How much does a Code Ninjas franchise make?

The average Code Ninjas unit reported $236,884 of revenue in the 2026 FDD, and the median reported $216,697. The filing 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 18% 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,

Breakdown

Code Ninjas franchise unit economics

Code Ninjas franchisees teach children to code by monthly subscription from a leased center. Across 224 learning centers gross sales average $237,614 on 82 monthly active students, $2,898 a student a year. The top quartile has 124 students against 44 at the bottom while revenue per student moves just 11.6%, so enrollment is the whole game.

By Scott Engler · Averan Advisors · Source: Code Ninjas, LLC, 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) · Updated 22 September 2026

Where these figures come from

Primary source: Code Ninjas, 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; Item 20 for the location count
Population: 230 of 238 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.

Key idea

A student is worth $2,650 to $3,091 a year across every quartile, on sales that run 3.1 times apart. The top quartile has 124 monthly students and the bottom 44. One business, one price, and a roll call that decides everything.

Units reporting224 centers, 6 studios

Average gross sales$237,614

Average monthly students82

Total investment$73,500–$265,750

Each additional student is worth $3,267 a year. 124 students and $383,267 at the top quartile against 44 and $121,884 at the bottom *, about $272 a month on the subscription.
Revenue per student holds between $2,650 and $3,091 across the quartiles. An 11.6% range * against sales 3.1 times apart. Enrollment is the lever; the price is already set.
The brand's charges take 16.4% of sales at the top quartile and 33.7% at the lowest-selling center. *. Fixed monthly charges of $8,400 a year are 19.5% of the lowest-selling center's entire revenue.
A new center owes $24,000 to $30,000 of local marketing a year for its first 24 months. Then 4% of net sales, which is $9,505 at the average *. The obligation falls by two-thirds in month 25.
Two outlets left for every one that opened across three years. 46 openings against 92 departures, taking franchised centers from 284 to 238.

Top performers

What separates the top Code Ninjas performers

Code Ninjas splits its locations into groups instead of publishing one average. The best group averaged $383,267 a year. The worst averaged $121,884. Both run the same brand, on the same agreement, paying the same fees. The middle location sold $216,697. The average was $236,884. More than half the system is below the number the brand quotes.

Decided before you open

Trade area and site.A 3.1× gap between bands is not an operating gap. Catchment, daytime population and what sits next door set the ceiling before the first customer arrives.
Capacity, fixed at build.capacity is 6 studio floor multiplied by hours multiplied by how full they run. What you can sell is set by the build, and the build does not change after opening.
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 $73,500 to $265,750, a 3.6× 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 18.0% 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.

Context you underwrite around

The reporting screen.230 of 238 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. The brand’s own locations are the only margin signal in the document, and they are run by the people who wrote the playbook.

Top performers

How far apart the locations are

Top 25%

This filing does not split its locations into performance bands, so the gap between the highest and lowest Code Ninjas location is not disclosed. What it does publish is on the Model and Finance tabs.

Students and sales

The roll call is the forecast.

Top 25%

$383,267

Second 25%

$254,517

Third 25%

$190,787

Bottom 25%

$121,884

Studios, all

$209,647

2025 gross sales and monthly active students by sales quartile, as the brand reported it, with the closing column added *Averan calculation
Group	Locations	Average sales	Median sales	Sales range	Reaching the average	Average monthly students	Student range	Revenue per student *
Learning centers, all	224	$237,614	$217,479	$43,091–$730,612	110 (49%)	82	1–264	$2,898
Top 25%	56	$383,267	$352,030	$289,451–$730,612	19 (34%)	124	18–264	$3,091
Second 25%	56	$254,517	$252,412	$217,689–$287,977	27 (48%)	87	39–170	$2,925
Third 25%	56	$190,787	$191,973	$162,707–$217,270	30 (54%)	72	23–141	$2,650
Bottom 25%	56	$121,884	$127,214	$43,091–$162,491	34 (61%)	44	1–85	$2,770
Studios, all	6	$209,647	$195,865	$105,552–$321,769	4 (67%)	70	31–110	$2,995
Everything	230	$236,884	$216,697	$43,091–$730,612	114 (50%)	81	1–264	$2,924

Sales, student counts and location counts are as the brand reported it. The closing column is marked *, dividing each group's average sales by its own average monthly active students.

