Sylvan Learning Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Sylvan Learning is an after-school tutoring franchise providing K-12 instruction in reading, math, writing, and test prep. Franchisees run learning centers handling assessments, small-group and one-on-one tutoring, and enrollment.
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Sylvan Learning franchise requires a total initial investment of $108K – $239K, including a $33K – $37K franchise fee and an ongoing 11.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $811K[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 23.8% charge-off rate across 356 loans[1]. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $108K – $239K
- 31st pct Education
- Avg gross sales
- $811K
- 30th pct Education
- Royalty
- 11.0%
- 52nd pct Education
- Units
- 478
- 71st pct Education
- SBA charge-off
- 23.8%
- % of SBA 7(a) loans not repaid · median varies by category
Quick verdict · Education · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Education 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
- Total investment $108K – $239K including a $33K franchise fee, 11.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $811K/year (median $353K).
- Verdict B (Above average), verdict score 56/100 (higher is better). SBA loan charge-off rate of 23.8% across 356 loans (well above the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2025).
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Sylvan Learning, LLC
- Parent company
- Unleashed Brands, LLC
- Ultimate parent
- UA Holdings, LLC
- Predecessor
- Sylvan Learning, Inc. (and earlier Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc.)
- Prior franchisor entity
- Incorporated in
- Delaware
- HQ
- 2350 Airport Freeway, Suite 505, Bedford, TX 76022
- Auditor
- Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $151.5M
- vs $194.7M prior year
Affiliated brands
- Snapology IP
- PMA IP
Other brands the franchisor or its parent operates (Item 1).
Overview
About
- CEO
- Susan Valverde
- Headquarters
- TX
- Founded
- 1979
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 48
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 72% below the typical education franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown18 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $37K | $37K | |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Attending Initial Training | $1K | $2K | |
| Initial Three Months' Rent and Security Deposit | $4K | $16K | |
| Real Estate Improvements and Site Preparation | $15K | $75K | |
| Development Project Management Fee | $6K | $6K | |
| Initial Inventory and Instructional Materials | $3K | $3K | |
| Specialized Furnishings | $6K | $15K | |
| Other Furniture and Miscellaneous Supplies | $3K | $5K | |
| Signage | $2K | $8K | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $10K | $15K | |
| Local Marketing Expenditure | $2K | $2K | |
| Computers and other Hardware, Telephone, Internet Access & Software | $8K | $14K | |
| Miscellaneous Supplies | $15 | $150 | |
| Hub Technology Platform | $342 | $342 | |
| Call Center Participation | $1K | $3K | |
| Accounting Software | $135 | $600 | |
| Optional: Sylvan Edge and/or ACE IT! programs | $0 | $3K | |
| Additional Funds - Three Months | $10K | $35K | |
| Total initial investment | $108K | $239K |
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
- $108K – $239K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $10K – $35K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $33K – $37K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 11.0%
- tiered · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 16.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 11.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $114 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $6K |
| Renewal fee | $6K |
| Inventory (initial) | $3K – $3K |
| Total fee load | 16.0% of rev |
At 16.0% total fee load, roughly $130K per year goes to the franchisor before you pay a single operating expense.
What do units actually make?
Average unit sales land near the education 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
$57K
7.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
29%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
3.4 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $811K
- Per unit/yr · from the Item 19 franchised-cohort breakdown (no single system-wide average disclosed)
- Median gross sales
- $353K
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
- 438 units
- vs category median 14 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $18K→$3.0M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $123K→$811K
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- limited
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Reporting year
- 2024
- Fiscal year the figures cover
- Transparency
- 3 / 10
- vs category median 4 / 10 · below
Compared against 234 Education brands
Revenue is 4.7x 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 $811K/year in gross sales. Median is $353K — top performers pull the average up, so a typical unit earns less. Revenue-to-investment ratio: 4.7x.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 16.0% — above the Education average of 10.6%.
Disclosure
Transparency score 3/10 — moderate disclosure depth. Average and range data are available but detailed cohort breakdowns may be limited.
Operator retention
System roughly stable (+1.9% 3-year CAGR) with 478 units.
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 Education averages
How Sylvan Learning Compares
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 478
- Opened
- 24
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 19
- Turnover rate
- 4.0%
- Company-owned
- 0
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 100%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (3-yr)
- +1.9%
- Net unit change over 3 years
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.9%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Opened (3yr)
- 24
- Closed (3yr)
- 15
- Terminated (3yr)
- 4
- Non-renewed (3yr)
- 0
- Transfers (3yr)
- 48
- Reacquired (3yr)
- 0
- Franchisor bought back
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 18 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.
