Key Takeaways
- Mathnasium's 2026 Item 7 range is approximately $113,000-$149,000 — meaningfully more compact than other education franchises
- Initial franchise fee is $49,000 — high relative to the total investment but typical for storefront learning centers
- Royalty is 10% of gross sales with no separate ad fund — total franchisor-level cost is on the higher side at this scale
- Per-student tuition typically runs $250-$300/month, with most students enrolled in 2-3 sessions per week
- Mature centers commonly run 90-160 active students, generating $300K-$500K in annual revenue
- Storefront-only model (no home-based path) — this is the structural difference from Kumon
- About 25% of franchisees own multiple centers, lower than wellness brands but reflecting the operator-intensive model
Mathnasium 2026 at a Glance
Mathnasium is the second-largest US education franchise after Kumon, with approximately 1,200 centers nationally. The brand sits in the same buyer-research category as Kumon — both are math-focused supplemental education franchises targeting K-12 students — but the operating model is structurally different. Mathnasium requires a storefront retail center from day one. Kumon allows a home-based start.
Item 7 reports total initial investment in the range of $113,000 to $149,000 — a notably tight spread for a franchise category. The franchise fee is $49,000. Royalty is 10% of gross sales with no separate ad fund, which is unusual: most franchise structures break ad-fund contributions out as a separate line, while Mathnasium consolidates them into the royalty. Net worth requirement is $150,000 with $75,000 in liquid capital — among the more accessible thresholds in branded franchising.
The brand was acquired by Roark Capital in 2021, joining a portfolio that includes Anytime Fitness, Massage Envy, Jimmy John’s, and dozens of other franchise systems. The Roark ownership structure is worth understanding before signing. For broader context, see our PE-vs-founder-led franchisor risk guide.
Item 7: The Storefront Buildout
Mathnasium centers are typically 1,200-1,800 square feet configured for 4-8 instruction tables, a parent waiting area, a small office, and a check-in counter. The buildout spec is meaningfully smaller than wellness clinics or fitness studios, which keeps total Item 7 capital requirements low.
| Line Item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $49,000 | $49,000 |
| Build-out / leasehold improvements | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Furniture, fixtures, equipment | $9,000 | $14,000 |
| Computer, POS, supplies | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Signage + interior fixtures | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| Initial instructional materials | $3,000 | $6,000 |
| Pre-opening training + travel | $4,000 | $7,000 |
| Grand opening marketing | $5,000 | $9,000 |
| Working capital (3-6 months) | $25,000 | $35,000 |
| Real estate deposits + misc | $8,000 | $20,000 |
| Total Item 7 range | ~$113,000 | ~$149,000 |
The tight $36K spread between low and high reflects how standardized the Mathnasium buildout has become. There isn’t much variation between a low-cost market build and a high-cost metro build — landlord allowances absorb most of the difference, and the brand’s interior package is largely fixed cost.
The Per-Student-Month Math
Mathnasium’s revenue model is membership-style but priced higher than competing tutoring franchises. Typical tuition runs $250-$300/month per student, with most students enrolled in unlimited sessions per week within a center’s operating hours. The pricing reflects the in-person tutor labor cost and the brand’s positioning as a premium math-instruction service.
| Active Students | Monthly Revenue | Annualized |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | $13,750 | $165,000 |
| 75 (typical breakeven) | $20,600 | $247,500 |
| 120 (mature healthy) | $33,000 | $396,000 |
| 160 (top-quartile mature) | $44,000 | $528,000 |
| 200+ (top-tier metro) | $55,000+ | $660,000+ |
The math the brand wants you to underwrite against is the 120-student mature center. Most successful Mathnasium centers cluster in the 100-160 student range. Above 160 the constraint becomes physical center capacity (instruction tables, tutor staffing during peak after-school hours) rather than marketing or pricing.
Royalty + Labor Math
A 10% royalty with no separate ad fund means the franchisor-level cost is consolidated. At a typical 120-student mature center generating $396K in revenue:
- Royalty (10%): $39,600
- Technology / system fees: $3,000-$5,000
- Total franchisor-level cost: $42,600-$44,600 (10.8-11.3% of revenue)
Tutor labor is the binding operating constraint. Mathnasium centers typically employ 4-8 part-time tutors during peak after-school hours (3pm-8pm weekdays) plus the lead instructor/owner. Tutor wages in 2026 typically run $18-$25/hour in metro markets and $15-$20/hour in suburban markets, with hours scaling roughly with student count.
