Matco Tools Franchise Review 2026: Costs, Fees, News, Average Revenues and/or Profits

Ambrosio’s Take

Matco Tools operates in the same mobile tool distribution space as Snap-on, selling directly to mechanics and technicians on a route, and the two brands make for a natural comparison. Like Snap-on, Matco generates its revenue by selling inventory to distributors rather than charging a traditional royalty, which means the franchisor’s financial interests are directly aligned with how much product franchisees can move. The outlet count has contracted meaningfully, down 100 outlets over 2024 and 2025 combined, and average Total Completed Business has declined modestly for two consecutive years. The context that matters here is route quality: a distributor’s income is largely determined by the density and loyalty of the mechanic customer base on their assigned route, which makes territory evaluation the most consequential step in the discovery process.

Ambrosio’s Take is a new feature on all Franchise Chatter FDD Talk posts based on the 2026 FDD.

In this exclusive Franchise Chatter FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

Section I – Estimated initial investment (franchise costs) for a Matco Tools franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2026 FDD

Section II – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, and marketing fee for a Matco Tools franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2026 FDD

Section III – Number of franchised and company-owned Matco Tools outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2023, 2024, and 2025, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2026 FDD

Section IV – News updates on the Matco Tools franchise opportunity

Section V – Presentation and analysis of Matco Tools’ financial performance representations (average revenues and/or profits), based on Item 19 of the company’s 2026 FDD, including information on the:

• 2025 average, median, highest, and lowest total completed business for the top 1/3, middle 1/3, and bottom 1/3 of the 1,491 distributorships in the United States that operated pursuant to distributorship agreements with Matco and were in business for all of 2025 (1,456 standard distributorships and 35 225 distributorships)

• 2025 average, median, highest, and lowest weekly sales for the top 1/3, middle 1/3, and bottom 1/3 of the 1,491 distributorships in the United States that operated pursuant to distributorship agreements with Matco and were in business for all of 2025 (1,456 standard distributorships and 35 225 distributorships)

Section VI – Key ratios, comparables, computations, and analyses for the Matco Tools franchise opportunity (exclusive content for Platinum subscribers)

Section I – Matco Tools Franchise Costs

• Matco Tools franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2026 FDD:

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $10,000
• Initial Inventory:  $55,500 to $92,000
• Acquisition and Establishment of Time Payment Reserve Accounts:  $22,000; or Time Payment Line of Credit:  $4,700 to $9,325
• Mobile Store (1 1/2 months’ lease payments):  $4,465 to $211,633
• Computer Hardware:  $3,500 to $4,500
• Computer Software and Internet Service (3 months’ lease payments):  $2,050 to $3,250
• Insurance (3 months’ premiums):  $795 to $3,591
• Travel, Lodging, and Meal Expenses:  $179 to $3,015
• Professional Services:  $360 to $5,852
• Fixtures, Supplies, Licenses:  $525 to $4,400
• Additional Funds (3 months):  $5,000 to $16,000
• Total Estimated Matco Tools Franchise Costs:  $104,374 to $376,241

Section II – Matco Tools’ Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, and Marketing Fee

• Matco Tools’ initial franchise fee, royalty fee, and marketing fee, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2026 FDD:

• Initial Franchise Fee:  $10,000
• Inventory Purchases:  maintain an inventory of Products; and maintain a ratio of purchase average to total sales of at least 60%

Section III – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Matco Tools Outlets

Franchised

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  1,809
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  1,841
• Net Change:  +32

2024

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  1,841
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  1,811
• Net Change:  -30

2025

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  1,811
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  1,741
• Net Change:  -70

Company-Owned

2023

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  6
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  11
• Net Change:  +5

2024

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  11
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  18
• Net Change:  +7

2025

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  18
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  -18

Section IV – News Updates on the Matco Tools Franchise

• 2025 Matco Tool Expo: New Tools, Training, and Franchisee Insights

• Matco Tools Launches the Eagle Experience Mobile Toolbox and Diagnostic Tour

• Matco Tools Unveils the New 6s Toolbox: The Pinnacle of Tool Storage for Automotive Technicians

• Matco Tools Ranked No. 66 on Entrepreneur’s 2026 Franchise 500 List

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Average Revenues and/or Profits) for the Matco Tools Franchise (Item 19, 2026 FDD)

• Presented below in Parts 1 and 2 are certain operating and sales results from 1,491 Distributors during the period from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025.

