Crunch Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Crunch franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Crunch discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it B.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Crunch Fitness only: 331 qualified domestic locations (94% reporting). Provides gross revenue ranges, EBITDA by age cohorts (12-59 months), active member counts. Crunch Select: no financial performance representations disclosed.
What a Crunch franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $35,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Advertising fund | 2% of gross sales | Item 6 — brand marketing, spent at the franchisor's discretion |
| Total recurring fees | 7% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $2,147,500 – $5,367,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
5% royalty + 2% marketing fund + 7% local advertising minimum + ABC software $159/mo + $75/mo IT support.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Crunch system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 486 |
| Ceased operations | 13 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 1 |
| Transferred to new owners | 31 |
| Closure rate | 2.7% of outlets |
13 closures in 2025; 1 termination; 31 transfers suggest mid-market saturation.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2026. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Crunch worth it? — how it compares to 71 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7% of sales | lower than most (median 9%) |
| Startup cost | from $2,147,500 | pricier than 97% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade B | more honest than 82% of fitness & gyms franchises |
| Closure rate | 2.7% of outlets | worse than 66% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 2 | more litigious than 78% of peers |
Benchmarked against every fitness & gyms franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Crunch
The franchisor's framing: Crunch Fitness only: 331 qualified domestic locations (94% reporting). Provides gross reve… We reconstruct what an owner actually keeps, from their own FDD.
- Reconstructed owner P&L — net take-home after royalty, ad fund, rent, labor & debt
- Break-even timeline + cash-on-cash ROI
- Full fee stack + required-purchase markups
- Decoded real failure / closure rate
- How it ranks vs comparable franchises
- Validation-call playbook — the exact questions to ask
See a full sample report → · 30-day guarantee
Crunch franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Crunch franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $2,147,500–$5,367,000, including a $35,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Crunch franchise owners make?
- Crunch Fitness only: 331 qualified domestic locations (94% reporting). Provides gross revenue ranges, EBITDA by age cohorts (12-59 months), active member counts. Crunch Select: no financial performance representations disclosed. We grade this disclosure B for honesty.
- What are the Crunch franchise fees?
- Crunch's FDD discloses a $35,000 initial franchise fee, a 5% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 7% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. 5% royalty + 2% marketing fund + 7% local advertising minimum + ABC software $159/mo + $75/mo IT support.
- What is the Crunch franchise profit margin?
- Crunch does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Crunch Fitness only: 331 qualified domestic locations (94% reporting). Provides gross revenue ranges, EBITDA by age cohorts (12-59 months), active member counts. Crunch Select: no financial performance representations disclosed. Recurring fees alone take about 7% of gross sales, before rent, labor, food or debt service. Margin has to be reconstructed from the disclosure, not read off it.
- What is the Crunch franchise failure rate?
- 13 closures in 2025; 1 termination; 31 transfers suggest mid-market saturation.
- How many Crunch locations are there?
- Crunch's FDD reports 486 total outlets, with 13 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 31 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Crunch have complaints or lawsuits?
- Crunch discloses 2 legal matters in Item 3 of its FDD. Item 3 covers the franchisor's litigation history, which is the closest thing to a public record of how it treats franchisees — read the case descriptions, not just the count.
- Is a Crunch franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Crunch scores B on disclosure honesty, carries about 7% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 2 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: MN CARDS 36375-202604-12 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Crunch or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.