Perspire Sauna Studio Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Perspire Sauna Studio is a wellness franchise offering private infrared-sauna and red-light-therapy sessions on a membership model. Franchisees run studios managing bookings, sanitation, memberships, and add-on services.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Perspire Sauna Studio franchise requires a total initial investment of $566K – $990K, including a $50K franchise fee and an ongoing 6.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). SBA 7(a) loans show a 0.0% charge-off rate across 70 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
- $566K – $990K
- 72nd pct Healthcare
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- 11th pct Healthcare
- Units
- 72
- 61st pct Healthcare
- SBA charge-off
- 0.0%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Healthcare · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Healthcare 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 $566K – $990K including a $50K franchise fee, 6.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSFY2021 financials presented in Item 21/Exhibit E are unaudited QuickBooks statements (cash basis) for Sweat Equity Group, LLC as of December 31, 2021. Total 40000 Revenue was $1,526,467.22; Total Income (incl. reimbursables) was $1,633,024.95. No independent auditor's report/CPA opinion is present in the document. Prior-year (2020) full statements not included in the extracted text.
- RISKVerdict A (Strongest tier), verdict score 74/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 0.0% across 70 loans (well below the franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DATAItem 19 reports annual revenue rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sweat Equity Group, LLC
- Parent company
- Sweat Equity Group Holdings, LLC
- CEO title
- CEO, President and Co-Founder
- Lee Braun
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- CA
- HQ
- 129 Cabrillo St. Suite 200, Costa Mesa, CA 92627
- Auditor
- Windes
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.5M
- vs $5.1M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Lee Braun
- Headquarters
- CA
- Founded
- 2017
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 22
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 87% above the typical healthcare franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown19 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $45K | $45K | |
| Initial Equipment Package (Saunas) | $64K | $64K | |
| Travel Expenses During Training at our offices | $0 | $3K | |
| Three Months' Rent and Deposits | $15K | $30K | |
| Audio (TVs, Speakers, Security cameras) | $7K | $12K | |
| Leasehold improvements | $200K | $275K | |
| Construction Management | $15K | $17K | |
| Millwork | $20K | $28K | |
| Architecture fees | $7K | $15K | |
| Permits, etc. | $4K | $6K | |
| Office/Spa Furniture and Equipment | $3K | $5K | |
| Computer System & Receipt Printer | $3K | $4K | |
| Opening Inventory and Supplies | $1K | $3K | |
| Pre-Sale Marketing and Grand Opening Advertising | $20K | $20K | |
| Insurance | $2K | $4K | |
| Miscellaneous Pre-Opening and Organization Costs | $3K | $4K | |
| Estimated shipping and sauna install | $7K | $14K | |
| Signage | $6K | $12K | |
| Additional Funds 3 - 6 months | $25K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $446K | $593K |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $566K – $990K
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $50K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Royalty
- 6.0%
- formula · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 2.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 9.0%
- 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 | $408 |
| Transfer fee | $10K |
| Renewal fee | $10K |
| Inventory (initial) | $1K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 9.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
Perspire Sauna Studio did not disclose financial performance in FDD Item 19. The ROIC and return models require Item 19 revenue. Without it all inputs are estimates. You can still run the calculator with your own assumptions by entering an expected revenue figure.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Perspire Sauna Studio unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
16%
Below the 30–60% attractive-franchise band
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
FY2021 financials presented in Item 21/Exhibit E are unaudited QuickBooks statements (cash basis) for Sweat Equity Group, LLC as of December 31, 2021. Total 40000 Revenue was $1,526,467.22; Total Income (incl. reimbursables) was $1,633,024.95. No independent auditor's report/CPA opinion is present in the document. Prior-year (2020) full statements not included in the extracted text.
- Item 19 type
- annual revenue
- Sample size
- 44
- vs category median 20 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $255K→$936K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 0 / 10
- vs category median 3 / 10 · below
Compared against 162 Healthcare brands
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 9.0% (near the Healthcare average).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports annual revenue rather than annual gross sales, so unit revenue is not directly comparable.
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 Healthcare averages
How Perspire Sauna Studio Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 72
- Opened
- 8
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 86%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 8
- Closed (3yr)
- 0
- Terminated (3yr)
- 0
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 5
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
- Transfer rate
- 23.8%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Continuity rate
- 100.0%
- Units that stayed open
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 22 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
- 70
- Loan volume
- $25.1M
- Median loan
- $401K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 0.0%
- 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)
- 100.0%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 18
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 9.1%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 17.4%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 710
- 2.8 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 49%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 99% went to startups / new businesses, 1% 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.
Top lenders financing Perspire Sauna Studio franchisees
Showing 3 of 18 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 Perspire Sauna Studio'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
- 9-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
With a 0.0% charge-off rate across 70 loans, banks have historically viewed this brand favorably for lending.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 0.0% — 100% 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
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation information is required to be disclosed.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Windes
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 74 / 100 verdict
- 01MEDNo Item 19 (Average Unit Volume) disclosed — unable to validate ROI claims or typical unit profitability
- 02MEDHigh capital requirement ($565k–$990k) with no disclosed average revenue or net income benchmarks
- 03MINORRapid expansion (46.7% YoY growth) may indicate aggressive recruitment over unit sustainability; quality control risk
- 04MINORMinimum royalty floor of $600/month creates fixed cost burden even for underperforming locations
- 05MEDWellness/fitness category has high failure rates; sauna studios are experiential with limited recurring revenue model clarity
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 9.0% 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 | exclusive |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | Yes |
| Territory population | 12,000 |
| 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 | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | City closest to franchisor headquarters (currently Costa Mesa, CA) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | CA |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation information is required to be disclosed.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 48 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 22 hrs
- Training location
- Costa Mesa, CA corporate headquarters and affiliate-owned operating unit; virtual via Zoom
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 6 mo
- From signing to launch
- Site selection
- Franchisee with franchisor approval
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- MindBody
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: MindBody
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
66 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Perspire Sauna Studio · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Perspire Sauna Studio franchise?
The total investment to open a Perspire Sauna Studio franchise ranges from $566K – $990K, with an initial franchise fee of $50K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Perspire Sauna Studio franchise owners earn?
Perspire Sauna Studio 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 Item 19 in the Perspire Sauna Studio 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 Perspire Sauna Studio FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is Perspire Sauna Studio's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Perspire Sauna Studio has a charge-off rate of 0.0% across 70 loans, meaning 0.0% 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 Perspire Sauna Studio franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Perspire Sauna Studio has 72 total units in the United States, including 66 franchised units and 6 company-owned units. 8 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Perspire Sauna Studio a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Perspire Sauna Studio as a A-grade franchise with a verdict score of 74 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
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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.