About PlainFranchise

Our Mission

PlainFranchise makes publicly available franchise financial data accessible to anyone researching franchise investments — without paywalls, broker relationships, or sales pressure. We believe that prospective franchisees deserve free access to the same disclosure data that the FTC requires franchisors to provide, organized in a format that makes comparison and due diligence straightforward.

Why we built PlainFranchise: franchise investment is one of the largest financial commitments most people will make outside of buying a home, yet the information needed to evaluate opportunities is surprisingly hard to access. Franchise Disclosure Documents are public filings, but they are dense legal documents that run hundreds of pages and use specialized terminology. Our purpose is to extract the key financial data from these filings and present it in plain language.

We believe transparency in franchise economics leads to better investment outcomes. When prospective franchisees can quickly compare startup costs, royalty rates, unit growth trends, and failure indicators across brands and sectors, they enter conversations with franchise sales teams better informed and better protected.

Our Data Sources

All data on PlainFranchise comes from publicly available Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs), which franchisors are required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to file and provide to prospective franchisees before any sale. Our data source material includes:

  • Item 5 — Initial Franchise Fee: The upfront fee paid to the franchisor for the right to operate under the brand
  • Item 6 — Other Fees: Ongoing royalty rates, advertising fund contributions, technology fees, and other recurring obligations
  • Item 7 — Estimated Initial Investment: Minimum and maximum total startup costs, broken down by category (real estate, equipment, inventory, working capital, etc.)
  • Item 19 — Financial Performance Representations: Revenue, gross sales, or other financial performance data where the franchisor chooses to disclose it
  • Item 20 — Outlets and Franchisee Information: Total unit counts, franchised vs. company-owned locations, openings, closings, and transfers over the past three years

We also reference state franchise registration filings where available, as several states (including California, New York, and Minnesota) maintain their own franchise registration requirements with public filing repositories.

How We Process the Data

Our methodology involves collecting FDD data from public filings, extracting key financial metrics from the relevant Items, and standardizing them across franchise systems for consistent comparison. Each brand profile includes the FDD year, so users can see exactly which disclosure the data comes from.

We organize franchises into 15 industry sectors (food and beverage, fitness, home services, automotive, education, etc.) and classify them by investment tier based on the disclosed Item 7 total initial investment range. Our data processing approach does not estimate profitability or project returns — we present what the franchisor has publicly disclosed in a consistent format for comparison.

Unit growth calculations are derived from Item 20 data, comparing total outlet counts across the three most recent years of FDD reporting. Closure and transfer rates are calculated from the same Item 20 tables. Where franchisors do not disclose Item 19 financial performance data, we indicate that no revenue information is available rather than estimating from external sources.

Data Currency

PlainFranchise currently includes data from the most recent available FDD filings for each brand. FDDs are required to be updated annually, and franchisors typically file updated disclosures between January and April each year for the upcoming franchise sales period.

Our update schedule follows the FDD filing cycle. As new annual disclosures become publicly available, we update the corresponding brand profiles. The FDD year is displayed on every brand profile so users can see the data freshness for each specific franchise. Some brands may show data from the prior year's FDD if the current year's filing has not yet become available.

Not Affiliated

PlainFranchise is not affiliated with the International Franchise Association (IFA), any franchisor, franchise broker, franchise consultant, or government agency. We receive no compensation from franchise brands for being listed or for favorable placement. Our listings are organized alphabetically and by sector — there is no paid positioning.

Editorial Independence

Content on PlainFranchise is compiled by our editorial team. Raw data from public government datasets is transformed into readable profiles by our continuous editorial pipeline, validated against the source before publication. The PlainFranchise editorial team, operating under Kiznis Studio, is responsible for editorial standards, methodology, and corrections.

We do not accept payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement from any covered entity. Our only revenue source is contextual display advertising served by Google AdSense — advertisers do not influence which entities we cover or how we present data, and they do not receive preferential placement.

Limitations and Disclaimers

PlainFranchise is an informational resource, and users should understand several critical limitations of franchise disclosure data and our presentation of it.

FDD data is not a predictor of franchisee profitability. Revenue figures (where disclosed via Item 19) represent gross sales or revenue, not profit. Actual franchisee profitability depends on operating costs, location, management quality, market conditions, financing terms, and many other factors not captured in FDD disclosures. Many successful franchise systems have franchisees who lose money, and many franchisees in lower-performing systems do well.

Not all franchisors disclose financial performance. Item 19 financial performance representations are optional — roughly 60% of franchisors choose to provide them. The absence of Item 19 data does not indicate poor performance; it may reflect the franchisor's legal strategy or the diversity of outcomes across their system.

Investment ranges may not reflect your actual costs. Item 7 estimated initial investment ranges represent the franchisor's estimate and may not include all costs in your specific market — particularly real estate costs, which vary dramatically by location.

PlainFranchise provides publicly available FDD data for informational purposes only. Nothing on this site constitutes financial, legal, or investment advice. Franchise investments involve significant risk, including possible loss of the entire investment. Always consult a qualified franchise attorney, CPA, and financial advisor before making any franchise investment decision. Past performance of any franchise system does not guarantee future results.

Contact

Questions, corrections, or feedback? We welcome hearing from prospective franchisees, franchise professionals, and researchers. Email us at hello@plainfranchise.com.

If you notice a data discrepancy in a brand profile — particularly in investment ranges, fee structures, or unit counts — please include the brand name and FDD year. We verify all reports against the original disclosure filings.