How much does a Gutter Cleaning & Guards cost to buy?

A typical Gutter Cleaning & Guards sells for 1.5x to 2.5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $75K, expect to pay roughly $113K to $188K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Gutter Cleaning & Guards?

Startup costs range from $3K to $20K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Service

Gutter Cleaning & Guards

Q: What are the profit margins for a Gutter Cleaning & Guards?

The average profit margin for a Gutter Cleaning & Guards is around 50%. Costs are minimal: ladder, safety harness, blower or wet-vac, truck, insurance (critical), and marketing. Owner-operators keep most revenue. Gutter guard materials cost 30-40% of installation revenue.

Six jobs a day, six months a year — the numbers work

Bottom line

Strong cash-flow candidate with manageable operations.

Gutter cleaning is one of the most underrated service businesses. It takes 30-60 minutes per house, charges $150-$350 per visit, and books itself on an annual cycle. The real money is the upsell: gutter guard installations at $1,500-$4,000 per home. Solo operators regularly earn $150K+ working alone, and the business scales easily with a second crew.

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Acquisition score

Excellent

Avg Revenue

$150K

Profit Margin

50%

Acquisition Multiple

1.5x - 2.5x

Startup Cost

$3K - $20K

How It Works

Customers book annually, usually in fall and spring. You clean debris from gutters, flush downspouts, and check for damage. Each house takes 30-60 minutes at $150-$350. Upsell gutter guard systems ($1,500-$4,000) to eliminate the need for future cleaning — high-margin installation jobs.

Revenue Range

Low End

$60K

Typical

$150K

High End

$350K

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Watch / verify

Gutter Cleaning & Guards has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Fair / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+Attractive 50% estimated margin profile
+SBA dataset shows 67 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 561790 · Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings

Deals tracked

182

67 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$448K

$245K–$978K p25/p75

Implied deal size

$527K

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-13.9%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

-51.7%

31 recent · 36 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

9.75%

9% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Live Oak Banking Company23

The Huntington National Bank13

Customers Bank7

Stearns Bank National Association6

Columbia Bank5

Where deals happen

FL23

TX21

CA17

AZ11

OH9

CO8

WA6

IL6

KS5

MA5

Franchise vs independent

Franchised acquisitions finance at $350K median vs $471K for independents — a -26% franchise discount. Franchises make up 20% of deals tracked.

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Mar 2026	TX	$350K	$412K	4	Dryer Vent Wizard
Mar 2026	NJ	$1.2M	$1.4M	7	—
Feb 2026	LA	$402K	$473K	5	—
Feb 2026	FL	$55K	$65K	1	—
Feb 2026	FL	$615K	$723K	8	—
Feb 2026	FL	$50K	$59K	2	—
Jan 2026	TX	$270K	$318K	2	Koala Insulation
Jan 2026	KS	$171K	$201K	6	—
Jan 2026	FL	$650K	$765K	2	—
Jan 2026	KS	$211K	$248K	3	—

Volume rank #44/544Deal-size rank #438/544Momentum rank #222p90 loan: $1.6MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Under $5K to start — ladder, blower, and truck
+Built-in annual rebook cycle — customers call you every year
+Gutter guard installs are $1,500-$4,000 per home at 50% margins
+Easy to market — neighbors see you on the ladder

Cons

-Height and ladder safety are real risks
-Seasonal peaks in fall (leaves) and spring (debris)
-Low barrier to entry — easy to undercut on price

Best For

Entry-level entrepreneurs who want to start earning this weekend with almost no capital

Operating Costs

Costs are minimal: ladder, safety harness, blower or wet-vac, truck, insurance (critical), and marketing. Owner-operators keep most revenue. Gutter guard materials cost 30-40% of installation revenue.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

+$359/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $530K

Range: $150K (1.5×) to $530K (2.5×+)

Down payment — 15% ($80K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 9.75%

SBA median for this category: 9.8%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$80K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$451K

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$6K/mo

$256K total interest

Monthly profit

$6K/mo

at 50% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

+$359/mo

Down payment paid back in ~222 months — long horizon

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.