Senior care franchise costs and what the work is really like
Across 57 senior care franchise brands we track, 53 disclose a minimum investment. The median minimum cash-to-open is $87,459, with disclosed totals running $6,400 – $2,202,720; initial franchise fees run $150 – $125,075. Every figure is FDD-derived — where a brand won't say, we print "not disclosed" instead of guessing.
Compare senior care franchise costs, brand by brand
What the work is really like
Home care runs around the clock: client shifts start at 6 a.m., end late, and break at both ends — and when a caregiver no-shows, the agency's on-call phone is the backstop. New owners usually ARE the on-call rotation for the first stretch; budgeting for a scheduler/coordinator seat is what eventually buys the evenings back.
Non-medical home care — help with daily living, companionship, transportation — is where most senior-care franchising happens; skilled home health (nursing) is a different license class entirely, and many states require a home-care agency license either way. Know which business a brand actually sells before comparing fees.
The day-to-day work is caregiver recruiting and scheduling. Franchisees consistently report that finding clients is easier than staffing them: caregiver churn is the industry's defining problem. Revenue is hourly-billed care, often private-pay, with little seasonality — but building to a stable client census takes months of working capital most headline numbers understate.
Senior care franchise costs, brand by brand
| Brand | Cash to open | Franchise fee |
|---|---|---|
| Comfort Keepers | $119,560 – $190,700 | $55,000 |
| Right at Home | $92,100 – $165,309 | $52,600 – $54,100 |
| BrightStar Care | $87,459 – $231,538 | $25,000 – $50,000 |
| ComForCare Home Care | $72,975 – $163,925 | $59,000 |
| FirstLight HomeCare | $125,675 – $199,660 | $55,000 |
| Griswold Home Care | $95,850 – $174,100 | $49,500 – $54,500 |
| Qualicare | $92,600 – $204,500 | $53,700 – $56,200 |
| BrightStar Senior Living | $201,308 – $2,202,720 | $50,000 – $55,000 |
| Mastercare | $125,800 – $223,450 | $47,050 |
| Home Instead Senior Care | $44,286 – $130,910 | $25,000 – $59,000 |
| Visiting Angels | $125,460 – $171,150 | $51,950 – $89,950 |
| Always Best Care Senior Services | $89,725 – $145,900 | $49,900 |
| HomeWell Senior Care | $70,450 – $130,200 | $49,500 |
| Caring Senior Service | $97,892 – $131,656 | $49,000 |
| LifeSpring In-Home Care Network | $192,400 – $309,200 | $45,000 |
| 2nd Family | $112,325 – $198,500 | $60,000 |
| Live 2 B Healthy Senior Fitness | $37,695 – $48,135 | $34,900 |
| Senior Helpers | $127,800 – $171,800 | $55,000 |
| Homewatch CareGivers | $92,310 – $154,000 | $51,500 |
| ActiKare In-Home Care | $32,530 – $57,550 | $19,750 – $39,750 |
| CarePatrol | Up to $130,970 | n/d |
| Golden Heart Senior Care | $68,425 – $96,750 | $47,100 – $57,100 |
| CareBuilders At Home | $110,700 – $165,500 | $59,500 |
| ACASA Senior Care Franchising (Area Representative) | $101,575 – $114,675 | $95,075 |
| Home Smiles | $178,750 – $226,080 | $104,500 – $117,500 |
| A Right Place for Seniors | $56,225 – $107,875 | From $42,500 |
| ACASA Senior Care | $81,925 – $131,600 | $49,400 |
| My Elder Advocate | $72,250 – $118,600 | $62,500 – $70,000 |
| ACCESSIBLE HOME HEALTH CARE | $124,900 – $168,200 | $45,000 |
| COMPATIBLE HOME CARE | $61,990 – $129,890 | $33,000 |
| Home Helpers | $113,350 – $161,600 | $59,850 |
| Assisting Hands Home Care | $96,850 – $180,000 | $56,200 |
| HomeWell Care Services | $54,401 – $233,912 | $6,025 – $56,352 |
| Home Care Assistance 1-866-4-LiveIn | $113,500 – $146,500 | $55,000 – $82,500 |
