Great Play franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Great Play franchise takes $189,000 – $426,500 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 6% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. To qualify, Great Play asks for $75,000 in liquid cash and a $300,000 net worth. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Great Play 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 | $189,000 | $426,500 | $189,000 to $426,500 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | |
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | $75,000 | $75,000 | $75,000 | |
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $189,000 | $426,500 | $189,000 to $426,500 |
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 6% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | 10 years |
See the full Great Play cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Great Play's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Great Play's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $189,000 — about 2.2× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $40,000 — about in line with 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 Great Play's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2014: began the window at 7 units; 7 units opened, 3 closed, ending at 11 units.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Great Play 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 Great Play 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 Great Play 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 Great Play 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 Great Play 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 Great Play franchise
Great Play is a professional services franchisor with 11 units at the end of 2014 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2014, it began the window at 7 units; its filings record 7 unit openings and 3 closures, ending at 11 units. Its parent company is Great Play 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
Great Play Franchising LLC offers franchises for the operation of Great Play® Units, “next generation” kids’ gyms unique new gyms for kids, offering programs including motor skill and sport skill classes and birthday parties in a unique Interactive Arena™.
Great Play franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Great Play franchise cost?
- $189,000 – $426,500 all-in to open, per Great Play's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Great Play units are there?
- 11 units at the end of 2014 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).
- How have Great Play's units held up?
- 78.6% of units at risk between 2012 and 2014 did not close, per our metric recomputed from FDD Item 20-style unit history (methodology published on our verification page).