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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.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  AStrongest tierN ZONE SPORTS Education 2026 FDD Remove |  CAverageStory Time Chess Education 2026 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||
FDD filing | FDD issued Apr 13, 2026 | FDD issued May 26, 2026 |
Investment range | $54K – $97K | $66K – $87K |
Liquid capital | $9K – $14K | $4K – $11K |
Franchise fee | $40K | $50K |
Royalty rate | 8.0% | 7.0% |
Ad fund rate | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| Performance | ||
Avg gross sales | $106KOutlet subset | Partial, no system averageOutlets $303K-$501K |
Median gross sales | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | ||
Rating | AStrongest tier | CAverage |
Verdict score | 73 / 100 | 45 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Under 10 loans (3) | Not SBA-matched |
SBA loans on record | 3 | N/A |
| Scale | ||
Total units | 78 | 7 |
Net change (latest yr) | +17 | +2 |
Signed, not yet open | 0 (0.00 per open outlet) | 0 (0.00 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 3.8% | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||
Initial term (years) | 7 | 5 |
Renewal term (years) | 7 | 5 |
Initial training (hrs) | 14 | 40 |
| Contacts | ||
Franchisee phones | 90 | 2 |
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