F45 Training franchise cost 2026: $277K-$378K investment, $50K fee, 7% royalty. The 2022 public collapse, going-private deal, post-2023 closure rate, and who should still consider F45.
Quick answer: F45 Training total initial investment typically runs $300K-$650K. Royalty is 7% of gross sales plus a 2% ad fund. The brand has gone through significant turbulence — public-to-private transition, restructuring, leadership change — that prospective buyers should diligence beyond the unit economics. Studio footprint is 2,000-3,500 sq ft with simpler equipment than treadmill-and-rower formats.
F45 Training is the most cautionary tale in modern fitness franchising. The brand’s 45-minute functional-training class format was genuinely differentiated when it scaled in the late 2010s. The public-market collapse in 2022 was equally genuine and was driven by aggressive franchise-development growth projections that didn’t survive contact with operational reality. The brand has since been taken private, the leadership team replaced, and the system size reduced by roughly 35% in the US.
For a buyer evaluating F45 in 2026, the cost numbers are the easy part. The harder question is whether the brand has stabilized enough to be a credible first-franchise investment — or whether the operating risk still outweighs the unit economics on offer.
Item 7 reports total initial investment in the range of $277,000 to $378,000. The franchise fee is $50,000 with $40,000 development fees on additional units. Royalty is 7% of gross sales with a 2% marketing fund contribution, putting total franchisor-level cost at 9% of revenue. Net worth requirement is $500,000 with $150,000 in liquid capital.
The brand is currently owned by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management following the February 2024 take-private transaction at $4 per share. For broader context on what private-equity franchisor ownership means for buyers, see our PE-vs-founder-led franchisor risk guide.
F45 went public in July 2021 at $16 per share, raising $325 million at a market cap of roughly $1.4 billion. The narrative at IPO was aggressive global franchise expansion — the brand projected adding 1,000+ studios annually for the next several years.
By July 2022 the narrative had unraveled. The board ousted founder-CEO Adam Gilchrist. The growth projections were withdrawn. The brand acknowledged that promised franchisee financing through a captive lender had not materialized as scaled. Studio openings stalled, and existing franchisees in territories that had been over-developed began closing.
By the end of 2022, the stock was trading below $2. Multiple shareholder lawsuits alleged misrepresentation of growth metrics. The company restructured operations, laid off corporate staff, and focused on stabilizing the existing franchisee base rather than aggressive new development.
In February 2024, Kennedy Lewis Investment Management and partners closed a take-private transaction at $4 per share, valuing the company at approximately $74 million — a 95% drop from its 2021 IPO valuation. The new ownership team has focused on:
Closures have continued through 2024-2025 as part of this stabilization, but the rate has slowed materially compared to 2022-2023.
The $101K spread between low and high in Item 7 is mostly real estate cost and the size of the equipment package.
| Line Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| Build-out / leasehold improvements | $60,000 | $110,000 |
| F45 equipment package | $80,000 | $115,000 |
| Computer, POS, AV system | $15,000 | $25,000 |
| Signage + interior fixtures | $10,000 | $20,000 |
| Pre-opening training + travel | $10,000 | $18,000 |
| Grand opening marketing | $15,000 | $25,000 |
| Working capital (3-6 months) | $30,000 | $55,000 |
| Real estate deposits + misc | $7,000 | $20,000 |
| Total Item 7 range | ~$277,000 | ~$378,000 |
The equipment package is the line item that’s distinctive about F45. The brand’s class format requires a specific configuration of functional-training stations (kettlebells, battle ropes, plyo boxes, suspension trainers, etc.) with the AV system that delivers the workout-of-the-day content. The package is non-negotiable and not user-customizable — you buy what the brand specifies.
The 2026 FDD reports Item 19 average gross revenue around $480,000-$540,000 for mature US studios. That’s the headline number most prospective buyers latch onto. The harder number to model is the survivor bias in that average.
That reported average is calculated across studios that were still open at the reporting cutoff. Closed studios — about 35% of the system since 2022 — don’t appear in the 2026 average revenue figure. That’s not a deception; it’s standard FDD reporting practice. But it means a 2026 buyer is reading an average that excludes the underperformer cohort entirely. For the full framework on this bias, see our Item 19 average-vs-median survivorship-bias guide.
Implication for underwriting: model against bottom-quartile performance, not the headline average. If the brand discloses a bottom-quartile median, anchor there. If it doesn’t, ask the franchisee development rep for it directly — and weigh the response. A brand confident in its current operating performance will share quartile data. A brand that pushes back on quartile disclosure is signaling something.
F45 studios operate on a class-based recurring-membership model. Typical pricing is $179-$249/month for unlimited classes, with single-class drop-in rates around $25-$35. Studio capacity is bound by class size (typically 27-36 members per class), class frequency (10-15 classes per day in mature markets), and instructor availability.
| Active Members | Monthly Revenue | Annualized |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | $20,000 | $240,000 |
| 200 (typical breakeven) | $40,000 | $480,000 |
| 280 (mature healthy) | $56,000 | $672,000 |
| 350+ (top-quartile) | $70,000+ | $840,000+ |
Mature studios typically run 220-300 active members. Above 300 the constraint shifts from acquisition to retention and class-capacity management. Below 200 the model usually loses money.
