How Much Does the Learning Experience Franchise Cost?

The 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document does not give one interchangeable startup range. It discloses three different single-Center cost contracts: $805,799 to $1,563,499 for a new Center developed under a Site Development Service Charge Addendum, $2,264,799 to $5,658,799 for a new Center developed under a Site Coordination Addendum, and $937,300 to $3,393,000 for acquisition of an Existing Center. A four-Center Multiple Franchise Center commitment has a separate total of $3,401,196 to $22,813,196.

Capital snapshot

The cost range changes because the Franchise Agreement is paired with a different development or acquisition contract. Under the SDSC Addendum, The Learning Experience Systems LLC coordinates a landlord/developer-delivered turnkey Center. Under the SC Addendum, the franchisee develops and constructs the approved site and directly carries the major improvements, architectural, equipment, signage, and proprietary-product costs. An Existing Center has an acquisition price instead of a new-build development budget.

Each total combines the Initial Franchise Fee, pre-opening payments, site- or acquisition-specific costs, and six months of disclosed operating reserves and expenses. The exact mix depends on the pathway, so the shared categories and the pathway-specific categories must be read separately.

Costs shared by two or more pathways

Initial supplies and six-month operating capital

For a 10,000- to 11,000-square-foot Center, Item 7 requires at least $300,000 of Additional Funds. Larger Centers require between $300,000 and $450,000. The FDD does not state that owner compensation or personal living expenses are included. The official franchise support page describes construction, licensing, technology, staffing, and training support, but it does not replace the Item 7 reserve calculation.

SDSC pathway-specific costs

SC pathway-specific costs

Both new-Center pathways also include a $2,999 Initial Computer Set Up Fee. The SDSC package includes pre-opening computer hardware and software at no additional charge, while the SC pathway requires the separate $14,000 hardware and Microsoft Office category. Item 8 also requires approved products and suppliers and permits TLES to modify standards at the franchisee’s expense.

Existing Center acquisition costs

The Existing Center total substitutes a negotiated or franchisor-determined acquisition payment for new-build development categories. The 2026 Item 7 table includes a $25,000 to $60,000 Franchise Fee or Transfer Fee, a $500,000 to $2,500,000 Acquisition Fee, and $0 to $65,000 for Toys and Supplies, plus the applicable insurance, organizational, software, permits, training travel, employee salaries, curriculum, food and expendables, miscellaneous costs, and Additional Funds listed above. Item 7 says the Acquisition Fee may consider enrollment, tuition, lease term, and market conditions; a third-party sale price is negotiated between seller and purchaser.

The Initial Franchise Fee is due in full when the Franchise Agreement is signed. The development fee then follows the elected pathway: the SDSC is paid in installments tied to development events, while the SC fee is split between signing and the real-estate commitment. Other Item 7 costs are paid before opening, at training, during construction, or during the first six months.

1. 1
   Franchise Agreement and SDSC Addendum

   Pay the $60,000 Initial Franchise Fee and the $30,000 SDSC deposit. The deposit is earned when the franchisee is matched to a site.

2. 2
   Municipal site-plan approval

   Pay and earn the next $30,000 SDSC installment.

3. 3
   Construction drawings substantially complete

   Pay and earn another $30,000 installment.

4. 4
   Site or building permit issued

   Pay and earn $60,000. TLES may defer this payment in limited SBA-loan circumstances.

5. 5
   Certificate of Occupancy or Temporary Certificate of Occupancy

   Pay the SDSC balance before FF&E delivery or occupancy. A later-stage Center can accelerate all installments already reached.

The FDD says these SDSC events may occur regardless of order. For an SC Addendum, the $75,000 Site Coordination Fee is paid as a $15,000 initial deposit at signing and a $60,000 balance at the earlier of land closing or lease execution. The initial deposit remains refundable only until the land closes or the lease is signed; after that point, amounts paid become non-refundable and fully earned.

The MFC Addendum is a four-new-Center commitment, not a discounted single-Center option. Item 7 assumes all four Centers will ultimately follow either the SDSC or SC pathway and discloses a combined range of $3,401,196 to $22,813,196.

The recurring cost structure is led by a 7% Royalty Fee on monthly Gross Revenue, the current 1% Brand Awareness Fund contribution on Gross Revenue, and technology and curriculum charges. The Brand Awareness Fund rate may be increased to 2.5% of Gross Revenue. Item 6 requires recurring or continuing fees payable to TLES through ACH.

Gross Revenue

Item 6 defines the fee base broadly as consideration connected with the Center or the Marks, with specified exclusions for refundable registration deposits, uncollectible debts, taxes remitted to authorities, and limited tuition credits.

Required curriculum purchases

Item 8 lists teacher manuals at $7.00–$15.43, student materials at $2.58–$5.88 per child per month, and additional annual-program costs.

Inflation adjustments

Fixed-dollar Franchise Agreement fees other than the Initial Franchise Fee may be adjusted annually using CPI-U, capped at 5% per year. The BLS CPI database is the official index source.

Renewal

There is no stated renewal fee, but renewal can require a remodel, lease renewal rights, the then-current Franchise Agreement, and other expenses.