• The three different charts in each Section reflect data for (1) all Distributors in the system, (2) the “standard” Distributors, and (3) the “225” Distributors.

• In 2025, of the 1,491 Distributors reported in this Item 19, 1,456 are reported as “standard” Distributors, and 35 are “225” Distributors.

• This Item 19 only includes operating data for Matco Distributors in the United States that operated pursuant to Distributorship Agreements with Matco and were in business for all of 2025. Matco is not providing, and this Item 19 does not reflect, information regarding Distributors who started during 2025, or those who left the system or stopped selling Products during 2025.

Part 1 – Average, Median, Highest, and Lowest Numbers in the Range of Total Completed Business – 2025

• Part 1 reflects the average gross revenue figures, referred to as “Average Total Completed Business,” for the Matco Distributors, which includes the revenue from the sales of Products and any other items that were sold by the Mobile Store. Part 1 also includes the median, and the highest and lowest gross revenue figures. The information is segregated into thirds, based on Total Completed Business.

• The term “Total Completed Business” means the total cash or revenue a Distributor received during 2025 including sales tax collected, from the sale of all products and services. This includes revenue from the sale of Products and any other items that were sold by the Mobile Store. The revenue received by the Distributors is comprised of cash sales, Time Payment collections from previous sales, credits received by the Distributor from the sale of PSA (Purchase Security Agreements, which are installment contracts), and cash received based on monthly invoices and customers (usually products sold to a shop or business, and not an individual). This does not include any Volume Payment to Terms bonus, or rebate payments.

A.  All Reporting Distributorships

• Chart A reflects the operating data for 1,491 total Matco Distributors in the United States operating pursuant to Distributorship Agreements with Matco that were in business for all of 2025 and who reported sales for at least 48 weeks during 2025.

• The three groupings of Distributors in Chart A (Top 1/3, Middle 1/3, and Bottom 1/3) included 497 Distributors in the Top 1/3 group, 497 Distributors in the Middle 1/3 group, and 497 Distributors in the Bottom 1/3 group.

Top 1/3

• Average:  $765,946
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  182 (37%)
• Median:  $706,981
• Highest:  $2,185,561
• Lowest:  $582,092

Middle 1/3

• Average:  $485,873
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  245 (49%)
• Median:  $483,198
• Highest:  $581,477
• Lowest:  $406,189

Bottom 1/3

• Average:  $298,304
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  282 (57%)
• Median:  $314,109
• Highest:  $406,107
• Lowest:  $21,799

All Reporting Distributorships

• Average:  $516,708

B.  Standard Distributorships

• Chart B reflects the operating data for 1,456 standard Matco Distributors in the United States operating pursuant to Distributorship Agreements with Matco that were in business for all of 2025, and who reported sales for at least 48 weeks during 2025.

• The three groupings of Distributors (Top 1/3, Middle 1/3, and Bottom 1/3) included 485 Distributors in the Top 1/3 group, 485 Distributors in the Middle 1/3 group, and 486 Distributors in the Bottom 1/3 group.

Top 1/3

• Average:  $767,665
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  176 (36%)
• Median:  $708,799
• Highest:  $2,185,561
• Lowest:  $583,223

Middle 1/3

• Average:  $486,956
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  239 (49%)
• Median:  $485,527
• Highest:  $583,195
• Lowest:  $406,593

Bottom 1/3

• Average:  $289,980
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  276 (57%)
• Median:  $315,486
• Highest:  $406,379
• Lowest:  $21,799

All Standard Distributorships

• Average:  $514,713

C.  225 Distributorships

• Chart C reflects the operating data for 35 total Matco Distributors in the United States operating pursuant to Distributorship Agreements with Matco that were in business for all of 2025, who had fewer than 325 Potential Customers, and who reported sales for at least 48 weeks during 2025.

