Gold's Gym Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Gold's Gym franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2026), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Gold's Gym discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it D.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses only average and median Gross Revenue (not profit) for 2024-2025. No costs deducted. Excludes newer/non-reporting locations. No net income data provided; significant cherry-picking omission of expenses.
What a Gold's Gym franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40,000 | 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 | $2,356,000 – $5,162,000 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Royalty floor $2,000/mo; ad floor $1,350/mo; cooperative adds up to 3% more of gross revenue.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Gold's Gym system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 182 |
| Ceased operations | 25 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 5 |
| Transferred to new owners | 2 |
| Closure rate | 13.7% of outlets |
Net loss of 29 total outlets in 2025; 25 franchised ceased operations plus 5 terminations in 2025 alone.
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 Gold's Gym worth it? — how it compares to 71 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 7% of sales | lower than most (median 9%) |
| Startup cost | from $2,356,000 | pricier than 99% of peers |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade D | less honest than most of the category |
| Closure rate | 13.7% of outlets | worse than 95% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
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 Gold's Gym
The franchisor's framing: Discloses only average and median Gross Revenue (not profit) for 2024-2025. No costs deduc… 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
Gold's Gym franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Gold's Gym franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $2,356,000–$5,162,000, including a $40,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Gold's Gym franchise owners make?
- Discloses only average and median Gross Revenue (not profit) for 2024-2025. No costs deducted. Excludes newer/non-reporting locations. No net income data provided; significant cherry-picking omission of expenses. We grade this disclosure D for honesty.
- What are the Gold's Gym franchise fees?
- Gold's Gym's FDD discloses a $40,000 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. Royalty floor $2,000/mo; ad floor $1,350/mo; cooperative adds up to 3% more of gross revenue.
- What is the Gold's Gym franchise profit margin?
- Gold's Gym does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses only average and median Gross Revenue (not profit) for 2024-2025. No costs deducted. Excludes newer/non-reporting locations. No net income data provided; significant cherry-picking omission of expenses. 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 Gold's Gym franchise failure rate?
- Net loss of 29 total outlets in 2025; 25 franchised ceased operations plus 5 terminations in 2025 alone.
- How many Gold's Gym locations are there?
- Gold's Gym's FDD reports 182 total outlets, with 25 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 2 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Gold's Gym have complaints or lawsuits?
- Gold's Gym discloses no material litigation in Item 3 of the filing we reviewed. That's a positive signal, though it covers only what the franchisor is required to report.
- Is a Gold's Gym franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Gold's Gym scores D on disclosure honesty, carries about 7% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
Own a Gold's Gym? Add your real numbers (anonymous)
We publish only aggregated benchmarks — never your name. Contribute and we'll show you how your numbers compare.
Compare Gold's Gym to similar franchises
See all franchises ranked by disclosure honesty →
Source: MN CARDS 36644-202605-06 (Clean FDD 2026). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Gold's Gym or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.