Each additional student is worth $3,267 of annual revenue. *, taking the $261,383 of sales and 80 students between the top and bottom quartiles. That is about $272 a month, above the $241 the average center earns per student across its whole roll.

Revenue per student moves 11.6% where sales move 214%. $2,650 to $3,091 *. A center at the bottom of the table charges roughly what a center at the top charges; it teaches 80 fewer children.

The lowest-selling center averaged one active student across the year. Against 264 at the highest-selling ones. Gross sales run from $43,091 to $730,612, seventeen times, and both extremes sit inside a system where the median center bills $217,479.

Studios take 70 students at $2,995 each. The highest revenue per student in the system *, on sales of $209,647 from six locations. A studio earns 12% less than a learning center from 15% fewer students, at a slightly better price.

Under half of the system reaches its own average. 114 of 230. Inside the quartiles the pattern reverses as you go down, 34% of the top quartile beat their group average against 61% of the bottom. Because one center at $730,612 pulls the top group away from its middle.

What the fees come to

Two fixed charges, and a rate that hurts more the less you sell. (Items 5 and 6)

Annual brand charges at each published level *Averan calculation
Level	Sales	Royalty	Brand fund at 2%	Advertising service	Technology	Local marketing at 4%	Total	Share of sales
Top quartile center	$383,267	$31,620	$7,665	$4,200	$4,200	$15,331	$63,016	16.4%
Average center	$237,614	$19,603	$4,752	$4,200	$4,200	$9,505	$42,260	17.8%
Bottom quartile center	$121,884	$10,055	$2,438	$4,200	$4,200	$4,875	$25,768	21.1%
Lowest-selling center	$43,091	$3,555	$862	$4,200	$4,200	$1,724	$14,540	33.7%
Average studio, royalty at 12.25%	$209,647	$25,682	$4,193	$4,200	$4,200	$8,386	$46,661	22.3%
Average center in its first 24 months	$237,614	$19,603	$4,752	$4,200	$4,200	$30,000	$62,755	26.4%

Ours, applying the published rates to filed gross sales.

The load rises as sales fall: 16.4%, 17.8%, 21.1%, 33.7%. *. The $8,400 of fixed monthly charges is 2.2% of revenue at the top quartile and 19.5% at the lowest-selling center, the same two line items, doing very different damage.

A new center costs $30,000 of local marketing where a mature one costs $9,505. *, at the system average. The requirement runs at a flat $2,000 to $2,500 a month for 24 months and then converts to 4% of sales. So the heaviest marketing obligation lands in the two years with the fewest students to pay for it.

The royalty leaves the account inside the transaction. Customer money flows through the franchisor's processor, which takes the royalty and the brand fund before the balance reaches the franchisee. So the fee is settled at the point of sale, and a center sees net money arriving.

A studio pays four points more royalty for the life of the agreement. 12.25% against 8.25%, $8,386 a year at the studio average *. Against an opening cost $100,750 lower at the low end, the studio repays its saving to the brand in about 12 years.

Center or studio

A hundred thousand dollars cheaper, four points dearer.

