Massage Envy Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Massage Envy is a health-and-wellness franchise offering therapeutic massage, facials, and skincare on a membership model. Franchisees run clinics scheduling licensed therapists and estheticians and managing recurring membership billing.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Massage Envy franchise requires a total initial investment of $719K – $1.1M, including a $45K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $1.1M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 8.5% charge-off rate across 598 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: A (Strongest tier), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $719K – $1.1M
- 56th pct Personal Care…
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- 25th pct Personal Care…
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 10th pct Personal Care…
- Units
- 1,009
- 60th pct Personal Care…
- SBA charge-off
- 8.5%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Personal Care & Beauty · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Personal Care & Beauty 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
- COSTTotal investment $719K – $1.1M including a $45K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $1.1M/year (median $1.1M).
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 65/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 8.5% across 598 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- LEGAL12 litigation matters disclosed in Item 3, higher than typical. Review the summary for patterns (franchisor-initiated vs. franchisee-initiated).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- ME SPE Franchising, LLC
- Parent company
- Massage Envy, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- ME Holding Corporation (controlled by Roark Capital Management, LLC)
- Predecessor
- Massage Envy Franchising, LLC (MEF); Massage Envy Limited, LLC (ME Limited)
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- President and Chief Executive Officer
- Todd Schrader
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 14350 North 87th Street, Suite 200, Scottsdale, Arizona 85260
- Auditor
- Grant Thornton LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $94.9M
- vs $97.6M prior year
Affiliated brands
- of Roark Capital Group
- Massage EN V
- and our indirect parent company
- Massage Envy FLW
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Todd Schrader
- Headquarters
- AZ
- Founded
- 2002
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 50
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 72% above the typical personal care & beauty franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $45K | $45K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $117K | $130K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $557K | $906K |
| Total initial investment | $719K | $1.1M |
Source: Massage Envy 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
- $719K – $1.1M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $117K – $130K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $45K – $45K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- percentage · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 6.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 2.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $705 |
| Training fee | $1K |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $30K |
| Inventory (initial) | $31K – $79K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 43% above the personal care & beauty norm.
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
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
$250K
22.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
24%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
4.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
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. The target band for an attractive franchise is 30–60% ROIC. Below that and a passive index fund likely outperforms; above that and the franchisor has pricing power you're subsidizing.
Note: Item 19 revenue is what the franchisor discloses. It's the top line only. Operating costs below are category estimates. Override them to match your real lease quote, labor market, and build-out budget.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Massage Envy unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
24%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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%.
Levered LBO scenario · Yale Crease Capital framing
What would 25 Massage Envy units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
31.8%
3.97× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
2.54×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$6.9M
on $17.1M purchase
Total debt
$10.1M
SBA $5.0M + senior + seller note
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
- Avg gross sales
- $1.1M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $1.1M
Gross sales are revenue before expenses — not profit. Actual owner earnings depend on rent, labor, royalties, marketing fees, and debt service.
- Item 19 type
- Gross Sales by current format business cohort (187 units, 2024)
- Sample size
- 187 outlets
- vs category median 38 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $191K→$2.7M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $610K→$1.8M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2025
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- The FDD edition these figures were read from
- Transparency
- 4 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · typical
Compared against 179 Personal Care & Beauty brands
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 $1.1M/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 1.3x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Personal Care & Beauty average).
Disclosure
Transparency score 4/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -6.8% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven consolidation or franchisee exits.
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 Personal Care & Beauty averages
How Massage Envy Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 1,009
- Opened
- 1
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 27
- Terminated
- 16
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 2
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 12.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -6.8%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -6.8%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 21
- Closed (3yr)
- 90
- Terminated (3yr)
- 23
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 8
- Transfers (3yr)
- 90
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Termination rate
- 0.8%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 2.5%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 14 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
- 598
- Loan volume
- $252.9M
- Median loan
- $350K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 8.5%
- 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)
- 91.5%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 8.3%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 121
- Defaults
- 40
- Typical loan rate
- 6.2%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 17.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 16,403
- 7.1 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 11%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 40% went to startups / new businesses, 60% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in other personal care services, franchised businesses charge off at 17.4% vs 20.9% for independents — franchising is associated with 17% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Massage Envy charge-off rate by loan vintage
Shaded area: recent vintages with few resolved loans; rates may change as loans mature.
Top lenders financing Massage Envy franchisees
Showing 3 of 121 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.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Massage Envy'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
- 22-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 8.5% — 47% 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
Massage Envy presents high risk due to shrinking franchise network, pervasive litigation over billing and misconduct, undisclosed profitability metrics, and substantial capital requirements in a declining system.
Litigation (Item 3)
Active: Grosso consumer class action re membership fees after closure; numerous sexual misconduct lawsuits. Concluded: Hahn, Robinson, Zizian consumer class actions (membership cancellation); NHMME franchisee arbitration (fraud/misrepresentation); Pirozzi class action (50-min massage); Franchisee Arbitrations (105 arbitrations settled $3.95M); Long Beach franchisee (territory/fraud, $700K); Monterey DA (unfair competition). Franchisor filed wrongful abandonment and technology compliance arbitrations against franchisees.
Largest disclosed settlement: $3,950,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Grant Thornton LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 65 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORDeclining unit count (-4.2% YoY) signals system contraction and potential market saturation
- 02HIGHExtensive litigation involving membership billing practices, territorial disputes, and alleged misconduct by service providers creates legal and reputational risk
- 03MEDNet income not disclosed despite $1.14M average revenue — suggests thin or inconsistent margins that may not support the $719K-$1.08M investment
- 04MEDHigh initial investment ($719K-$1.08M) combined with 6% royalty leaves limited margin for error in a labor-intensive service business
- 05MINORNumerous customer lawsuits alleging provider misconduct indicate potential compliance and liability exposure for franchisees
- 06MED10-year term locks franchisees into commitment during period of system decline
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% 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 |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 7,500 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Termination groundsℹ | 14 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 4 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Maricopa County, Arizona |
| Jury trial waiver | No |
| Governing law | AZ |
| Litigation count | 12 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Active: Grosso consumer class action re membership fees after closure; numerous sexual misconduct lawsuits. Concluded: Hahn, Robinson, Zizian consumer class actions (membership cancellation); NHMME franchisee arbitration (fraud/misrepresentation); Pirozzi class action (50-min massage); Franchisee Arbitrations (105 arbitrations settled $3.95M); Long Beach franchisee (territory/fraud, $700K); Monterey DA (unfair competition). Franchisor filed wrongful abandonment and technology compliance arbitrations against franchisees.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 80 hrs
- Training location
- Scottsdale, Arizona (Franchise Support Center) and/or franchisee's business location
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Field support
- 10 hrs/yr
- On-site visits per year
- Time to open
- 9 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisor approves site and territory; franchisee identifies site subject to franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Meevo
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Meevo
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
1,032 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Massage Envy · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Massage Envy franchise?
The total investment to open a Massage Envy franchise ranges from $719K – $1.1M, with an initial franchise fee of $45K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Massage Envy franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Massage Envy FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $1.1M. The median is $1.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the Massage Envy 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 Massage Envy FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Massage Envy's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Massage Envy has a charge-off rate of 8.5% across 598 loans, meaning 8.5% 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 Massage Envy franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Massage Envy has 1,009 total units in the United States, including 1,009 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 1 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Massage Envy a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Massage Envy as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 65 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?
If you represent Massage Envy, you can request corrections or provide updated information.
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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.