Comfort Keepers Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $120K – $191K
- Disclosed sales
- $1.3M
- gross sales, not profit
- SBA charge-off
- 3.9%
- on 116 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Comfort Keepers is a non-medical in-home care franchise providing companionship, personal care, and light housekeeping to seniors and disabled clients. Franchisees run an agency recruiting and scheduling caregivers and managing client care and compliance.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Comfort Keepers franchise requires a total initial investment of $120K – $191K, including a $55K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.3M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 3.9% charge-off rate across 116 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: low - issued within the last 12 months
Evidence: strong✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored6 of 8 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing; the rest are marked “Not cited” beside the figure.
Overview
- Investment
- $120K – $191K
- 65th pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Net sales26th pct Senior Care
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 5th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 624
- 96th pct Senior Care
- SBA charge-off
- 3.9%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Senior Care median · 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
- COSTTotal investment $120K – $191K including a $55K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.3M/year (median $857K).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 100/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 3.9% across 116 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- GROWTHPositive: net +41 franchised outlets in the latest year (45 opened, 4 closed); 3 signed but not yet open (Item 20).
- GROWTHSystem growing at 17.0% CAGR over 3 years with 624 total units. Strong expansion trajectory.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- CK Franchising, Inc.
- Parent company
- CK Holdco, Inc.
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- Ultimate parent
- Elevate Care International Inc. (ECI)
- FDD Item 1, page 9 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Natalie Black
- Incorporated in
- OH
- HQ
- 1 Park Plaza, Suite 300, Irvine, CA 92614
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $49.3M
- vs $42.3M prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Natalie Black
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 1999
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 44
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 14% above the typical senior care franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $55K | $55K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $39K | $191K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $26K | $0 |
| Total initial investment | $120K | $191K |
Source: Comfort Keepers 2025 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
- $120K – $191K
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $39K – $191K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $55K – $55K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Set by a formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 7.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $0 |
| Transfer fee | $8K |
| Renewal fee | $5K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 20% above the senior care norm.
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
Single-unit · not modelled
Returns at a glance
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit, and the operating costs that turn one into the other are in no filing. We publish no modelled return for Comfort Keepers until someone supplies them — yours, in the models below.
—
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
Total invested capital · disclosed
$270K
Item 7 initial investment plus working capital, as filed — the one figure here that needs no assumption.
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
What one unit earns on your invested capital
Model A · Single-Unit Return
Computes unlevered return on invested capital (ROIC) for a single franchise unit, read against the 30–60% reference band · Yale SOM, Post-MBA Path Exhibit 2 (2023). Below that band a passive index fund likely outperforms; above it the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses, and it is the top line only — gross sales are not profit. No FDD discloses the operating costs that turn one into the other, so those fields start empty and nothing is modelled until you supply them from your own lease quote, labor market and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Comfort Keepers unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
What 25 units return when you use SBA financing
Model B · Return on Equity: Debt-Financed Acquisition
Models a 25-unit portfolio acquisition financed with an SBA 7(a) loan. Shows equity IRR (your return on cash invested), DSCR (how safely the cash flow covers debt service), and the capital stack (SBA + seller + equity breakdown).
This is the “search fund” or “entrepreneurship through acquisition” scenario: you buy an existing multi-unit operator, use leverage to amplify returns, and either operate or hire management. The 25-unit size is the typical minimum for an SBA-backed franchise portfolio acquisition to pencil as a full-time income.
What “return on equity” means here: if you put in $500K of your own cash and the business generates enough EBITDA to pay down debt and grow, your equity IRR is the annual return on that $500K, including the value created when you eventually sell. Target IRR for a search fund is typically 25–35%.
Not modelled yet
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
A 25-unit return is built on a per-unit EBITDA. Fill in the operating costs in Model A above and this model runs on that figure, or take the whole scenario to the full ROI workbench, where the portfolio and LBO models accept your own per-unit economics directly.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Reported as net sales, not gross sales
- Avg gross sales
- $1.3M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $857K
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- net sales
- Sample size
- 600 outlets
- vs category median 22 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $9K→$21.5MCited, not corroborated — printed on page 77 of the 2025 FDD. Nothing else in our record independently restates or re-derives it.
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 7 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 79 Senior Care brands
Revenue is 8.2x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Unit economics
Average unit generates $1.3M/year in gross sales. Median is $857K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 8.2x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 7.0% (near the Senior Care median).
Disclosure
Transparency score 7/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System expanding at 17.0% CAGR over 3 years across 624 units — operators are staying and new ones are joining.
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 Senior Care medians
How Comfort Keepers Compares
Category median of published Senior Care brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 624
- Opened
- 45
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 4
- Terminated
- 3
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 1
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 5.3%
- Company-owned
- 5
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +17.0%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +17.0%
- Compounded over last 3 years
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 3
- Not renewed
- 1
- Transferred
- 31
- Reacquired
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 3
- 0.00 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 9
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 45 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.
Where the owners are · Item 20 owner list
354 current owners across 45 states; 1 former (terminated, transferred or not renewed) listed separately.