Estimated initial investment, learning center and studio center, as the brand reported it, Item 7 of the 2026 FDD
Item	Center low	Center high	Studio low	Studio high
Construction costs	$50,000	$90,000	$0	$5,000
Initial franchise fee	$45,000	$45,000	$35,000	$35,000
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$20,000	$30,000	$0	$2,500
Additional funds, three months	$20,000	$30,000	$20,000	$30,000
Computer hardware and software	$10,000	$20,000	$4,000	$7,500
Grand opening marketing	$8,000	$10,000	$8,000	$12,000
Signage	$6,000	$12,000	$0	$1,500
Lease	$7,000	$10,000	$0	$2,500
Architect fees	$1,500	$5,000	n/a	n/a
Initial inventory	$2,500	$5,000	$2,500	$5,000
Business insurance	$1,000	$2,500	$1,000	$2,500
Professional fees	$500	$2,500	$500	$2,500
Expenses for initial training	$1,500	$1,500	$1,500	$1,500
Business licenses and permits	$250	$1,000	$250	$1,000
New franchisee training fee	$750	$750	$750	$750
Utility deposit	$250	$500	n/a	n/a
Total	$174,250	$265,750	$73,500	$109,250

As the brand reported it, reordered here by size; all four columns add to their stated totals exactly *.

A studio opens for $100,750 less at the low end. $73,500 against $174,250 *. Construction, furniture and signage fall to almost zero, and the franchise fee drops $10,000. The studio is a format that fits inside space someone else has already built.

Every learning center fee collected in 2025 came in below the published $45,000. The range was $20,000 to $40,000. An owner comparing a second center against the list price is working from a number the franchisor discounted in every deal it signed last year.

Six studios against 224 centers. The studio format has the highest revenue per student at $2,995 * and the highest royalty at 12.25%. Six locations is too small a group to draw a rule from, and it is the only read available on the lighter format.

Cash to run the business day to day is $20,000 to $30,000 for three months, either way. Against a first-24-month local marketing obligation of $2,000 to $2,500 a month. Three months of that requirement alone is $6,000 to $7,500, a quarter of the working capital at the low end.

The network of locations

Forty-six in, ninety-two out.

Franchised outlet counts, 2023 to 2025, as the brand reported it, Item 20 of the 2026 FDD
Measure	2023	2024	2025
Franchised at start	284	262	239
Opened	14	18	14
Terminations	5	8	3
Non-renewals	7	20	8
Reacquired by franchisor	3	0	2
Ceased for other reasons	21	13	2
Franchised at end	262	239	238
Company-owned at end	7	5	7
Total outlets at end	269	244	245
Transfers between franchisees	31	25	18

As the brand reported it.

Ninety-two outlets left and 46 opened across three years. Two for every one. The franchised estate fell 16.2% from 284 to 238, and 2025 was the year it steadied, 14 openings against 15 departures.

Non-renewals ran 20 in 2024. Against eight terminations. A non-renewal is an owner reaching the end of a term and choosing to stop. Reads differently from a default. In 2024 it was the largest single category of departure.

Twenty-nine agreements are signed and waiting against 238 trading centers. Nine of them in California, where 14 centers also changed hands across the three years. That state is doing most of both the entering and the leaving.

Seventy-four centers changed hands in three years. Roughly a third of the estate. For an existing owner, that is a supply of trading businesses to buy alongside the 29 unopened agreements the franchisor is holding.

Questions we get asked

Questions owners ask.

What should a Code Ninjas center be billing?

Across 224 learning centers trading all of 2025, gross sales averaged $237,614 with a median of $217,479, ranging from $43,091 to $730,612. 110 of the 224 reached the average. By quartile the averages were $383,267, $254,517, $190,787 and $121,884. Six studios averaged $209,647 with a median of $195,865. Across all 230 locations the average was $236,884 and the median $216,697.

How many students does that take?

Monthly active students averaged 82 at a learning center and 70 at a studio, ranging from 1 to 264 across the system. By sales quartile the averages were 124, 87, 72 and 44. Dividing sales by students gives $2,898 a student a year at the average center and a range of $2,650 to $3,091 across the quartiles. Is marked *, about $221 to $258 a month. Each student added between the bottom and top quartiles costs $3,267 of annual revenue, also marked *.

What does the brand take?

