Brain Balance franchise unit economics
Brain Balance franchisees run an after-school cognitive development center where enrolled children and adults work through a program of physical and cognitive exercises with nutrition guidance, delivered by a center director, a program director and coaches. Across 67 centers open all of 2025 the average was $682,933 of revenue with a median of $559,395. Local advertising has a minimum of $72,000 a year, which overtakes its own 9% rate below $800,000 of sales.
- Primary source
- BB Franchising LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document
- Items read
- Items 5 and 6 for fees; Item 7 for cost to open; Item 19 for sales and any profit figure
- Population
- 67 of 73 locations
- Our calculations
- Marked on the page with an asterisk. Method
- Last reviewed
- 26 September 2026
Disclosure-based. Not a forecast, not an offer to sell a franchise, and not advice.
Local advertising is set at 9% of revenue with a minimum of $6,000 a month, and 9% overtakes that minimum only at $800,000 of sales. The median center bills $559,395, so it spends 12.9% on advertising against 9%, and the brand and marketing load runs from 19.0% at the top third to 31.7% at the bottom.
- The minimum advertising charge is $72,000 a year and it binds below $800,000 of sales. The median center bills $559,395, where 9% would be $50,346, so the minimum costs $21,654 more and takes 12.9% of revenue *.
- Brand and marketing take 31.7% of a bottom-third center and 19.0% of a top-third one. $105,248 on $332,477 against $213,380 on $1,123,054 *, a 12.7-point gap created almost entirely by the three monthly minimums.
- The lowest-selling center billed $111,600 against $86,400 of minimums. 77.4% of its revenue *, $12,000 of minimum royalty, $2,400 of brand fund and $72,000 of required advertising, all owed whatever the enrollments did.
- Revenue stood still while the system grew. The average went $686,778 to $682,933 and the median $558,573 to $559,395 as reporting centers rose from 61 to 67 *, so the new centers arrived at roughly the existing average.
- The top third rose 2.6% while the bottom third fell 5.1%. $1,123,054 against $332,477, a range of 3.38 times *, and the lowest-selling center fell 40.3% in a year, from $187,073 to $111,600.
How much does a Brain Balance franchise make?
The average Brain Balance unit reported $682,933 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $559,395. The brand’s disclosure document discloses revenue and not profit, so what an owner keeps depends on the cost structure set out below. Fees come off the top first, at about 19% of sales across royalty, brand fund and the rest of the stack. Revenue is not income. Rent, wages, cost of goods and the franchise fees all come out before an owner is paid. The figures for the highest-selling and lowest-selling businesses are below.
Top performers
What separates the top Brain Balance performers
Brain Balance splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $1,123,054 a year. The worst averaged $332,477. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $559,395. The average was $682,933. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.
Decided before you open
- Trade area and site.A 3.4× gap between bands, and 22.7× between the strongest and weakest single location, is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
- Territory, and how much of it is real.This model sells from a territory rather than a building. Two owners with the same brand and different ground are running different businesses, and density decides how much driving sits between jobs.
- What you spend to open.Opening costs $221,503 to $503,681, a 2.3× range inside one brand. The high end usually buys more capacity, so the cheapest build is not always the cheapest route to the top band.
Live operating levers
- Enrolment, the operating driver.This model bills on enrolment. The licence fixes how many places exist, so what is left is how many are filled, what each is priced at, and how long a family stays. It is worth watching every week, because by the time it turns up in a monthly close the quarter is half gone.
- Fees, and where the minimum bites.Fees run about 19.0% of sales. A minimum sits underneath the percentage, so the low-volume location pays the higher effective rate. The brand charges the weakest locations the most. Work out the sales level where the percentage overtakes the minimum and know which side of it you are on, because the answer changes what an extra dollar of sales is worth.
- The first year.This filing shows how a new location builds up, so the ramp can be underwritten from the document rather than assumed. Read two things out of it: the month sales cross the point where costs are covered, and how much cash you fund before that month arrives. Everything before break-even is paid for by you.
