from Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brand. Calculations of our own are labeled where they appear, the figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Grease Monkey® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.
These figures come from the brand's disclosure. They are not a forecast, an offer to sell a franchise or advice. Source: Grease Monkey Franchising, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document, issued 7 April 2026.