The Little Gym franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening The Little Gym franchise takes $465,250 – $637,000 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $140,000 – $163,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 8% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 1%. To qualify, The Little Gym asks for $75,000 in liquid cash and a $150,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
The Little Gym franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $140,000 | $163,000 | $140,000 to $163,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $465,250 | $637,000 | $465,250 to $637,000 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $150,000 | $150,000 | $150,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $75,000 | $75,000 | $75,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $465,250 | $637,000 | $465,250 to $637,000 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 8% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 1% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full The Little Gym cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How The Little Gym's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where The Little Gym's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $465,250 — about 5.5× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $140,000 — about 3.5× the Professional Services median of $39,700.
Category medians are computed from the Professional Services brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Professional Services franchises
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How The Little Gym's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2022: began the window at 208 units; 73 units opened, 104 closed, ending at 173 units. (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for The Little Gym or anyone else. The only primary source is Item 19 of the brand's own franchise disclosure document (FDD), and no law requires a franchisor to publish one, so the "average owner income" numbers circulating elsewhere are usually unsourced or survivorship-biased. Ask The Little Gym for its current FDD and read Item 19 yourself — and if there is no Item 19, that silence is information too.
What this data can't tell you
Everything on this page comes from disclosure filings — fees, ranges, and unit counts. Four questions that matter just as much are not in any filing we can source, so we say so instead of guessing:
- The hours and the labor
- No dataset field says whether The Little Gym is a manage-from-a-laptop business or a 60-hour week in disguise. Item 15 of the FDD states whether you're obligated to run the business personally, and Item 11 lists what the franchisor actually does for you — then ask current owners what their week looks like (validation calls), not the sales team.
- How hands-on the ownership really is
- "Semi-absentee" is a pitch, not a filing field. Treat any hands-off claim as unverified until it's consistent with Item 15 and with what multiple current franchisees tell you — what absentee ownership actually means.
- Your territory — whether it's protected, and whether it's open
- Two territory questions sit outside our data. Whether The Little Gym grants a protected or exclusive area is set in Item 12 of the FDD and varies brand to brand — some grant none, and the carve-outs (online sales, national accounts) matter as much as the map. And filing data can't say what's open in your market this month; only The Little Gym can confirm current availability. Ask both before you inquire, and get the answer in writing.
- What owners earn
- Covered honestly above: our dataset has no earnings fields, the only primary source is the brand's own Item 19, and here is how to read that evidence.
About The Little Gym franchise
The Little Gym is a professional services franchisor with 173 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2022, it began the window at 208 units; its filings record 73 unit openings and 104 closures, ending at 173 units (partial records: 2018 is not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is The Little Gym International, Inc..
No franchise-related lawsuits reported in the disclosure data we hold (FDD Item 3, as of 2026-05) — an absence in our sources, not a guarantee; confirm against the brand's current FDD.
From the franchisor's materials
You will operate a business that provides physical fitness, recreational gymnastic, motor skills development and other programs for children.
The Little Gym franchise: quick answers
- How much does The Little Gym franchise cost?
- $465,250 – $637,000 all-in to open, per The Little Gym's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many The Little Gym units are there?
- 173 units at the end of 2022 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have The Little Gym's units held up?
- 81.8% of units at risk between 2020 and 2022 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).
- Is The Little Gym SBA-eligible?
- The Little Gym is flagged SBA-eligible in our dataset (as of 2026-05). Confirm current status on the SBA Franchise Directory before relying on it for financing.