How much does an Unishippers franchise cost?
Opening an Unishippers franchise takes a total initial investment of $17,365 to $233,300, according to the brand's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. The FDD's Item 19 reports median revenue of $4,494,884 across 41 outlets.
Unishippers franchises businesses under franchise agreements. Category: Business Services.
Item 7
What it costs to open an Unishippers franchise
The franchisor's own estimated initial investment, as disclosed in its 2025 FDD. The total is $17,365 to $233,300. Each line below carries the FDD page it was read from.
Where the money goes
The largest costs are Additional Funds – 3-Month Initial Period ($9,000 to $150,000), Real Estate Deposit and Improvements ($0 to $10,000), and Travel and Living Expenses ($2,500 to $8,000). Together they make up about 72% of the high-end estimate.
The initial franchise fee is $1,500 to $30,000, about 8.6% of the low-end total.
Our arithmetic from the Item 7 table below.
| Expenditure | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franchise Fees2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $1,500 | $30,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Real Estate Deposit and Improvements2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $0 | $10,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Fixtures, Furniture, Equipment and Signage2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $0 | $7,500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Computer Hardware and Software2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $1,000 | $7,500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Initial Inventory and Supplies2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $250 | $1,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Utility Deposit and Costs2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $50 | $500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| – Telephone and Broadband Internet Service2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $150 | $500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Business Licenses and Fees2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $100 | $2,500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Broker Authority, BOC-3, Unified Carrier Registration, and Licensing Fees2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $390 | $500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Surety Bond2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $600 | $1,300 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Automobile2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $300 | $4,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Insurance (for the first year)2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $525 | $2,500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Organizational Expenses2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $1,000 | $7,500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Travel and Living Expenses2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 14 | $2,500 | $8,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 14 |
| Additional Funds – 3-Month Initial Period2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 14 | $9,000 | $150,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 14 |
| Total estimated initial investment2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13-14 | $17,365 | $233,300 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13-14 |
Source Unishippers, 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13-14, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-27.
Item 19
What Unishippers franchisees actually report earning
Median Revenue
$4,494,884
Unishippers' 2025 FDD, Item 19, for the 2024. Basis: All Unishippers franchised businesses that were open for at least a full year, including for all of 2024; the first table represents all franchises open for all of 2024.
Sample size: 41 outlets. The FDD also reports average revenue of $7,305,002. We lead with the median because an average is pulled upward by the strongest outlets; the median is the middle outlet.
What the franchisor excluded from this figure
- The FDD excluded 9 franchises that were not operational for the full year, 19 franchises acquired by Unishippers, 14 franchises that ceased operations, 2 franchises that were terminated, and 3 franchises that transferred and merged into another franchise; the tables also exclude Corporate or Affiliate owned outlets where stated and include a separate table with Parcel Only removed.
This is a disclosure of what some existing outlets reported, not a projection of what a new Unishippers outlet would earn. Your results will differ.
Source Unishippers, 2025 FDD, Item 19, p. 38-41, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-27.
Item 20
How many Unishippers outlets there are, and how many closed
Unishippers ended 2024 with 202 franchised outlets and 1 company-owned outlet. In that year 31 franchised outlets opened and 38 left the system.
Three years at a glance
From 2022 through 2024, Unishippers opened 145 franchised outlets and 142 outlets left the system. That is a net gain of 4, from 198 to 202 franchised outlets. Of the outlets that left, 8 were terminated, 107 were bought back by the franchisor, and 27 closed for other reasons. Those openings and departures do not add up to that change, because the FDD's own Item 20 row for 2023 does not add up either. We publish the franchisor's figures exactly as printed; see the note under the table below.
On average, about 23% of franchised outlets left the system each year, roughly 1 in 4.
Our arithmetic from the FDD's Item 20 table below. "Left the system" counts every outlet the franchisor reports as terminated, not renewed, bought back, or closed for other reasons.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 209 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 17 | 202 | 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 47 |
| 2023 | 211 | 80 | 4 | 0 | 72 | 7 | 2091 | 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 47 |
| 2022 | 198 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 211 | 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 47 |
Source Unishippers, 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 41-47, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-27.
Compare
How Unishippers compares with other Business Services franchises
Measured against the 140 Business Services franchises on this site, using each brand's own FDD.
- Cost to open. The middle of Unishippers' estimated range is $125,333. It costs less to open than 59% of Business Services franchises here.
- Outlets leaving each year. 23% for Unishippers. That is higher than 94% of the 101 Business Services franchises with at least 10 outlets.
- Three-year growth. Unishippers' franchised system grew 2.0%. The typical Business Services franchise here grew 4.4%.
- Earnings disclosure. 71 of the 140 Business Services franchises here publish earnings figures in Item 19. Unishippers is one of them.
Our arithmetic from each brand's Item 7 and Item 20. Growth and departure comparisons leave out brands with fewer than 10 outlets, where one opening or closure distorts the figures. See every Business Services franchise side by side.
Alert me when Unishippers files a new FDD
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