Highlights
- Opening one unit is estimated at $117,600 to $288,400, including a $46,900 initial fee.p.26
- Sylvan Learning discloses unit performance in Item 19.p.68
- The system went from 474 outlets at the start of 2023 to 433 at the end of 2025, a net loss of 41.p.72
- In 2025, closures of all kinds equalled 11.6% of the outlets open at the start of the year.
- Item 3 discloses 4 matters.p.14
Tools, from this filing's numbers
Cash you would need to open
The filing's Item 7 range, $117,600 to $288,400, is an estimate for one unit including only its first months. Slide between the low and high cases and add the months of runway you want beyond that.
Monthly operating cash is taken as one-twelfth of your weekly-sales figure above times 52 (set to $15,000 a week here), a placeholder for rent, labor and food until you have your own budget.
Where the units went in 2025
Every outlet that opened, and every one that left, drawn from Item 20 Table 3 to scale.p.80
Total outlets, 2022 to 2025
Compare Sylvan Learning with another brand
Side by side, every figure cited.
Fees (Items 5 and 6)
| Initial franchise fee, standard | $46,900 | p.16 |
| Royalty | not stated | |
| Advertising fund | 5% of monthly Gross Sales | p.18 |
| Technology fee | held for review |
The filing lists every recurring and conditional fee in Item 6. The report carries all of them.
Estimated initial investment (Item 7)
| Expenditure | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other Furniture and Miscellaneous Supplies | $3,400 | $4,500 | p.26 |
| Signage (interior and exterior) | $2,000 | $10,000 | p.26 |
| Total | $117,600 | $288,400 | p.26 |
Revenue (Item 19)
Sylvan Learning reports Franchisee Gross Sales across 409 outlets for 12 calendar months of 2025.p.68 What the figure measures, which units were excluded and what it leaves out are in the report.
Units (Item 20)
| Type | Year | Start | End | Net | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| franchised | 2023 | 469 | 473 | 4 | p.72 |
| company owned | 2023 | 5 | 5 | 0 | p.72 |
| total | 2023 | 474 | 478 | 4 | p.72 |
| franchised | 2024 | 473 | 476 | 3 | p.72 |
| company owned | 2024 | 5 | 0 | -5 | p.72 |
| total | 2024 | 478 | 476 | -2 | p.72 |
| franchised | 2025 | 476 | 433 | -43 | p.72 |
| company owned | 2025 | 0 | 0 | 0 | p.72 |
| total | 2025 | 476 | 433 | -43 | p.72 |
Openings and closures, system totals (Table 3)
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 469 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 473 | p.80 |
| 2024 | 473 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 476 | p.80 |
| 2025 | 476 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 433 | p.80 |
Arithmetic checks flagged: item7: low lines sum to 5400, total says 117600; item7: high lines sum to 14500, total says 288400. The figures shown are as filed.
Litigation (Item 3)
4 pending cases described.p.14 Counts are of distinct matters as the filing describes them; the report carries each one in plain words.
Scorecard
Rank among the brands on this site that report the figure, on each list's own direction. No blended grade. How the lists work.
| Cost to open | $117,600 | 4 of 67 |
| Royalty plus ad fund | held | held |
| Three-year unit growth | -8.6% | 61 of 68 |
| Closure rate, 2025 | 11.6% | 5 of 64, 1 = most |
| Discloses unit revenue | yes | |
| Litigation disclosed | 4 | 9 of 61, 1 = most |
Source
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions franchise filing 641246, effective 4/24/2026, expires 4/24/2027. Extracted 2026-09-05 by two independent readers; only figures both agreed on, whose quoted words appear on the cited page, are shown. 35 fields held for review. How this works.