| Executive Care Your Home Care Company | $99,950 – $143,700 | $49,900 |
| In Home Personal Services | $42,750 – $101,500 | $7,500 – $32,500 |
| Assisted Transition | $67,325 – $89,875 | $44,500 |
| Chefs For Seniors | $16,925 – $26,830 | $9,000 |
| Options for Senior America | $85,800 – $110,400 | From $47,500 |
| Age Advantage | $59,830 – $103,000 | n/d |
| CAREMINDERS HOME CARE | $130,000 – $180,000 | From $39,000 |
| Family SmartCare Senior Solutions | $6,400 – $20,650 | $150 – $85,000 |
| Family SmartCare Senior Solutions (Area Representative) | $131,575 – $144,675 | $125,075 |
| Assisting Hands Home Care (Area Representative) | $177,300 – $590,150 | n/d |
| Green Home Solutions (Area Representative) | $67,500 – $446,070 | n/d |
| BrightStar Senior Living (Hybrid) | $948,500 – $1,199,500 | n/d |
| The Senior's Choice | $45,000 – $65,000 | $29,000 |
| Wisdom Senior Care | $25,000 – $50,000 | From $25,000 |
| ADL CARING COMPANIONS/ FIRST STEP HOME CARE | $45,600 | $34,900 – $84,900 |
| Presidio Home Care | $49,150 – $111,650 | $10,000 |
| TROVA HOME CARE | $47,850 | $35,000 |
| Sunny Days In-Home Care | $72,100 – $121,500 | n/d |
| One on One Caregiving Services | $36,800 – $57,700 | n/d |
| CARING FOR PEOPLE SERVICES, INC | n/d | From $45,000 |
| Sapphire Senior Care | $87,200 – $130,400 | $35,000 |
| Heaven Heights Senior Care | n/d | n/d |
| Seronda Senior Services | n/d | n/d |
Each brand page has the footed cost ledger: fee, Item-7 range, royalty, and unit history — with "not disclosed" printed where a figure is missing.
Compare brands in this trade: Comfort Keepers vs Right at Home — the two fullest data records here; swap in any brand from the table above on the compare page.
Red flags to check before any senior care discovery call
- Item 7's low number is not your number. Sales teams quote the bottom of the range; outfit your budget to the high end plus working capital.
- No Item 19 earnings claim? Ask why. If earnings promises appear in conversation but not in the FDD, that gap is the answer.
- Item 20 exits. Compare closures and terminations to openings over the last three years — our brand pages compute this for you.
- "Semi-absentee" pitches. Senior care operations still need a manager; if it's not you, that salary belongs in your math.
- Litigation history (Item 3) and franchisee-association disputes — search both before the discovery day, not after.
- Validate past the reference list. Call operators the franchisor did NOT hand you, including former franchisees.
Senior care franchise: quick answers
- How much does a senior care franchise cost?
- The median minimum investment across the 53 senior care franchise brands with disclosed figures is $87,459; disclosed totals run $6,400 – $2,202,720. Costs vary widely by format and real estate — anchor on a specific brand's FDD Item 7, not the trade average.
- What franchise fee do senior care franchises charge?
- Disclosed initial franchise fees among the senior care brands we track run $150 – $125,075 (median $48,250). The fee is one line of the total investment — build-out, equipment, and working capital usually dwarf it.
- How many senior care franchise brands are there?
- Our dataset matches 57 franchise brands to the senior care trade, 53 of which disclose investment figures. Matching is by industry plus trade keywords in the brand's name or FDD-derived description, so adjacent concepts can appear — we'd rather show the match rule than hide it.
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Every senior care brand above links to its full cost ledger — fee, royalty, and how its units have held up.