The Learning Experience franchise: what it costs
Opening a new child care center with The Learning Experience franchise runs $805,799 to $1,563,499. That figure comes from the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
The Learning Experience franchise cost, item by item
- Full opening cost
- $805,799 to $1,563,499 Item 7, 2026 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- $60,000 Item 5, 2026 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- 7% of each month's gross revenue Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- 1% of your gross revenue Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- $2,186,393 a year on average across 266 locations it counts, before costs Item 19, 2026 FDD
- Locations open when 2025 ended
- Franchise owners operated 436, with the company running 29 Item 20, 2026 FDD
Each figure above is taken from the 2026 The Learning Experience Franchise Disclosure Document. Learning Experience Systems LLC (the) filed it with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and it's dated April 24, 2026. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Earnings and sales data in the The Learning Experience FDD
Item 19 is the FDD section where a brand may report what its locations sell or earn, and The Learning Experience includes figures there. For 2025, the key number is $2,186,393: average yearly sales across 266 franchised centers, each open more than 48 months. It is money the store takes in, not profit, because rent, wages and every other cost get paid from it.
Before you rely on any figure, see this guide on reading an Item 19.
Other childcare franchises compared with The Learning Experience
On this site, most childcare franchises cost more to open than The Learning Experience; $905K is where the middle one starts.
| Brand | Total cost to opentotal, lowest to highest | Upfront feeone-time fee | Royaltyongoing, usually a % of sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiddie Academy | $590K to $1.01M | $70,000 to $150,000 | 7% |
| The Learning Experience | $806K to $1.56M | $60,000 | 7% |
| The Goddard School | $1M to $1.5M | $135,000 | 7% |
| Primrose Schools | $5.02M to $7.96M | $50,000 to $80,000 | 7% |
Before you buy, a brand has to hand over its Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD); the brand's latest one is where every figure comes from. After you open, you keep paying the brand a royalty, either a share of sales or a set amount. A K stands for thousand, an M for million. Each of the 4 brands includes sales or earnings figures in its FDD (open one to see the numbers). All of these FDD filings went to the Minnesota Department of Commerce in 2026.
All childcare franchises, side by side
The number of The Learning Experience locations
At the end of 2025, The Learning Experience had 465 United States locations, with franchise owners running 94% of them (Item 20). In that same part of the FDD, you get phone numbers for owners still running stores and ones who left. Your best way to learn how these costs play out in real life is to call a few of them.
Get the The Learning Experience FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the The Learning Experience FDD and franchise agreement with you.