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4 brands side-by-side
Compare up to 5 brands side by side
indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
These brands report different earnings metrics (EBITDA (Note 1) / Average, P&L Bottom Line, Net Income Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Rent (EBITDAR)). Financial figures may not be directly comparable.
These figures come from FDDs of different years (2024, 2025). Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  BAbove averageChildren's Lighthouse Education 2024 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierPrimrose Schools Education 2025 FDD Remove |  DBelow averageThe Pineapple School Education 2025 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierCreative World School Education 2025 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||||
FDD filing | FDD issued Apr 30, 2024 | 2025 FDD | FDD issued Mar 27, 2025 | FDD issued May 23, 2025 |
Investment range | $5.9M – $8.9M | $6.2M – $8.6M | $7.0M – $8.0M | $5.8M – $10.1M |
Liquid capital | $278K – $333K | $180K – $420K | $215K – $275K | $25K – $150K |
Franchise fee | $85K | $80K | $65K | $80K |
Royalty rate | 3.5% | 7.0% | 7.0% | 5.0% |
Ad fund rate | 0.5% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 1.0% |
| Performance | ||||
Avg gross sales | $1.9M | $2.7M | $3.1MCompany-owned only | $2.5MOutlet subset |
Median gross sales | $1.9M | $2.7M | Not extracted | $2.5MOutlet subset |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | $509K | Not extracted | $708K |
Earnings metric | Not classified | EBITDA (Note 1) / Average | P&L Bottom Line | Net Income Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization, and Rent (EBITDAR) |
| Risk | ||||
Rating | BAbove average | AStrongest tier | DBelow average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 55 / 100 | 79 / 100 | 34 / 100 | 70 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Limited · 63 loans | 1.8% (n=845) | Not SBA-matched | Limited · 23 loans |
SBA loans on record | 63 | 845 | N/A | 23 |
| Scale | ||||
Total units | 69 | 525 | 3 | 29 |
Net change (latest yr) | +2 | +20 | Not extracted | +1 |
Signed, not yet open | 24 (0.35 per open outlet) | 223 (0.42 per open outlet) | 1 (0.33 per open outlet) | 6 (0.21 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||||
Initial term (years) | 20 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | 120 | 143 | 120 | 200 |
| Contacts | ||||
Franchisee phones | 85 | 715 | 2 | 1 |
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