Context you underwrite around
- The reporting screen.67 of 73 locations are behind these figures. Locations open less than the full year, brand-owned, or not meeting the reporting criteria are excluded, so the numbers describe locations that cleared that screen, not the system as a whole.
- What the disclosure leaves out.Item 19 publishes no profit or cost data for franchised locations. Anything below the sales line has to come from the franchisor or from owners you call.
The three groups of locations
The middle held and the ends moved apart.
| Group | 2024 average | 2025 average | Change * | 2025 median | 2025 high | 2025 low | Centers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top third | $1,094,279 | $1,123,054 | +2.6% | $889,720 | $2,537,304 | $760,690 | 23 |
| Middle third | $595,375 | $573,264 | −3.7% | $559,103 | $724,220 | $463,769 | 22 |
| Bottom third | $350,307 | $332,477 | −5.1% | $340,124 | $455,258 | $111,600 | 22 |
| All centers | $686,778 | $682,933 | −0.6% | $559,395 | $2,537,304 | $111,600 | 67 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it and the change column is marked. Across 61 centers open all of 2024 and 67 open all of 2025.
The gap between the top and bottom thirds widened to 3.38 times. From 3.12 a year earlier *, the top third added $28,775 a center while the bottom third lost $17,830. That is the largest single difference of the two years in two numbers.
The median center sits at $559,395 and the average at $682,933. The average is 1.22 times the median *, so 26 of the 67 centers reached their own group average, which is 38.8%, down from 41.0% the year before.
The middle third is tightly packed between $463,769 and $724,220. A $260,451 group holding 22 centers, and its median of $559,103 sits within $292 of the whole system’s median *, so this group is the system’s center of gravity.
The bottom third has a median above its own average. $340,124 against $332,477. That shape comes from a handful of very weak centers pulling the mean down, and the lowest-selling of them billed $111,600.
Nine centers closed across 2024 and 2025 and sit outside these figures. Eight during 2024 and one during 2025, so an owner reading the $682,933 average should read it as the average of the centers that were still trading *.
The minimum charges
Three monthly minimums, and the advertising one is the giant.
| Charge | Rate and minimum | $332,477 | $559,395 | $682,933 | $1,123,054 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 8% or $1,000 a month | $26,598 | $44,752 | $54,635 | $89,844 |
| National advertising fund | 2% or $200 a month | $6,650 | $11,188 | $13,659 | $22,461 |
| Local advertising | 9% or $6,000 a month | $72,000 | $72,000 | $72,000 | $101,075 |
| Total | n/a | $105,248, 31.7% | $127,940, 22.9% | $140,293, 20.5% | $213,380, 19.0% |
Every rate and minimum is as the brand reported it and each dollar figure and share is marked. At the average revenue of the bottom third, the system median, the system average and the top third.
9% of revenue overtakes the $72,000 minimum advertising charge at $800,000 of sales. *, which two thirds of the system sits below. So for most owners the advertising line is a fixed cost. It is the largest single charge in the business.
A center at the system median overspends the rate by $21,654. $72,000 against 9% of $559,395 *, enough to fund a coach, and it lands on the center that can least easily convert it into enrollments.
The minimum royalty of $12,000 binds below $150,000 of revenue and the brand fund minimum below $120,000. *, both far under the advertising crossover, so an owner crossing $150,000 has cleared two of three minimums and still has the biggest one for another $650,000 of growth.
Growing from the median to the top third buys 3.9 points of fee relief. 22.9% down to 19.0% *, worth $21,816 at median revenue, which is real money for a center doing $559,395.
Enrollment charges sit on top of all three. $95 for a new enrolee’s first seven months and $45 for each three months after, $12.50 an assessment and $10 a post-assessment. $2,500 a year of technology and card processing at 2.25% to 3.5%, small individually. They scale with the enrollments that the $72,000 is meant to produce.
