Compare
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 (Average Unit Volume / Gross Sales (AUV), assumed annual). Financial figures may not be directly comparable.
These figures come from FDDs of different years (2023, 2025, 2026). Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.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 |  AStrongest tierTierra Encantada Education 2026 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageBIG BLUE SWIM SCHOOL Education 2025 FDD Remove |  CAverageWillowbrae Academy Education 2025 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageAmazing Explorers Academy Education 2023 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | ||||
FDD filing | FDD issued Mar 20, 2026 | 2025 FDD | FDD issued Feb 21, 2025 | FDD issued May 5, 2023 |
Investment range | $1.6M – $4.5M | $2.1M – $3.8M | $2.4M – $4.0M | $543K – $5.1M |
Liquid capital | $150K – $300K | $55K – $145K | $175K – $300K | $50K – $100K |
Franchise fee | $60K | $50K | $85K | $100K |
Royalty rate | 7.0% | 6.0% | 8.5% | 7.0% |
Ad fund rate | 1.0% | 2.0% | 0.5% | 1.0% |
| Performance | ||||
Avg gross sales | $3.0M2 outlets | No Item 19 representation | No Item 19 representation | $666K |
Median gross sales | $3.0M2 outlets | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not extracted |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | Not disclosed | Not disclosed | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | Average Unit Volume / Gross Sales (AUV) | Not classified | Not classified | assumed annual |
| Risk | ||||
Rating | AStrongest tier | BAbove average | CAverage | BAbove average |
Verdict score | 70 / 100 | 53 / 100 | 38 / 100 | 54 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | Under 10 loans (2) | 0.0% (n=20) | Not SBA-matched | Not SBA-matched |
SBA loans on record | 2 | 20 | N/A | N/A |
| Scale | ||||
Total units | 16 | 42 | 0 | 5 |
Net change (latest yr) | +2 | +8 | 0 | +1 |
Signed, not yet open | 13 (0.81 per open outlet) | 21 (0.50 per open outlet) | Not extracted | Not extracted |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 0.0% | Not extracted | 0.0% |
| Contract | ||||
Initial term (years) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 10 | 5 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | 104 | 268 | 42 | 80 |
| Contacts | ||||
Franchisee phones | 18 | 39 | 2 | 6 |
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