A royalty of 8.25% of net sales for a learning center and 12.25% for a studio, collected inside each transaction as the customer's money passes through the franchisor's payment processor. A brand fund contribution of 2% of net sales. An advertising service fee of $350 a month for the franchisor's in-house agency, which franchisees must use, plus third-party placement costs. A technology fee of $350 a month, plus third-party vendor costs. And a local marketing spend of $2,000 to $2,500 a month for the first 24 months, then 4% of net sales. At the system average that comes to $42,260 a year, or 17.8% of sales. Is marked *, rising to 21.1% at the bottom quartile and 33.7% at the lowest-selling center.

Is a studio cheaper than a center?

To open, yes: $73,500 to $109,250 against $174,250 to $265,750, because construction, furniture and signage fall to almost zero and the franchise fee is $10,000 lower. To run, the studio pays 12.25% royalty against 8.25%, four points, or $8,386 a year at the studio average of $209,647, which is marked *. At that rate the $100,750 saved at the low end goes back to the franchisor across about 12 years. Six studios sit in the figures against 224 centers, so the comparison rests on a very small group.

Who does bookkeeping for a Code Ninjas franchise?

Three things shape the close here. The royalty and brand fund are deducted inside each transaction by the franchisor's payment processor. So the bank receives a net figure and gross sales have to be reconstructed from the portal. Makes a monthly reconciliation between portal sales, processor settlements and deposits the core control. Second, monthly active students is the operating metric and the revenue metric at once. At roughly $242 a month per student. Is marked *, ten students lost is $29,000 of annual revenue. It shows in the roll before it shows in the bank. Third, the local marketing obligation changes shape in month 25, from a flat $2,000 to $2,500 a month to 4% of net sales. The switch needs to be in the budget before it arrives. Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team.

What this filing does not disclose

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 Code Ninjas

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 Code Ninjas locations closed, were sold, or changed hands last year, and why?

Part of our Childcare & Education Franchise Finance guide and the STEM And Coding Franchise Finance guide · Āveran Franchise Resource Center

Run your own numbers.

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Where these figures come from.

Every figure here comes from Code Ninjas, LLC’s 2026 FDD and is unaudited by us. We are unaffiliated with the brand. Calculations of our own are labeled where they appear, the figures describe past performance at other businesses and are not a projection of yours. This page is an educational summary. It is not an offer to sell a franchise, and it is not financial, legal or tax advice. Code Ninjas® is a registered trademark of its owner. How Averan reads a Franchise Disclosure Document.

Where this sits

the franchise library, all 243 brands · how franchise unit economics work · running the books across several locations · what Averan does for franchise owners

The same business, other brands

Code Ninjas reads against the rest of the stem and coding group: Bricks 4 Kidz · Challenge Island · Engineering For Kids · Snapology. The stem and coding 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.

Where to next

Compare brands, every brand in the library on one screen
Checking the franchisor’s own finances
What one location earns and spends
What changes at ten units
Fractional CFO, for the forecast behind a second location and the cash plan that carries it
Bookkeeping for franchise owners, what this looks like when someone else keeps the books
Āveran Franchise Resource Center, every breakdown in the library
Bookkeeping, monthly close built around the way your brand reports
Controller, when the numbers need someone reading them as well as recording them

Scott Engler

Founder & Principal, Averan Advisors

Averan provides bookkeeping, controller, and fractional CFO support for franchise owners and has Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors on the team. More about the team →

If you want this done for you

What happens next

Everything above came out of a filing. Doing it on your own numbers means the books have to produce the same lines: sales, wages, occupancy, fees and what is left, by location, every month. That is the work.

The call, twenty minutesYou describe the business and where the numbers are letting you down. We tell you honestly whether we can help, and what we would start with. No pitch deck.
We look at the fileYou give us read access to the books as they are. We come back with what is wrong, what it will take to fix, and whether the answer is bookkeeping, controller work, or something else.
A written scope and a priceWhat we do each month, what you get, the date it lands, and the fee. Agreed before anything starts, and it does not move without you agreeing it.
Transition, then the first closeAccess, systems, and the opening balances. The first close lands on the date in the scope, and every one after it does too.

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