Bath Fitter Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Bath Fitter is a home-services franchise that installs custom-fitted acrylic bathtubs, showers, and wall systems over existing fixtures, usually in a day. Franchisees run a measure-and-install operation handling consultations, custom manufacturing, and installation in a territory.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Bath Fitter franchise requires a total initial investment of $226K – $516K, including a $40K – $80K franchise fee. The 2026 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2026 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $226K – $516K
- 76th pct Home Services
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 53rd pct Home Services
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 142
- 63rd pct Home Services
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Home Services · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Home Services avg · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- Total investment $226K – $516K including a $40K franchise fee.
- Item 21 states audited financial statements for FYE Dec 31, 2025/2024/2023 are attached as Exhibit A, but in this text render Exhibit A is a set of scanned image pages (placeholder text only), so balance-sheet line items (total assets, total liabilities, member's/stockholders' equity, net income) and the auditor's name are not machine-readable and are left null. total_revenue = $108,598,084 is taken from the Item 8 franchisor-revenue disclosure: 'During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2025... $94,416,694 from franchisees' purchases of Products, which represented 86.9% of our total revenues of $108,598,084.' Franchisor is Bath Fitter Franchising, Inc. (parent: Bath Fitter Holdings Inc.).
- Verdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 69/100 (higher is better).
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Bath Fitter Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- Bath Fitter Holdings Inc.
- CEO title
- President and Member of the Board of Directors
- Glenn Cotton
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 102 Evergreen Drive, Springfield, Tennessee 37172
- Auditor
- Gallagher, Flynn & Company (gfc.com), South Burlington, Vermont
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $108.6M
- vs $111.2M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Glenn Cotton
- Headquarters
- Tennessee
- Founded
- 1992
- FDD year
- 2026
- States available
- 36
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 64% above the typical home services franchise.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2026 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $30K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $156K | $426K |
| Total initial investment | $226K | $516K |
Source: Bath Fitter 2026 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $226K – $516K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $30K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $80K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- Currently $0 royalty fee; we reserve the right to impose …
- Ad fund
- 3.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 5.5%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Marketing / ad fund | 3.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $14K |
| Transfer fee | $80K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Inventory (initial) | $20K – $50K |
| Total fee load | 5.5% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 19
Financial Performance
Item 21 states audited financial statements for FYE Dec 31, 2025/2024/2023 are attached as Exhibit A, but in this text render Exhibit A is a set of scanned image pages (placeholder text only), so balance-sheet line items (total assets, total liabilities, member's/stockholders' equity, net income) and the auditor's name are not machine-readable and are left null. total_revenue = $108,598,084 is taken from the Item 8 franchisor-revenue disclosure: 'During our fiscal year ended December 31, 2025... $94,416,694 from franchisees' purchases of Products, which represented 86.9% of our total revenues of $108,598,084.' Franchisor is Bath Fitter Franchising, Inc. (parent: Bath Fitter Holdings Inc.).
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 5.5% — below the Home Services average of 8.9%.
Disclosure
Franchisor chose not to disclose financial performance representations. You will need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+2.1% 3-year CAGR) with 142 units.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Home Services averages
How Bath Fitter Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2026 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 142
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 42
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 70%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +2.1%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +2.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 2
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 2
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 29 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA loan disclosures. This brand has only 9 7(a) loans on file; statistical reliability is limited below 10 loans.
- Total loans
- 9
- Loan volume
- $5.3M
- Median loan
- $584K
- average
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
- limited sample (9 loans) — rate not shown below 10
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 1
- Defaults
- N/A
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Bath Fitter presents meaningful caution risk due to lack of financial transparency (no Item 19), undefined royalty structure, stagnant unit growth, and franchisor going concern issues, making it difficult to assess true profitability and franchise viability.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Gallagher, Flynn & Company (gfc.com), South Burlington, Vermont
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
ⓘ These are the parent company's consolidated financials (the parent guarantees the franchisor), not this brand's standalone results — the figure reflects the whole corporate group, not this brand alone.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 69 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 financial disclosure (Average Revenue and Net Income not disclosed) — impossible to validate ROI claims
- 02MINORRoyalty fee structure is undefined and discretionary — franchisor can impose up to 2.5% retroactively, creating unpredictable cost burden
- 03MEDStagnant unit growth (1.0% YoY) suggests market saturation, franchisee struggles, or brand decline in a mature bathroom remodeling sector
- 04MEDHigh initial investment range ($225.5K–$515.5K) with no disclosed average revenue or profitability benchmarks — cannot assess payback period
- 05HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial instability of franchisor itself, threatening support and system viability
- 06MINOR5-year term is relatively short in franchise context — may indicate franchisor hesitancy or frequent renegotiation disputes
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 5.5% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2026 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 3 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 600,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 10 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Arbitration location | JAMS location nearest to New York, New York (non-binding mediation before litigation) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New York |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 416 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 3680 hrs
- Training location
- Virtual and/or onsite at a Bath Fitter Business we operate or at your location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- franchisee selects, subject to franchisor written approval; franchisor provides site criteria and counseling
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
68 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Bath Fitter · FDD (2026) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Bath Fitter franchise?
The total investment to open a Bath Fitter franchise ranges from $226K – $516K, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Bath Fitter franchise owners earn?
Bath Fitter does not disclose average franchise owner earnings in their FDD Item 19. Not all franchisors are required to make financial performance representations. We recommend asking existing franchisees directly about their financial experience.
What is Bath Fitter's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Bath Fitter (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Bath Fitter franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Bath Fitter has 142 total units in the United States, including 100 franchised units and 42 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Bath Fitter a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Bath Fitter as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 69 out of 100 (higher is better), based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
For franchisors
Are you the franchisor?
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.