The five highest against the five lowest
Ten centers, two different businesses.
| Rank | 2024 highest-selling | 2025 highest-selling | 2024 lowest-selling | 2025 lowest-selling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,430,160 | $2,537,304 | $187,073 | $111,600 |
| 2 | $1,796,202 | $2,097,080 | $195,906 | $208,252 |
| 3 | $1,664,889 | $1,733,144 | $204,389 | $237,810 |
| 4 | $1,533,608 | $1,584,284 | $211,544 | $242,571 |
| 5 | $1,345,645 | $1,554,294 | $246,663 | $248,080 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it, ranked highest-selling first in the left pair and lowest-selling first in the right pair.
The top five all grew and four of the bottom five did too. The exception is the lowest-selling center, which fell from $187,073 to $111,600 *, so the bottom of this system is improving apart from its single worst case.
The highest-selling center bills 22.7 times the lowest-selling center. $2,537,304 against $111,600 *, up from 13.0 times a year earlier, and on an identical fee schedule and an identical program.
The fifth-highest-selling center gained $208,649 in a year. $1,345,645 to $1,554,294, a 15.5% rise *, which is roughly two and a half times the entire revenue of the lowest-selling center, gained in twelve months.
Four of the bottom five sit under the $350,000 that keeps a territory. $111,600, $208,252, $237,810 and $242,571, and so does the fifth at $248,080. So the whole bottom five are below the sales condition attached to their exclusive area.
The top five average $1,901,221. 2.78 times the system average *, and at that revenue the advertising requirement runs on the 9% rate at $171,110. That is 2.4 times the minimum the rest of the system pays.
The $350,000 condition
The exclusive area comes with a sales test.
| Year | At start | Opened | Terminations | Non-renewals | Ceased, other | At end | Net * |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 74 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 69 | −5 |
| 2024 | 69 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 65 | −4 |
| 2025 | 65 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 | +8 |
Every figure is as the brand reported it apart from the 2023 opening count. The state rows put at 1 instead of the 0 printed in the totals. The net column, both marked *.
Keeping the exclusive area requires $350,000 of sales a year from the third anniversary. Along with at least $1,000 of royalty a month. The bottom third averages $332,477, so the group average of a third of the system sits under the test *.
2025 reversed two years of shrinkage. 9 opened and 1 left, against 5 openings and 14 departures across 2023 and 2024 combined *, and 14 agreements were signed and awaiting opening at year end against 7 projected.
Texas lost five centers in two years and opened five in 2025. Two ceased in 2023, three in 2024, one failed to renew in 2025. Three opened, the same state turning over its whole base. Is what a market with the wrong site mix looks like.
A satellite center needs $480,000 of revenue at the existing one first. Plus twelve months of ownership and good standing. The median center at $559,395 clears it by $79,395 *, so second-unit economics are open to roughly half the system.
Opening costs $221,503 to $503,681. 32% to 74% of an average year’s revenue *, on a $45,000 franchise fee plus a $15,000 technology fee, with construction alone running $10,000 to $175,000 and equipment $40,000 to $55,000.
Questions we get asked
Questions an owner asks.
What does a Brain Balance center bill?
Across 67 centers open the whole of 2025, the average was $682,933 and the median $559,395, with a high of $2,537,304 and a low of $111,600. By third, the averages were $1,123,054, $573,264 and $332,477. 26 of the 67 reached the group average. The 2024 figures on 61 centers were an average of $686,778 and a median of $558,573.
What does the brand take?
8% of sales in royalty with a $1,000 monthly minimum, and 2% into a national advertising fund with a $200 monthly minimum. Separately, local advertising must be spent at 9% of sales with a minimum of $6,000 a month. Technology runs $2,500 a year after a $15,000 initial fee, plus per-enrolee application charges and card processing at 2.25% to 3.5%.
When does the minimum advertising charge stop biting?
At $800,000 of revenue, where 9% finally overtakes $72,000 a year. The median center bills $559,395, so it spends $21,654 more than the rate would ask. Only the top third, averaging $1,123,054, is clear of it as a group.