Member acquisition cost has been the brand’s binding challenge since 2022. The IPO-era promise of national brand marketing supporting local franchisees has substantially shrunk under the new ownership team. New 2026 buyers should budget meaningfully more than the 2% national marketing fund implies for local-market member acquisition.
The brand has a narrow profile of buyers it works for, and a much wider profile it doesn’t.
Could still work for: Buyers with prior fitness-industry experience (former boutique-studio operators, personal trainers transitioning to ownership, gym-management professionals). Buyers acquiring an existing resale studio at a reset valuation (often 1.5-2x SDE in current market vs the 3-4x of 2021). Multi-unit operators in proven F45-friendly markets who can negotiate development terms with new ownership reflecting post-collapse risk. Buyers who have validated 30+ existing F45 franchisees in their target metro and have a clear-eyed view of the operating dynamics.
Doesn’t work for: First-time franchise buyers without fitness-industry background. Absentee investors expecting passive returns. Buyers in markets that were over-developed in 2020-2022 — territory dynamics there are still working through closures. Buyers using F45 as a “first try” before committing to fitness as a category — the operating risk is materially higher than alternatives like Anytime Fitness for that buyer profile.
The VetMyFranchise quiz screens specifically for fitness-industry fit and capital level.
These are the FDD items that warrant heavier-than-usual attention for F45:
If you’re sitting across from an F45 development representative in 2026, push on these questions and weigh how directly each is answered:
A franchisor confident in current operations answers these directly. A franchisor still working through stabilization deflects or hedges. Weigh the response style as much as the content.
The $49 VetMyFranchise Research Report decodes the current F45 FDD line-by-line, including the Item 19 average reset, Item 20 closure analytics, and the clauses your attorney should flag before signing. Get the F45 diligence report →
For buyers comparing F45 against other boutique fitness franchises:
| Brand | Investment | Royalty | 2026 Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| F45 Training | $277K-$378K | 7% + 2% ad | Private (Kennedy Lewis), 35% unit contraction since 2022 |
| OrangeTheory Fitness | $608K-$1.4M | 8% + 4% ad | Private (Roark Capital), stable |
| Club Pilates | $260K-$525K | 7% + 2% ad | Private (Xponential), expanding |
| Pure Barre | $258K-$485K | 7% + 2% ad | Private (Xponential), stable |
The structural distinction: F45 carries materially more operational uncertainty than these alternatives. For buyers seriously evaluating the boutique fitness category, the $99 3-Pack Comparison gives you full 12-section reports on three boutique fitness brands — F45 included if you want it — for $33 per brand. That comparison structure is the most direct way to see whether F45’s recovery is real for your specific market or whether a lower-risk alternative makes more sense.
For a category-level overview and side-by-side comparisons, see Best Fitness Franchises Under $200K (2026).
f45-franchisef45-trainingfranchise-costfitness-franchiseboutique-fitnessbrand-analysis
F45 went public in 2021 at $16/share with a $1.4B market cap. By August 2022 the founder CEO was ousted, growth projections were withdrawn, and the stock collapsed below $2. The brand was taken private in early 2024 by Kennedy Lewis Investment Management at $4 per share, with the company then majority-owned by a consortium of private investors. US studio count fell from ~750 in 2022 to approximately 480 in 2026 — a 35% net contraction driven by closures outpacing openings during the post-collapse stabilization period.
Total initial investment ranges from approximately $277,000 to $378,000 per the 2026 FDD Item 7. The initial franchise fee is $50,000, with reduced development fees of $40,000 per additional unit in a multi-unit development agreement. Buildout is typically a 1,800-2,500 square foot turnkey functional-fitness studio configuration.
Some are; many aren't. Item 19 reports system-average mature-studio revenue around $480K-$540K. At the brand's typical 12-18% operating margin, a mature studio at $500K revenue produces $60K-$90K of pre-debt-service cash flow. The challenge isn't average performance — it's the tail. Roughly 35% of studios that opened pre-2022 have since closed, and existing operators report the wide dispersion in member acquisition success between markets. New buyers should underwrite against bottom-quartile performance, not the average.
US studio count fell from approximately 750 at peak in 2022 to approximately 480 in 2026. That's a net contraction of about 35%, the largest contraction in modern boutique-fitness franchising. Closures continued through 2024 and 2025 as the new ownership team enforced operating standards and reset territory commitments. New territory openings have resumed cautiously in 2025-2026 but the system is meaningfully smaller than at peak.
Only if you have specific fitness-industry experience, are buying an existing resale studio at a reset valuation, and have validated 30+ existing franchisees in your target region. The brand's group-training concept and 45-minute class format remain differentiated, but the operating risk is materially higher than pre-2022. First-time buyers without fitness-industry background are better matched to lower-risk options like Anytime Fitness or category alternatives.
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