Snap Fitness Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Snap Fitness is a 24/7 access-gym franchise offering keyfob entry to compact, equipment-focused clubs. Franchisees operate lightly staffed fitness centers built on recurring memberships and add-on training.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A SNAP FITNESS franchise requires a total initial investment of $431K – $1.1M, including a $40K franchise fee. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $250K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 11.6% charge-off rate across 265 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: C (Average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $431K – $1.1M
- 79th pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $250K
- 2nd pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- N/A
- Units
- 493
- 96th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA charge-off
- 11.6%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Health & Fitness 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 $431K – $1.1M including a $40K franchise fee.
- RETURNSAverage unit revenue of $250K/year (median $215K).
- RISKVerdict C (Average), verdict score 45/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 11.6% across 265 loans (above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
- DECLINESystem contracting at -11.5% CAGR over 3 years. Investigate whether closures are franchisor-driven (consolidation) or franchisee-driven (economics).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Snap Fitness, Inc.
- Parent company
- Lift Brands, Inc.
- Ultimate parent
- TZP Capital Partners II, L.P. and TZP Capital Partners II-A (Blocker), L.P.
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer and Director
- Ty Menzies
- Incorporated in
- Minnesota
- HQ
- 2411 Galpin Court, Suite 110, Chanhassen, MN 55317
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $51K
- vs $53K prior year
Overview
About
- CEO
- Ty Menzies
- Headquarters
- MN
- Founded
- 2003
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 47
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 35% above the typical health & fitness franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $50K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $366K | $1.0M |
| Total initial investment | $431K | $1.1M |
Source: SNAP FITNESS 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
- $431K – $1.1M
- Bottom third — review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $50K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $40K – $40K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- $700 per month
- Ad fund
- $500 per month
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Technology fee | $400 |
| Transfer fee | $40K |
| Renewal fee | $0 |
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales run 59% below the health & fitness 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
$73K
29.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
9%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
11.2 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 SNAP FITNESS unit return on the cash you put in?
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Estimated return on your total franchise investment, before any debt financing.
9%
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 SNAP FITNESS units return on equity?
Equity IRR · 5-yr
49.9%
7.57× MOIC
Year-1 DSCR
1.88×
EBITDA ÷ debt service
Equity required
$1.1M
on $5.5M purchase
Total debt
$4.4M
SBA $2.8M + 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
- $250K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $215K
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
- Sample size
- 479 outlets
- vs category median 12 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $49K→$1.4M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $109K→$458K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Source filing
- FDD 2025
- Disclosed in the 2025 filing, covering 2024
- Transparency
- 10 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · above
Compared against 173 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.3x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
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 $250K/year in gross sales. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 0.3x.
Disclosure
Transparency score 10/10 — this franchisor discloses detailed breakdowns (quartiles, segments, or cohort data). Buyers can model unit economics with higher confidence.
Operator retention
System contracting at -11.5% 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 Health & Fitness averages
How Snap Fitness Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 493
- Opened
- 6
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 10
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 21
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 6.6%
- Company-owned
- 9
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 98%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- -11.5%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- -11.5%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 6
- Closed (3yr)
- 10
- Terminated (3yr)
- 1
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 21
- Transfers (3yr)
- 31
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 46 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.
A system losing more than 10% of its units year-over-year is a red flag. Check whether closures are concentrated in specific regions.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 265
- Loan volume
- $44.6M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 11.6%
- 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)
- 88.4%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 0.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 124
- Defaults
- 26
- Typical loan rate
- 6.5%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 15.8%
- brand beats franchise avg ↓
- Jobs supported
- 1,205
- 2.7 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 6%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 30% went to startups / new businesses, 70% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in fitness and recreational sports centers, franchised businesses charge off at 15.8% vs 18.2% for independents — franchising is associated with 13% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Snap Fitness charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Snap Fitness franchisees
Showing 3 of 124 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 Snap Fitness'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
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 11.6% — 28% 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
9 concluded (no pending) trademark/non-compete enforcement actions where Snap Fitness was the plaintiff — routine for a 493-unit system. The disclosed bankruptcy is an officer's prior-employer (Gold's Gym/GGI) Chapter 11, not the franchisor's — low weight. Financials are parent-level (net worth $24.1M, net income $7.5M), audited, Item 19 disclosed.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Deloitte & Touche LLP
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.
Score breakdown · what drove the 45 / 100 verdict
- 01MINOR9 concluded enforcement suits, franchisor-as-plaintiff, no pending
- 02HIGHBankruptcy is officer's prior-employer (GGI/Gold's Gym), not franchisor — low weight
- 03MINORfinancials_are_parent_level=true
- 04MEDAudited, Item 19 disclosed; slight contraction -11.5%
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
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 | radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| 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 |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Minnesota |
| Litigation count | 9 |
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 24 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 26 hrs
- POS system
- Glofox
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Glofox
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
495 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
SNAP FITNESS · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a SNAP FITNESS franchise?
The total investment to open a SNAP FITNESS franchise ranges from $431K – $1.1M, 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 SNAP FITNESS franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the SNAP FITNESS FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $250K. The median is $215K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Item 19 in the SNAP FITNESS 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 SNAP FITNESS FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
What is SNAP FITNESS's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, SNAP FITNESS has a charge-off rate of 11.6% across 265 loans, meaning 11.6% 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 SNAP FITNESS franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, SNAP FITNESS has 493 total units in the United States, including 484 franchised units and 9 company-owned units. 6 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is SNAP FITNESS a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates SNAP FITNESS as a C-grade franchise with a verdict score of 45 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.