Zounds franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Zounds franchise takes $144,200 – $214,450 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $40,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 5% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 3%. To qualify, Zounds asks for $144,000 in liquid cash and a $250,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Zounds franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $40,000 | $40,000 | $40,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $144,200 | $214,450 | $144,200 to $214,450 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $250,000 | $250,000 | $250,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $144,000 | $144,000 | $144,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $144,200 | $214,450 | $144,200 to $214,450 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 5% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 3% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Zounds cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Zounds's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Zounds's disclosed cost sits against the Health & Fitness category:
- Minimum startup cost of $144,200 — about 22% below the Health & Fitness median of $184,861.
- Initial franchise fee of $40,000 — about 18% below the Health & Fitness median of $49,000.
Category medians are computed from the Health & Fitness brands in our data that disclosed each figure — a benchmark for scale, not a quality judgment. See all Health & Fitness franchises
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How Zounds's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2015: began the window at 1 units; 228 units opened, 50 closed, ending at 156 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Zounds 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 Zounds 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 Zounds 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 Zounds 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 Zounds 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 Zounds franchise
Zounds is a health & fitness franchisor with 156 units at the end of 2015 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2015, it began the window at 1 units; its filings record 228 unit openings and 50 closures, ending at 156 units. Its parent company is Zounds Hearing Franchising, LLC.
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
Zounds Hearing Centers are business to consumer franchises that provide hearing screening, fitting, and sale of hearing aids. We offer three types of franchises: (1) individual franchises for the right to develop and operate a single Zounds Hearing Center (“Individual Center”) offering all of our franchised services and products in a designated area; (2) an individual franchise sale to a group of approximately 10 general practice physicians (“Physician Investment Group”).
Zounds franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Zounds franchise cost?
- $144,200 – $214,450 all-in to open, per Zounds's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Zounds units are there?
- 156 units at the end of 2015 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Zounds's units held up?
- 78.2% of units at risk between 2013 and 2015 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).