What does the whole load come to?
On our reading, 31.7% of revenue at the bottom third’s $332,477, 22.9% at the $559,395 median, 20.5% at the $682,933 average and 19.0% at the top third’s $1,123,054. The gap between the ends is 12.7 points, and almost all of it is the three monthly minimums landing on smaller revenue.
What keeps the exclusive area?
Gross sales of at least $350,000 for each twelve-month period following the third anniversary of the franchise agreement, or the second anniversary of a transfer. A minimum royalty of $1,000 a month from the first month after opening or the tenth month after signing. Falling short gives the franchisor a right to terminate. The area is a radius agreed case by case, stated without any population or household figure.
What does it cost to open?
$221,503 to $503,681 for a standard center, on a $45,000 franchise fee, a $15,000 initial technology fee and a $2,500 annual technology fee. Construction and remodeling runs $10,000 to $175,000, furniture and equipment $40,000 to $55,000, technology $36,000 to $39,000, and pre-opening plus grand opening advertising $14,000 to $24,000. A satellite center runs $126,695 to $309,740.
When can I add a second center?
A satellite requires twelve months of ownership of a standard center, good standing free of franchise agreement defaults and of any royalty payment plan. At least $480,000 of revenue at that location in the prior twelve months. It must sit inside your existing market and delivers programming only, intake and assessment stay at the standard center. The fee is $25,000 plus a $15,000 software fee. An additional standard center runs $40,000 of fee for units two to five, $35,000 for six to ten and $30,000 above that.
Which two numbers should run monthly?
Revenue against $66,667 a month, which is where 9% finally covers the $6,000 minimum advertising charge. And enrollments for each thousand dollars of advertising spent. Because with $72,000 fixed at the bottom of the system that conversion rate decides whether the minimum is an investment or a tax.
- No profit figure. The filing reports sales and not earnings, so what an owner keeps is not disclosed.
- No cost lines. Wages, rent and cost of goods are not broken out, so margin cannot be rebuilt from the document.
Questions worth putting to Brain Balance
The filing answers what it answers. These are the gaps an owner or a buyer should close directly.
- What do locations at the median spend on wages and rent as a share of sales? The filing reports sales only.
- What separates the highest-selling locations from the lowest: trade area, years open, size, or the owner?
- How long does a new location take to reach the average you publish, and what does the build-up look like month by month?
- At what level of sales do the minimum charges stop applying and the percentage take over?
- How many Brain Balance locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?
Run your own numbers.
The Franchise Finance Diagnostic runs the same checks on your own numbers. It scores where you stand and compares you with Item 19 of your brand’s FDD. It works out what one location earns and spends, and builds a 13-week cash forecast. Checks whether you are ready to open another one. It is free and it runs in your browser.
Launch the diagnostic →Is your minimum advertising charge buying enrollments?
A structured review of your unit economics, cash forecast. Reporting, built around the $72,000 advertising requirement, the $800,000 point where 9% overtakes it. What each thousand dollars of spend is actually enrolling.
Request the reviewthe franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners
Brain Balance reads against the rest of the tutoring and learning centers group: Best in Class Education Center · Huntington Learning Center · Kumon · LearningRx · Mathnasium · Sylvan Learning. The tutoring and learning centers guide compares all of them on the same figures.
Questions owners ask next
The figures above raise these, and each one is answered on its own page.
- At what level of sales does a minimum fee stop costing me more than the percentage?How royalty, ad fund and minimums actually work on a monthly statement.
- How much cash do I fund before a new location covers its own costs?A 13-week forecast for the months before break-even.
- My payroll percentage keeps climbing. Is that a payroll problem?Usually it is a revenue problem wearing a payroll costume.
- What should I be looking at every week?The handful of numbers that move before the P&L does.
- Do I need a bookkeeper, a controller, or a CFO?What each one owns, and the point at which the next one pays for itself.