20 franchise brands run a gym / fitness studio. Here they are beside the independent version of the same business, with each brand’s fees as it publishes them and worked out in dollars. A brand can bring customers an independent has to earn one by one. The question is whether it brings in more than it costs.
Typical for a gym / fitness studio: $300k to $2M in sales, and the owner keeps 25% to 32% after paying for its own marketing. Change either to your own numbers.
Work each brand out at
How the two sides are counted
Sales. A brand’s name brings customers an independent wins one at a time, so each brand is worked out at the sales it reports where we have them, and at yours where we don’t.
Marketing. On your own you pay for all of it, about 7% of sales here. The ad fund does part of that job, so it is counted once, not twice.
Survival. New franchised businesses were about 5 to 6 points more likely to make it through their first two years in Census data, and about half of all new businesses close within five years. It is not in the dollars; each brand’s details give the sources.
The independent version
Your own gym / fitness studio
Built and run under your own name
Cost to open
$154k to $599k
Annual sales
$770ktypical
Franchise fee
None
Royalty + ad fund
Noneall marketing is yours
$223,300
The owner keeps in a year, after about $54k of marketing
Taking new owners
Stretch Zone
Assisted stretching studio
Total investment
$139k to $320k
Avg. annual sales
$308k to $328k
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$70k
The owner keeps in a year at $318k in sales (what it reports), after $29k to the brand
$153k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
9Round
Kickboxing circuit studio
Total investment
$160k to $390k
Avg. annual sales
Undisclosed
Franchise fee
$20k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$177k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $62k to the brand
$46k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Fit Body Boot Camp
Group boot camp gym
Total investment
$196k to $392k
Avg. annual sales
Undisclosed
Franchise fee
$58k
Royalty + ad fund
5% of sales
$185k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $45k to the brand
$39k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
The Bar Method
Barre studio
Total investment
$240k to $491k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$43k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$177k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $62k to the brand
$46k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
HOTWORX
Infrared sauna workout studio
Total investment
$252k to $901k
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
Not listed
Royalty + ad fund
In the details
The fee is not a simple share of sales, so it is not worked out in dollars. The details show it as the brand words it.
Taking new owners
StretchLab
Assisted stretching studio
Total investment
$281k to $815k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
8% + 2% of sales
$162k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $77k to the brand
$62k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
BODYBAR Pilates
Reformer Pilates studio
Total investment
$284k to $795k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
Not listed
Royalty + ad fund
In the details
The fee is not a simple share of sales, so it is not worked out in dollars. The details show it as the brand words it.
Taking new owners
Burn Boot Camp
Group training gym
Total investment
$291k to $678k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$177k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $62k to the brand
$46k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Pure Barre
Barre studio
Total investment
$314k to $629k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$169k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $69k to the brand
$54k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
The Camp Transformation Center
Group fitness and weight-loss center
Total investment
$349k to $472k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2.5% of sales
$177k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $65k to the brand
$46k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
F45 Training
Group functional training studios
Total investment
$362k to $858k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$169k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $69k to the brand
$54k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Row House
Indoor rowing studio
Total investment
$371k to $537k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
Not listed
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$169k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $69k to the brand
$54k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
RockBox Fitness
Boxing and functional training studio
Total investment
$388k to $623k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$169k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $69k to the brand
$54k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Club Pilates
Reformer Pilates studio
Total investment
$403k to $1M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$65k
Royalty + ad fund
8% + 2% of sales
$162k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $77k to the brand
$62k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
barre3
Barre studio
Total investment
$409k to $651k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
6% + 2% of sales
$177k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $62k to the brand
$46k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
CycleBar
Indoor cycling studio
Total investment
$411k to $1.1M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$169k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $69k to the brand
$54k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
TITLE Boxing Club
Boxing fitness studio
Total investment
$469k to $944k
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$50k
Royalty + ad fund
7.5% + 1% of sales
$166k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $65k to the brand
$58k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
Rumble Boxing
Boxing-inspired group studio
Total investment
$510k to $1.1M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
7% + 2% of sales
$169k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $69k to the brand
$54k less a year than on your own
Taking new owners
BFT
Group functional training studio
Total investment
$510k to $1.2M
Avg. annual sales
Ask the brand
Franchise fee
Not listed
Royalty + ad fund
In the details
The fee is not a simple share of sales, so it is not worked out in dollars. The details show it as the brand words it.
Selective
Orangetheory Fitness
Group HIIT studio
Total investment
$765k to $1.1M
Avg. annual sales
Franchise fee
$60k
Royalty + ad fund
8% + 3% of sales
$162k
The owner keeps in a year at $770k in sales (your sales), after $85k to the brand
$62k less a year than on your own
Free account
See all 20 gym / fitness studio brands side by side
Every brand’s investment and fees, and what the owner keeps against running your own
The yearly sales the first 3 report, and a plus to add brands to your comparison and benchmark them in your account
Members see the sales every franchisor reports, for every brand
Free, no card. A new account accepts the Terms and the Privacy Policy. smbnest is a self-assessment tool and never takes a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor.
Before you sign: what to read in the disclosure document
Every franchisor must give you its Franchise Disclosure Document at least 14 days before you sign or pay. These are the parts that answer the questions above.
Items 5 to 7, the fees and the investment. The franchise fee, every other fee (technology, training, transfer, renewal), and the full opening budget, including working capital.
Item 19, what owners earn. Whether the brand states owner sales or earnings at all, and for which units. Put its figures in the boxes above in place of the typical ones.
Item 20, units opened, closed and sold. How many owners left in each of the last three years, and a list of current and former owners you can call.
Item 12, the territory. Whether you get a protected area, and what the brand can open or sell inside it.
Item 21, the franchisor’s own finances. Whether the company behind the brand is in good health.
smbnest is a self-assessment tool, not individualized advice. Fees are as each brand publishes them on its franchising page and in its disclosure document, reviewed in the month shown, and change; the figures in dollars are worked out at the sales you enter and are not a forecast. We never take a cut of your deal or a fee from a franchisor. Before you sign, speak with a franchise attorney and a qualified financial adviser, and call owners from the disclosure document.
Your guidesmbnest
The guide is an automated assistant. Answers come from this business’s model, its sources and your plan; they are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Talk to a person