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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 figures come from FDDs of different years (2021, 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 Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.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 averageDale Carnegie Education 2021 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageSylvan Learning Education 2025 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageUltimate Sustainability Education 2024 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | |||
FDD filing | 2021 FDD | FDD issued Apr 14, 2025 | 2024 FDD |
Investment range | $93K – $246K | $108K – $239K | $115K – $235K |
Liquid capital | $50K – $100K | $10K – $35K | $25K – $50K |
Franchise fee | $20K | $37K | $60K |
Royalty rate | 12.0% | 11.0% | 6.0% |
Ad fund rate | 3.0% | 5.0% | Not extracted |
| Performance | |||
Avg gross sales | No Item 19 representation | $386K | $602KCompany-owned only |
Median gross sales | Not disclosed | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not disclosed | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | |||
Rating | BAbove average | BAbove average | BAbove average |
Verdict score | 56 / 100 | 56 / 100 | 48 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 15.4% (n=24) | 23.8% (n=356) | Not SBA-matched |
SBA loans on record | 24 | 356 | N/A |
| Scale | |||
Total units | 143 | 478 | 3 |
Net change (latest yr) | +1 | +5 | Not extracted |
Signed, not yet open | 0 (0.00 per open outlet) | Not extracted | 0 (0.00 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 2.1% | 4.0% | 0.0% |
| Contract | |||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 10 | 10 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 5 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 103 | 72 | 97 |
| Contacts | |||
Franchisee phones | 45 | 120 | 0 |
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