How much does a Commercial Hood Cleaning cost to buy?

A typical Commercial Hood Cleaning sells for 2.1x to 3.5x annual revenue. With average revenue of $360K, expect to pay $756K to $1.3M.

How much does it cost to start a Commercial Hood Cleaning?

Startup costs range from $20K to $100K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Commercial Hood Cleaning

Q: What are the profit margins for a Commercial Hood Cleaning?

The average profit margin for a Commercial Hood Cleaning is around 31%. Core costs include degreasers, pressure washers, vacuums, labor, vehicles, insurance, ladder and rooftop safety gear, and after-hours payroll premiums. Margins improve with dense restaurant routes and maintenance contracts.

Greasy overnight work that restaurants legally cannot ignore

Commercial hood cleaning businesses clean kitchen exhaust systems for restaurants, hotels, schools, ghost kitchens, and institutional food operators. The surprising angle is that this is not just janitorial work, it is fire-code maintenance. Owners pay on a recurring schedule because dirty hoods create insurance risk, failed inspections, and real fire danger.

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Avg Revenue

$360K

Profit Margin

31%

Acquisition Multiple

2.1x - 3.5x

Startup Cost

$20K - $100K

Difficulty

3/5

How It Works

Crews work after closing hours to degrease hoods, ducts, fans, and rooftop exhaust equipment, then document the cleaning for compliance records. Revenue comes from recurring service intervals, emergency cleanups, fan-belt replacements, filter swaps, and cross-sold pressure washing or kitchen equipment cleaning.

Revenue Range

Low End

$120K

Typical

$360K

High End

$950K

Pros

+Recurring schedule driven by code and insurance requirements
+Night work reduces customer coordination headaches
+Low glamour keeps competition thinner than general cleaning
+Easy upsells into pressure washing and grease-management services

Cons

-Late-night labor can be hard to staff
-Dirty work with meaningful safety risk on roofs and ladders
-Route density matters a lot for labor efficiency

Best For

Service operators comfortable with night crews who want sticky B2B maintenance revenue tied to compliance

Operating Costs

Core costs include degreasers, pressure washers, vacuums, labor, vehicles, insurance, ladder and rooftop safety gear, and after-hours payroll premiums. Margins improve with dense restaurant routes and maintenance contracts.