Available to sell in · Item 12
- Indiana
- Michigan
- South Dakota
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
States where the franchisor is registered to sell new franchises (FDD registration filings).
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 356
- Loan volume
- $95.6M
- Median loan
- $150K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 23.8%
- 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)
- 76.2%
- 5-yr charge-off
- 10.0%
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 130
- Defaults
- 62
- Typical loan rate
- 5.8%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 20.4%
- brand above franchise avg ↑
- Jobs supported
- 447
- 7.5 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 19%
- top lender's share
Franchise vs independent — in educational support services, franchised businesses charge off at 20.4% vs 18.1% for independents — franchising is associated with 13% higher SBA default risk in this category.
Vintage analysis
Sylvan Learning charge-off rate by loan vintage
Top lenders financing Sylvan Learning franchisees
Showing 3 of 130 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 Sylvan Learning'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 11 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 6-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
A 23.8% charge-off rate means roughly 1 in 4 franchisees failed to repay their SBA loan. Investigate what changed.
What could kill this investment?
SBA loans charge off at 23.8% — 49% above the 16.0% national norm, i.e. higher 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
Sylvan Learning presents moderate-to-caution risk due to stagnant growth, undisclosed profitability metrics, high royalties relative to revenue, and parent company litigation history across multiple brands.
Litigation (Item 3)
Item 3 discloses four concluded matters, all involving affiliated brands rather than Sylvan Learning itself: (1) Maryland Securities consent order re Snapology unregistered franchise sales (2016); (2) UATP Management v. Leap of Faith Adventures (TX) settled 2022 with $5M payment to LOFA; (3) Unleashed Services v. Pabin re Class 101 employment, resolved 2024 via $275,000 buyback; (4) California Commissioner consent order re Premier Martial Arts unregistered sales, $10,000 penalty (2021). No litigation required to be disclosed against Sylvan.
Largest disclosed settlement: $5,000,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None 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.
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
Score breakdown · what drove the 56 / 100 verdict
- 01MINORStagnant unit growth (1.1% YoY) suggests market saturation or franchisee struggles
- 02MEDNo Item 19 (average net income) disclosed — impossible to validate ROI claims or profitability
- 03MINOR11-12% royalty is high relative to average $386K revenue, creating cash flow pressure
- 04HIGHParent company (Sylvan Learning/Cambium Group) has history of litigation across multiple brands (Snapology, Urban Air, Class 101, Premier Martial Arts) indicating systemic compliance or operational issues
- 05MINORHigh initial investment range ($107K-$239K) with no transparency on typical payback period
- 06MINORWeak unit growth with 478 locations suggests market maturity and potential oversaturation
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 16.0% 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 | 5 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 2 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 8,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Texas (Tarrant County) |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | TX |
| Litigation count | 4 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Item 3 discloses four concluded matters, all involving affiliated brands rather than Sylvan Learning itself: (1) Maryland Securities consent order re Snapology unregistered franchise sales (2016); (2) UATP Management v. Leap of Faith Adventures (TX) settled 2022 with $5M payment to LOFA; (3) Unleashed Services v. Pabin re Class 101 employment, resolved 2024 via $275,000 buyback; (4) California Commissioner consent order re Premier Martial Arts unregistered sales, $10,000 penalty (2021). No litigation required to be disclosed against Sylvan.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 40 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 32 hrs
- Training location
- In-person at a Sylvan Learning Center designated by Sylvan and Bedford, Texas; plus online and live Zoom webinars.
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Franchisor financing
- Offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- Hub Technology Platform
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Hub Technology Platform
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
120 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Sylvan Learning · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Sylvan Learning franchise?
The total investment to open a Sylvan Learning franchise ranges from $108K – $239K, with an initial franchise fee of $33K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Sylvan Learning franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Sylvan Learning FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $811K. The median is $353K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Sylvan Learning's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, Sylvan Learning has a charge-off rate of 23.8% across 356 loans, meaning 23.8% 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 Sylvan Learning franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Sylvan Learning has 478 total units in the United States, including 478 franchised units and 0 company-owned units. 24 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Sylvan Learning a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Sylvan Learning as a B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 56 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.