Home InsteadFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Home Instead franchise requires a total initial investment of $91K – $270K, including a $54K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.6M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 2.7% charge-off rate across 194 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $91K – $270K
- 41st pct Senior Care
- Avg gross sales
- $2.6M
- 67th pct Senior Care
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 7th pct Senior Care
- Units
- 625
- 97th pct Senior Care
- SBA default
- 2.7%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Senior Care · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Senior Care avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Each dollar invested generates 14.5x in gross revenue, well above the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Franchising since 1995. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Bottom line
- Total investment $91K – $270K including a $54K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.6M/year (median $2.3M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 15/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 2.7% across 194 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Home Instead, Inc.
- Parent company
- Honor Technology, Inc.
- Predecessor
- We have no predecessors
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- NE
- HQ
- 13323 California Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68154
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $131.6M
- vs $157.5M prior year
Overview
About
Home Instead franchisees operate in-home senior care services, employing and scheduling caregivers to provide non-medical companionship, personal care, and support services to elderly clients in their homes. Day-to-day operations involve caregiver recruitment/training, client scheduling coordination, quality assurance visits, billing/collections management, and local marketing to acquire new clients.
- CEO
- Seth Sternberg
- Headquarters
- NE
- Founded
- 1994
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 50
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $54K | $54K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $29K | $134K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $8K | $82K |
| Total initial investment | $91K | $270K |
Source: Home Instead 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$470K
18.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
179%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
7 mo
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $91K – $270K
- Near category avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $29K – $134K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $54K – $56K
- Near category avg vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Gross Sales · 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 | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $25K |
| Renewal fee | $9K |
| Total fee load | 7.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.6M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.3M
- Item 19 type
- gross_sales
- Sample size
- 603 units
- vs category median 22 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $122K→$10.9M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 70 Senior Care brands
Revenue is 14.5x the investment midpoint. At typical franchise margins, this suggests a payback under 3 years.
vs Senior Care averages
How Home Instead Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 625
- Opened
- 17
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 10
- Turnover rate
- 1.6%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 99%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.5%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +0.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 3
- Closed (3yr)
- 5
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 54
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.8%
- Units that stopped operating
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.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 194
- Loan volume
- $89.9M
- Median loan
- $204K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 2.7%
- 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)
- 97.3%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 59
- Defaults
- 5
Vintage analysis
Home Instead charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Home Instead's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 15 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 18-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Home Instead presents moderate-to-high risk due to stagnant growth, undisclosed profitability data, ongoing litigation history, and unverified revenue claims that require substantial validation before investment.
Litigation (Item 3)
4 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Must buy proprietary products: No
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 15 / 100 rating
- 01MEDStagnant unit growth (0.5% YoY) suggests mature/declining system with limited expansion opportunity
- 02MINORNo Item 19 financial disclosure limits ability to validate $2.6M average revenue claim and actual profitability
- 03HIGHMultiple litigation cases involving breach of non-compete and wrongful termination indicate franchisor-franchisee relationship strain
- 04MINORHigh initial investment ($54K-$270K) relative to stated 5% royalty with unverified net income creates profitability uncertainty
- 05MEDService-based model dependent on labor costs and local hiring, with no disclosed labor economics or staffing efficiency metrics
- 06MINORFranchisor winning wrongful termination counterclaims suggests potential aggressive contract enforcement or termination practices
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 5 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 5 years |
| Territory type | Geographic |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Territory sizeℹ | 10,000 people |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 3 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 1 |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nebraska |
| Litigation count | 3 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
4 case reference(s): 0 pending, 2 settled.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 28 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 16 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- POS system
- WellSky or Care Platform
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: WellSky or Care Platform
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
274 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Home Instead · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Home Instead franchise?
The total investment to open a Home Instead franchise ranges from $91K – $270K, with an initial franchise fee of $54K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Home Instead franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Home Instead FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.6M. The median is $2.3M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Home Instead's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Home Instead has a charge-off rate of 2.7% across 194 loans, meaning 2.7% 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 Home Instead franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Home Instead has 625 total units in the United States, including 614 franchised units and 6 company-owned units. 17 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Home Instead a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Home Instead as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 15 out of 100, 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.
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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.