Item 6 contains event-driven charges that do not belong in the normal Item 7 startup total. They become relevant when the franchisee transfers ownership, misses a payment or report, requests extra services, uses a non-approved provider, or enters a managed-Center arrangement.

• Transfer or securities transactionA Center transfer carries a $25,000 Transfer Fee. A securities offering costs the greater of $25,000 or TLES’s actual review costs and expenses.
• Late or dishonored paymentInterest is 18% per year subject to applicable law; the delayed-payment fee is 10%; a returned payment costs the greater of $100 or 5% of the payment, plus bank charges.
• Late reports or dataRequired-report delays can cost $50 per occurrence plus $30 per day. Managed-Center bookkeeping data delays can cost $150 per day.
• Audit underpaymentA material underpayment can require audit reimbursement, interest, late charges, multi-year certified audits, and the penalties described in Item 6.
• Additional or replacement trainingExtra trainees cost $1,500 each; certain on-site training costs $1,500 per week; repeated refresher non-attendance costs $500.
• Convention non-attendanceThe fee is the greater of $1,500 or 80% of the amount charged to attend the annual convention.
• Alternative supplier or insurance reviewThe franchisee pays TLES’s supplier-inspection expenses. A non-preapproved insurance policy review costs $1,500.
• Insurance defaultIf TLES obtains required insurance after a franchisee fails to maintain it, reimbursement includes premiums, actual expenses, and an 18% administration charge.
• Managed CenterThe Management Fee includes out-of-pocket costs, 20% of Center profits, and the greater of 4% of Gross Revenue or $2,500, paid monthly while TLES manages the Center.
• Default and terminationCosts can include attorneys’ fees, indemnification, Lost Future Royalties under the Item 6 formula, de-identification, repairs, and other contractual obligations.

Item 17 also makes required repairs and upgrades a condition of transfer and requires a remodel for renewal. Those amounts are not fixed in the FDD, so they should remain an explicit open cost rather than being inserted into the Item 7 range.

No liquid-capital or net-worth threshold is stated in Items 5, 6, 7, or 10 of the 2026 FDD. The binding cost disclosure instead specifies $300,000 to $450,000 of Additional Funds inside Item 7. That reserve is not the same as a liquid-capital qualification, net worth, or total cash needed at signing.

What does Item 10 say about financing?

Item 10 states that The Learning Experience Systems LLC does not offer direct or indirect financing and does not guarantee notes, leases, or other obligations, except that a landlord may require a limited guaranty when TLES assigns a Center lease. The SDSC payment schedule permits TLES, in its discretion, to delay one permit-stage payment in certain SBA-loan circumstances, but that is not a loan commitment or approval.

Prospects evaluating third-party funding can review the SBA 7(a) loan program and the SBA Franchise Directory. SBA program availability, lender underwriting, franchise eligibility, collateral, equity injection, and repayment terms are separate from the franchisor’s Item 7 estimates.

The official ranges do not remove local and contractual uncertainty. The largest unresolved amounts are tied to the premises, construction scope, lease terms, required deposits, Center size, technology configuration, insurance underwriting, and the condition or acquisition price of an Existing Center.

• Confirm the exact pathway. Obtain the applicable SDSC Addendum, SC Addendum, Existing Center documents, or MFC Addendum. Do not apply one pathway’s range to another.
• Reconcile land and property ownership. The SC improvements range excludes land; the SDSC payment does not convey ownership of the premises or landlord-provided FF&E.
• Price the lease obligations. Verify landlord deposits, any Assignor Security Deposit, pre-paid rent, the Lease Administration Fee, and the term and renewal options.
• Confirm Center size. The SDSC increases by $25 per square foot above 10,000 square feet, and Additional Funds may rise to $450,000 for larger Centers.
• Separate Item 7 from personal reserves. Item 7 does not expressly include owner compensation, household expenses, debt service, or an extra contingency reserve.
• Update supplier and technology quotes. Approved products, L.E.A.P. Interactive hardware, Show N Tell hardware, computer systems, curriculum, freight, taxes, and licensing charges can change.
• Review state-specific addenda and current amendments. The FTC franchise guide explains the required disclosure review and the 14-calendar-day period before signing or paying the franchisor or an affiliate.

The Learning Experience’s 2026 cost disclosure is best read as three separate single-Center contracts, not one broad $805,799-to-$5,658,799 promise. A new SDSC Center is estimated at $805,799 to $1,563,499, a new SC Center at $2,264,799 to $5,658,799, and an Existing Center acquisition at $937,300 to $3,393,000. The main driver is who carries the premises and construction package.

The $60,000 Initial Franchise Fee is only one opening payment. Item 7 also includes $300,000 to $450,000 of Additional Funds for six months, while ongoing obligations include a 7% Royalty Fee, the current 1% Brand Awareness Fund contribution, software, curriculum, required products, and any applicable lease-related charge. The most important unresolved question is the exact real-estate and development contract for the specific Center, because that choice controls the asset ownership, payment milestones, and largest cost categories.