A 120-student center running peak coverage needs approximately 60-90 tutor-hours per week. At $20/hour average, that’s $62K-$94K in annual tutor wages. Combined with rent ($30K-$60K), royalty, materials, and operator income, mature centers typically run 20-25% operating margins. A 120-student center at 22% operating margin produces approximately $87K of operator-take after expenses but before debt service.
Mathnasium vs Kumon: Which Buyer Fits Which Model
The two brands attract similar buyers but the operating model differences are meaningful.
| Dimension | Mathnasium | Kumon |
|---|---|---|
| Investment range | $113K-$149K | $72K-$153K |
| Initial fee | $49,000 | $2,000 |
| Royalty structure | 10% of revenue | Per-student-month ($32-$36/sub) |
| Start path | Storefront only | Home-based or storefront |
| Typical mature student count | 100-160 | 200-300 |
| Typical per-student tuition | $250-$300/mo | $150-$200/mo (per subject) |
| Owner-operator required | Strongly preferred | Yes, strictly |
| Multi-unit %of franchisees | ~25% | ~10% |
Choose Mathnasium if: You want a true storefront business from day one, you’re comfortable with higher per-student tuition and lower student counts, and you have $100K+ liquid for the buildout. The retail visibility of a Mathnasium center is meaningfully better for word-of-mouth and parent referrals.
Choose Kumon if: You want to start home-based to validate market demand before committing to a lease, you have prior teaching experience that fits Kumon’s structured worksheet method, or your capital is below the $100K Mathnasium threshold.
Buyers seriously comparing the two should run them through our free side-by-side comparison tool — the structural differences become much clearer when the FDD line items are laid out together.
Who Mathnasium Fits — And Who It Doesn’t
Fits well: Career-changers with teaching, math-tutoring, or education-administration background. Stay-at-home parents transitioning back to professional work who want a retail storefront business. Owner-operators in suburban markets with strong K-12 demographics. Multi-unit operators building 2-3 centers in adjacent suburbs (about 25% of franchisees do this within 5 years).
Doesn’t fit: Absentee investors. Buyers in markets with very few children of math-tutoring age (predominantly retirement communities, urban core markets without elementary-age density). Buyers who want a fully passive franchise — the lead-instructor role and parent-relationship management are difficult to fully delegate. Buyers in markets already saturated with Mathnasium centers — territory due diligence matters meaningfully more here than in most franchise categories given the 1,200-center US footprint.
For the broader category context on what each education-franchise model looks like, see our career-changer franchise guide.
The Diligence Checklist for a Mathnasium FDD
- Item 19 student-count distribution. Push for the quartile breakdown by student count, not just average revenue.
- Item 20 territory and closure trend. Confirm there are no closed centers within your target radius and that the territory you’re being offered isn’t subject to existing development rights.
- Item 6 royalty consolidation. Mathnasium consolidates ad-fund and royalty into a single 10% figure. Confirm in your current FDD that no additional national or local marketing minimums apply.
- Item 11 tech-stack mandates. The Roark ownership transition has been pushing standardized tech-stack adoption. Know what’s mandatory in your year-one buildout.
- Item 17 termination and transfer. The owner-operator preference shows up in transfer-approval criteria. Have your attorney walk through the assignment language line by line.
- Validation calls with 5+ existing franchisees in your region. The single biggest predictor of center performance is local school-community marketing fit. Existing franchisees in your specific metro will tell you what’s working there and what isn’t.
The $49 VetMyFranchise Research Report decodes the full 23-item Mathnasium FDD, including the Roark-era operational changes and the clauses worth flagging for your attorney. Get the Mathnasium diligence report →
The Realistic Center Path
A typical successful Mathnasium center looks like this:
- Months 1-6: 30-55 students from local-community marketing push and grand-opening events. Revenue $8K-$15K/month. Operator covering personal expenses from savings.
- Months 7-12: 60-90 students as word-of-mouth builds. Revenue $16K-$24K/month. Center near breakeven.
- Months 13-24: 90-130 students. Revenue $24K-$36K/month. Operator income starts at modest level and builds.
- Year 3+: 120-160 students at mature run-rate. Revenue $33K-$44K/month. Center generating $80K-$100K annual operator income at typical margin.
Centers that fail to cross 60 students by month 12 are typically dealing with one of three issues: weak local marketing execution, demographic mismatch (too few elementary-age kids in the trade area), or instructor-quality problems that drive churn faster than acquisition can keep pace.
For buyers seriously evaluating Mathnasium against another education franchise, the $99 3-Pack Comparison gives you full 12-section reports on Mathnasium and two comparison brands for $33 per report — the cheapest credible way to evaluate finalist brands in the category.
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