Reading Town franchise: cost, fees & unit track record
Opening a Reading Town franchise takes $99,500 – $163,600 all-in, per its franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05). The initial franchise fee is $25,000 – $35,000. Ongoing, franchisees pay a royalty of 8% on sales plus an ad-fund contribution of up to 2%. Anything the filings do not state is marked "Not disclosed" below — never estimated.
Reading Town franchise costs and fees
| Verification mark | Cost item | Low | High | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise feeOne-time, paid to the franchisor at signing | $25,000 | $35,000 | $25,000 to $35,000 | |
| Initial investment (all-in)FDD Item 7-derived range: build-out, equipment, opening costs | $99,500 | $163,600 | $99,500 to $163,600 | |
| Net worth requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Liquid cash requiredFranchisor's stated qualification minimum | Not disclosed1 | Not disclosed1 | ||
| Cash to open (all-in range) | $99,500 | $163,600 | $99,500 to $163,600 | |
- 1 "Not disclosed" means Reading Town's filings do not state this figure. We publish the gap instead of estimating it.
| RoyaltyOngoing, % of sales | 8% |
|---|---|
| Ad fundOngoing, % of sales | Up to 2% |
| Initial termLength of the first franchise agreement | Not disclosed |
See the full Reading Town cost breakdown — what's in that number and what isn't
How Reading Town's cost compares
A dollar figure means more with a yardstick. Here is where Reading Town's disclosed cost sits against the Professional Services category:
- Minimum startup cost of $99,500 — about 1.2× the Professional Services median of $84,700.
- Initial franchise fee of $25,000 — about 37% below 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
Free info kit — costs, fees, and unit track record. You choose who may follow up.
Figures look outdated? Report outdated info.
How Reading Town's units have held up
Openings and closures from FDD Item 20-style unit history, 2012–2020: began the window at 13 units; 10 units opened, 3 closed, ending at 19 units. (partial records: 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only.)
Not enough history to compute a survival figure — we need at least three years of unit data, and we don't extrapolate.
What about earnings?
We don't publish per-brand earnings figures — for Reading Town 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 Reading Town 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 Reading Town 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 Reading Town 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 Reading Town 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 Reading Town franchise
Reading Town is a professional services franchisor with 19 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history). Between 2012 and 2020, it began the window at 13 units; its filings record 10 unit openings and 3 closures, ending at 19 units (partial records: 2017, 2018 are not in the source data — totals span the reported years only). Its parent company is Good Servant, Inc..
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
Under the franchise we offer, you will operate a business that offers tutonng and learning center services in reading, writing, math, and speech In addition, you will conduct diagnostic assessments and provide academic counseling to parents as well as to students You will provide these services to students from K to 12*^ grades, operating under the marks and using the System of Reading Town The market for your services is pnmarily students from K to 12''' grades and specifically that segment that seeks academic tutoring in reading, writing, math, and speech You will compete with other national, regional and local tutoring or learning centers, generally in well-developed markets Your Licensed Business may operate in close proximity to major competitors Some competitors will offer many goods and services that are the same as or similar to those you offer We have three corporate-owned centers and eighteen franchisee centers
Reading Town franchise: quick answers
- How much does a Reading Town franchise cost?
- $99,500 – $163,600 all-in to open, per Reading Town's franchise disclosure filings (data as of 2026-05).
- How many Reading Town units are there?
- 19 units at the end of 2020 (FDD Item 20-style unit history).