Mathnasium Franchise
Cost, fees, owner earnings, closure rate and litigation for a Mathnasium franchise — pulled from the franchisor's own public FDD (2024), not its sales material.
Disclosure honesty
Mathnasium discloses earnings (Item 19) — but the grade is how honestly. We graded it C.
What their own earnings claim actually says
Discloses average/median gross receipts by quartile and average P&L with operating profit for 830 centers. Omits owner salary from operating profit, overstating net income; excludes 131 newer/underperforming centers.
What a Mathnasium franchise actually costs to run
| Fee | Disclosed | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49,000 | Item 5 — paid up front, before you open |
| Royalty | 10% 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 | 12% of gross sales | Before rent, labor, food or debt service |
| Total initial investment | $112,936 – $149,616 | Item 7 — franchisor's own low/high estimate |
Total fees: 10% royalty + $650 base + 2% marketing + $1,000/mo digital/local + $186/mo tech.
Royalty and ad-fund percentages are charged on gross sales — an owner pays them whether or not the location is profitable.
Mathnasium system size and owner turnover
| Total outlets | 972 |
| Ceased operations | 25 |
| Terminated by franchisor | 0 |
| Transferred to new owners | 93 |
| Closure rate | 2.6% of outlets |
25 ceased operations in 2023; zero formal terminations but high 93 transfers suggest owner exits.
From Item 20 of the FDD 2024. Terminations and ceased operations are the franchisor's own count of owners who stopped — the number the sales pitch leaves out.
Is Mathnasium worth it? — how it compares to 60 similar franchises
| Ongoing fees | 12% of sales | steeper than 89% of children's education & childcare franchises |
| Startup cost | from $112,936 | cheaper than most (median $191,992) |
| Disclosure honesty | Grade C | typical for the category |
| Closure rate | 2.6% of outlets | worse than 72% of peers |
| Disclosed lawsuits | 0 | fewer than most |
Benchmarked against every children's education & childcare franchise we've graded from public FDDs — the context the franchisor's pitch never gives you.
Owner take-home for a Mathnasium
The franchisor's framing: Discloses average/median gross receipts by quartile and average P&L with operating profit … 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
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Mathnasium franchise — frequently asked
- How much does a Mathnasium franchise cost?
- The FDD lists a total initial investment of about $112,936–$149,616, including a $49,000 initial franchise fee.
- How much do Mathnasium franchise owners make?
- Discloses average/median gross receipts by quartile and average P&L with operating profit for 830 centers. Omits owner salary from operating profit, overstating net income; excludes 131 newer/underperforming centers. We grade this disclosure C for honesty.
- What are the Mathnasium franchise fees?
- Mathnasium's FDD discloses a $49,000 initial franchise fee, a 10% royalty on gross sales, a 2% advertising-fund contribution, for roughly 12% of gross sales in recurring fees before rent, labor, or debt service. Total fees: 10% royalty + $650 base + 2% marketing + $1,000/mo digital/local + $186/mo tech.
- What is the Mathnasium franchise profit margin?
- Mathnasium does not publish a franchisee net-profit margin — almost no franchisor does. What Item 19 actually shows: Discloses average/median gross receipts by quartile and average P&L with operating profit for 830 centers. Omits owner salary from operating profit, overstating net income; excludes 131 newer/underperforming centers. Recurring fees alone take about 12% 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 Mathnasium franchise failure rate?
- 25 ceased operations in 2023; zero formal terminations but high 93 transfers suggest owner exits.
- How many Mathnasium locations are there?
- Mathnasium's FDD reports 972 total outlets, with 25 that ceased operations in the most recent reporting year and 93 transferred to new owners. Item 20 is where system health shows up before the marketing does.
- Does Mathnasium have complaints or lawsuits?
- Mathnasium 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 Mathnasium franchise worth it?
- It depends on the numbers, not the pitch. Mathnasium scores C on disclosure honesty, carries about 12% of sales in ongoing fees. Get the real owner take-home before you sign.
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Source: MN CARDS 32412-202409-06 (Clean FDD 2024). FranchiseValidate is independent and not affiliated with Mathnasium or its franchisor. Figures are extracted from the franchisor's own public disclosure document; verify against the current FDD before any decision.