- CA 39
- FL 26
- PA 26
- TX 23
- MI 18
- IN 16
- OH 16
- IL 14
- NC 13
- NJ 13
- SC 11
- GA 10
- +33 more states
Counts only, from the list the franchisor prints in Item 20. Names and phone numbers are for your own due diligence and are not shown here.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 116
- Loan volume
- $66.1M
- Median loan
- $200K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 3.9%
- on 116 loans · rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 96.1%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 58
- Defaults
- 3
- Typical loan rate
- 6.6%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 7.5%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 6,896
- 10.4 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 15%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 26% went to startups / new businesses, 74% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in home health care services, franchised businesses charge off at 7.5% vs 11.5% for independents — franchising is associated with 35% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Comfort Keepers charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Comfort Keepers franchisees
Showing 3 of 58 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Comfort Keepers from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.4%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 69%
- Avg interest rate
- 6.62%
- Avg chargeoff amount
- $91K
- Lender concentration
- 14.7%
- Job velocity
- 10.4 per $100K
- Startup risk premium
- +20.0pp
- NAICS benchmark
- 5.7%
- NAICS 621610
- Jobs supported
- 6,896
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 15% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Live Oak Banking Company | 17 | $18.4M | 0.0% |
| 2 | The Huntington National Bank | 8 | $2.3M | 0.0% |
| 3 | PNC Bank, National Association | 5 | $2.5M | 0.0% |
| 4 | U.S. Bank, National Association | 5 | $3.1M | 0.0% |
| 5 | Bank of America, National Association | 4 | $128K | 25.0% |
| 6 | Bank Five Nine | 4 | $2.1M | 0.0% |
| 7 | CIBC Bank USA | 4 | $3.1M | 0.0% |
| 8 | Community First Bank of Indiana | 3 | $138K | 0.0% |
| 9 | Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 3 | $876K | 0.0% |
| 10 | UMB Bank, National Association | 3 | $642K | 0.0% |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| WIWisconsin | 10 | 0 | 0.0% |
| CACalifornia | 9 | 0 | 0.0% |
| FLFlorida | 7 | 1 | 20.0% |
| OHOhio | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| WAWashington | 7 | 0 | 0.0% |
| VAVirginia | 6 | 0 | 0.0% |
| TXTexas | 5 | 0 | 0.0% |
| ILIllinois | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MDMaryland | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
| MIMichigan | 4 | 0 | 0.0% |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 3.9% — 76% below the 16.0% national norm, i.e. lower lender-observed risk.
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
Risk & Legal
Comfort Keepers presents elevated legal and operational risk due to active wage-and-hour litigation, vicarious liability claims, and regulatory investigations into hiring practices, combined with unverified profitability claims and modest unit growth in a mature system.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: the franchisor is a named party (defendant).
6 cases: (1) Broach v. CKFI wage/hour class arbitration, settled 2018, CKFI paid $10K; (2) WA AG civil investigation re non-solicit provisions, settled 2018 via Assurance of Discontinuance; (3) CKFI v. 4 Seniors Home Care (Quebec master franchisee), settled 2019; (4) CA AG civil investigation re client services agreement provisions, settled 2024 with $500K fine; (5) Rupp v. CKFI et al. (negligence/client injury), pending trial April 2026; (6) Cooper v. CKFI et al. (negligence/client injury), filed July 2025, pending.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Grant Thornton LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Combined revenues per audited Combined Statements of Operations for CK Franchising, Inc. and SDX Home Care Operations, LLC dba Comfort Keepers, fiscal years ended August 31, 2025 and 2024. Other income of $194,664 (FY2025) shown separately under other income (expenses).
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 100 / 100 verdict
- 01HIGHActive litigation including wage-and-hour class action and state AG investigations into non-solicit/hire practices creates operational and compliance risk
- 02MINORVicarious liability negligence claims (2x) indicate potential gaps in training, screening, or supervision of caregivers—critical in home health services
- 03MINORModest unit growth (7.1% YoY) suggests market saturation or competitive pressure in a 624-unit system
- 04MINORMaster franchise termination in Quebec signals relationship breakdown and possible expansion strategy failure
- 05MINORSignificant investment range ($119,560–$190,700) with vague profit attribution—wide variance suggests inconsistent unit economics
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 7.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 200,000 |
| 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 | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Irvine, California |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | OH |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
6 cases: (1) Broach v. CKFI wage/hour class arbitration, settled 2018, CKFI paid $10K; (2) WA AG civil investigation re non-solicit provisions, settled 2018 via Assurance of Discontinuance; (3) CKFI v. 4 Seniors Home Care (Quebec master franchisee), settled 2019; (4) CA AG civil investigation re client services agreement provisions, settled 2024 with $500K fine; (5) Rupp v. CKFI et al. (negligence/client injury), pending trial April 2026; (6) Cooper v. CKFI et al. (negligence/client injury), filed July 2025, pending.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 45 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 3 hrs
- Training location
- eLearning, webinars, and in-person at Irvine, CA corporate offices
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Site selection
- Franchisee selects; must be within territory and in commercial/retail space
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Viv Technologies
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Viv Technologies
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
355 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Comfort Keepers franchise?
The total investment to open a Comfort Keepers franchise ranges from $120K – $191K, with an initial franchise fee of $55K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Comfort Keepers franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Comfort Keepers FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.3M. The median is $857K. Important context: Reported as net sales, not gross sales. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
Who owns Comfort Keepers?
Comfort Keepers is franchised by CK Franchising, Inc.. Its parent company is CK Holdco, Inc.. The ultimate parent named in the FDD is Elevate Care International Inc. (ECI). Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Comfort Keepers FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Comfort Keepers FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Comfort Keepers's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Comfort Keepers has a charge-off rate of 3.9% across 116 loans, meaning 3.9% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many Comfort Keepers franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Comfort Keepers has 624 total units in the United States, including 619 franchised units and 5 company-owned units. 45 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Comfort Keepers a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Comfort Keepers as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 100 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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
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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.