• The three groupings of Distributors (Top 1/3, Middle 1/3, and Bottom 1/3) included 11 Distributors in the Top 1/3 group, 12 Distributors in the Middle 1/3 group, and 12 Distributors in the Bottom 1/3 group.

Top 1/3

• Average:  $703,293
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  4 (36%)
• Median:  $693,297
• Highest:  $922,770
• Lowest:  $544,641

Middle 1/3

• Average:  $456,967
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  7 (58%)
• Median:  $470,265
• Highest:  $526,151
• Lowest:  $385,380

Bottom 1/3

• Average:  $282,996
• Number of Distributors Above Average:  6 (50%)
• Median:  $283,700
• Highest:  $383,199
• Lowest:  $148,760

All 225 Distributorships

• Average:  $474,737

Part 2 – Weekly Distributor Sales Average – 2025

• Part 2 reflects the average weekly sales figures for the Matco Distributors in 2025. Part 2 also includes the median, and the highest and lowest weekly sales figures.

• “National Distributor Sales Average” means the total reported sales of all Products by the reporting Distributors in 2025 in each group, divided by the number of weekly “close-outs” of those same Distributors.

• Each week the Distributors are required to report their sales of Products which are the gross selling price of all Products, whether or not the sale is for cash, for credit, or partial cash and partial credit, or trade-in. When a Distributor closes out its sales for the week, it triggers a report.

• The total sales for a year may not be reported for each of 52 weeks, as Distributors may not close out sales each week. Therefore, the annual National Sales Average may not represent 52 weeks of sales.

• One of the differences between the “Total Completed Business” and “Sales” is that “Sales” (Part 2) reflects all sales, even if some of the payments have not been received, and “Total Completed Business” (Part 1) reflects sales only based on cash collected and PSA credits collected. Therefore, there is a difference due to timing and collections.

• Another difference between “Total Completed Business” and “Sales,” is that the figures reported by Distributors for Total Completed Business includes sales tax collected, and that the figures for Sales do not include sales tax.

A. All Reporting Distributorships

• National Distributor Sales Average:  $9,294
• Distributors Reporting:  1,491
• Distributors At or Above Average:  654 (44%)
• Median:  $8,621
• Highest:  $40,503
• Lowest:  $670

B. Standard Distributorships

• National Distributor Sales Average:  $9,312
• Distributors Reporting:  1,456
• Distributors At or Above Average:  639 (44%)
• Median:  $8,638
• Highest:  $40,503
• Lowest:  $670

C. 225 Distributorships

• National Distributor Sales Average:  $8,520
• Distributors Reporting:  35
• Distributors At or Above Average:  15 (43%)
• Median:  $8,076
• Highest:  $16,715
• Lowest:  $1,582

• The data in the charts are obtained from the Distributors through the MDBS system. As Distributors purchase Products from Matco, they also report on sales made and revenue received. A weekly sales report is generated if the Distributor places an order to purchase Products in a given week. Therefore, the information in the charts is based solely on data received from the Distributors through MDBS. These figures have not been reviewed or audited by Matco.

• During the time period covered by this financial performance representation – the 2025 calendar year – 265 Distributors closed or ceased operations. Of these, 12 were open for less than 12 months, including 10 that closed or ceased operations pursuant to the Test Drive program that is described in Item 5.

• Your sales, revenue, and income will be affected by a variety of factors, including the sales and marketing skills of your Principal Owner; your Principal Owner’s or Operator’s frequency of visits to actual and Potential Customers; efforts to collect on unpaid invoices or installment contracts; retail prices you charge for products; discounts you may offer; prevailing economic or market conditions; demographics; interest rates; your capitalization level; the amount and terms of any financing that you may secure; and your Principal Owner’s business and management skills.

• Some distributors have sold this amount. Your individual results may differ. There is no assurance that you will sell as much.

Section VI – Matco Tools Franchise Ratios, Comparables, Computations, and Analyses (Exclusive Content for Platinum Subscribers) ⬇️