Ellie Mental Health Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Ellie Mental Health franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Ellie Mental Health discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses patient acquisition, appointments, and collected revenue for 188 franchised clinics open full year 2025. Provides state-level reimbursement rates. Cherry-picks: excludes 43 new 2025 clinics, 18 incomplete reporters, all 34 closed clinics.
What a Ellie Mental Health franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $60,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 7.5% of gross sales | Item 6 — charged on revenue, not profit |
| Total recurring fees | 7.5% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $93,767 – $445,018 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty 7.5% (3.95% select states) of collected revenue; marketing $150/month per provider; technology $160-400/month; shared services 3.5%.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Ellie Mental Health system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 249 |
| Ceased operations | 34 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 29 |
| Transferred to new owners | 7 |
| Closure rate | 13.7% of outlets |
34 closures in 2025 (12% failure rate); 29 terminations; significant litigation from franchisees alleging misrepresentation.
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 Ellie Mental Health worth it? — how it compares to 436 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7.5% of sales | lower than most (median 8%) |
| Startup cost | from $93,767 | cheaper than most (median $138,750) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 13.7% of outlets | worse than 91% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 10 | more litigious than 93% of peers |
Benchmarked against every other franchises franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Ellie Mental Health
The franchisor's framing: Discloses patient acquisition, appointments, and collected revenue for 188 franchised clin… 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
Ellie Mental Health franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Ellie Mental Health franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $93,767–$445,018, including a $60,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Ellie Mental Health franchise owners make?
- Discloses patient acquisition, appointments, and collected revenue for 188 franchised clinics open full year 2025. Provides state-level reimbursement rates. Cherry-picks: excludes 43 new 2025 clinics, 18 incomplete reporters, all 34 closed clinics. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Ellie Mental Health franchise fees?
- Ellie Mental Health's FDD discloses a $60,000 initial franchise fee, a 7.5% royalty on gross sales, for roughly 7.5% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Royalty 7.5% (3.95% select states) of collected revenue; marketing $150/month per provider; technology $160-400/month; shared services 3.5%.
- What is the Ellie Mental Health franchise profit margin?
- Ellie Mental Health does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses patient acquisition, appointments, and collected revenue for 188 franchised clinics open full year 2025. Provides state-level reimbursement rates. Cherry-picks: excludes 43 new 2025 clinics, 18 incomplete reporters, all 34 closed clinics. Recurring fees alone take about 7.5% 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 Ellie Mental Health franchise failure rate?
- 34 closures in 2025 (12% failure rate); 29 terminations; significant litigation from franchisees alleging misrepresentation.
- How many Ellie Mental Health locations are there?
- Ellie Mental Health's FDD reports 249 total outlets, with 34 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 7 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Ellie Mental Health have complaints or lawsuits?
- Ellie Mental Health discloses 10 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 Ellie Mental Health franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Ellie Mental Health scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 7.5% of sales in ongoing fees, and discloses 10 legal matters. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Compare Ellie Mental Health to similar franchises
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Source: WI DFI Franchise Registration (2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Ellie Mental Health or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.