TAPintoFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A TAPinto franchise requires a total initial investment of $8K – $11K, including a $5K franchise fee and an ongoing 10.0% royalty[2]. The 2025 FDD does not disclose unit-level revenue (no Item 19). Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $8K – $11K
- 2nd pct Business Serv…
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- 29th pct Business Serv…
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- 28th pct Business Serv…
- Units
- 102
- 39th pct Business Serv…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Business Services · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Business Services 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
Franchised units fell from 96 to 95 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $8K – $11K including a $5K franchise fee, 10.0% ongoing royalty.
- No Item 19 financial performance data disclosed. The franchisor chose not to publish revenue figures.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 52/100.
- No Item 19 financial performance representation. Without franchisor-disclosed revenue data, you'll need to gather unit economics directly from existing franchisees.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- TAP INTO LOCAL LLC
- Parent company
- The Alternative Press, LLC
- CEO title
- Founding Member, President, CEO and Director of Franchise Training
- Michael Shapiro
- CEO experience
- 2018 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Founder active
- Yes
- Original founder still leading the business
- Incorporated in
- NJ
- HQ
- 560 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ 07974
- Auditor
- Bederson LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $1.5M
- vs $1.4M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
TAPinto franchisees operate local news/community content platforms, aggregating and publishing hyper-local information for specific geographic areas. Day-to-day work involves content curation, community engagement, advertising sales to local businesses, and managing a digital publishing platform to monetize neighborhood-level news and events.
- CEO
- Michael Shapiro
- Headquarters
- NJ
- Founded
- 2018
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 4
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $5K | $5K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $250 | $1K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $3K | $5K |
| Total initial investment | $8K | $11K |
Source: TAPinto 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
- $8K – $11K
- Better than avg vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $250 – $1K
- Better than avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $5K – $5K
- Better than avg vs category
- Royalty
- 10.0%
- Continuing License Fee · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 0.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 10.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 0.0% of gross sales |
| Training fee | $200 |
| Transfer fee | $2K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
This franchisor did not disclose financial performance representations in Item 19, or our extractor could not parse them.
vs Business Services averages
How TAPinto Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 102
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 6
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 94%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.0%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +1.1%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 3
- Projected new
- 5
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 2.9%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 3 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.
No SBA loan data available for this brand.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
TAPinto presents HIGH RISK due to missing financial disclosures, going concern uncertainty, unprotected territory, and unknown unit growth — fundamentals needed to evaluate this micro-franchise are unavailable.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Bederson 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: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MINORNo average revenue or net income disclosure (Item 19) — impossible to assess ROI on $7,775-$11,325 investment
- 02HIGHGoing Concern status is FALSE — indicates potential financial viability issues at corporate level
- 03MINORUnit count of 102 with unknown growth trajectory — suggests possible contraction or stagnation
- 04MINORNo protected territory — franchisees compete directly with each other and brand expansion
- 05MINORLow initial investment ($5k-$11k) with 10% royalty may indicate low-barrier, high-churn model
- 06MINOR4-year term is shorter than industry standard (5-10 years) — higher renewal risk and instability
- 07HIGHNo litigation disclosure doesn't mean zero disputes — absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
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 | 4 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 4 years |
| Territory type | Designated Territory |
| Protected territory | No |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 5,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Granted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 1 year |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 25 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | New Jersey |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation required to be disclosed in Item 3
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 10 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 0 hrs
- Training location
- On-line or by telephone
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 3 mo
- From signing to launch
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
59 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
TAPinto · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a TAPinto franchise?
The total investment to open a TAPinto franchise ranges from $8K – $11K, with an initial franchise fee of $5K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do TAPinto franchise owners earn?
TAPinto 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 TAPinto's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for TAPinto (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many TAPinto franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, TAPinto has 102 total units in the United States, including 96 franchised units and 6 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is TAPinto a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates TAPinto as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 52 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.