BrightStar Care franchise research

Investment by format

Format-specific estimates only. Do not combine one format's minimum with another format's maximum.

Investment sourceFDD p.29 ↗

Franchise fees and ongoing costs

Franchise fee

$45,000 to $64,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review.

Royalty

5.25% · 5.25% of monthly Net Billings from non-National Accounts and 6.25% of monthly Net Billings from National Accounts, deducted via EFT 28 days after invoice date

Marketing contribution

2.5% (basis not captured; see original filing)

Technology fee

Monthly Athena Business System and Email Service Fee: greater of $250/month or 1% of prior month's Net Billings, beginning on Agency's Opening Date

Other fees

Microsoft Enterprise Package $14.50/seat/month; Multi-factor Authentication Security License up to $5/account/month (not yet in effect); State EVV fees (up to $1,000 one-time per aggregator plus up to $0.50/record)

Working capital (FDD Item 7)

$53,829 - $83,956 for the first 3 months after opening; separately, the FDD estimates $186,251-$358,415 ($154,951-$335,604 for a Medium Density Market territory) in total additional operating funds needed for the first 12 months, excluding royalty fees and loan payments.

Fees sourceFDD p.14 ↗

Working capital is drawn from Item 7. The Investment source below locates the investment section, not an independently verified working-capital scalar.

Investment sourceFDD p.29 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

Financial performance: Item 19

Item 19 captured

Yes

Metric / basis

Average/median/high/low Revenue by quartile for first franchised (and formerly-franchised, now affiliate-owned) Agencies; average Gross Margin %; National Accounts revenue; system-wide Net Billings. No EBITDA or unit-level profit dollar figure is disclosed.

Reporting period

Calendar year 2025 (January 1 - December 31, 2025), for Agencies open at least 12 months (and a subset open at least 24 months) as of December 31, 2025

Sample

207 first Agencies (franchised & affiliate-owned) open >=12 months as of 12/31/2025 (202 of those are franchised-only); gross margin figures based on 203 first Agencies; system-wide figures based on all 427 franchised and affiliate-owned Agencies

Reported average

$2,413,076

Reported median

$1,943,606

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Results depend on the disclosed metric, sample and period; consult the full filing.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.79 ↗

Unit growth: Item 20

Reporting year

2025

Scope

franchised outlets

Starting outlets

373

Year-end outlets

396

Net change

+23

Derivation

ending minus starting outlets

Openings

34

Terminations

3

Non-renewals

5

Other closures

3

Reacquisitions

0

Transfers

25

Transfers are not closures. Net change is ending minus starting outlets for the stated scope and year, or complete openings less terminations, non-renewals, other closures and reacquisitions. Missing inputs stay unknown.

Unit growth sourceFDD p.94 ↗

SBA loan history

Loan activity

83 approvals

Activity window

FY2021-FY2026 YTD; snapshot 2026-06-30

Median SBA loan

$259,500

Median loan window

FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30

Median loan sample

46 loans

Historical charge-off share

0.00%

Cohort

7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals

Numerator / denominator

0 / 22

Formula

CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100

This is a historical loan-level share, not a franchise failure probability or location survival rate. Loan size is not total investment. Other loan statuses are excluded from the seasoned denominator. Activity combines 7(a) and 504 approvals, excluding canceled and not-funded records; this is not a rolling five-year count. FY2024-25 franchise tags are sparse after directory suspension; fewer tagged loans do not establish brand decline. Recent charge-off cohorts are immature.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median loan amounts are financing context, not startup cost. The median window is separate from the seasoned charge-off cohort.

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Questions before you invest

How much does BrightStar Care franchise cost?

standard (per Agency territory): $101,464 to $217,486 These are format-specific estimates, not a guaranteed cash requirement. Franchise fee: $45,000 to $64,000 · Extracted Item 5 scalar range, not a universal minimum or maximum; formats, eligibility, discounts and waivers require original-filing review..

Investment sourceFDD p.29 ↗

Franchise fee sourceFDD · page not captured ↗

How much do BrightStar Care owners make?

Owner income is not captured. Gross sales and EBITDA are not owner pay. Item 19 metric: Average/median/high/low Revenue by quartile for first franchised (and formerly-franchised, now affiliate-owned) Agencies; average Gross Margin %; National Accounts revenue; system-wide Net Billings. No EBITDA or unit-level profit dollar figure is disclosed.. Sample: 207 first Agencies (franchised & affiliate-owned) open >=12 months as of 12/31/2025 (202 of those are franchised-only); gross margin figures based on 203 first Agencies; system-wide figures based on all 427 franchised and affiliate-owned Agencies. Period: Calendar year 2025 (January 1 - December 31, 2025), for Agencies open at least 12 months (and a subset open at least 24 months) as of December 31, 2025.

Item 19 performance sourceFDD p.79 ↗

What's the SBA charge-off rate for BrightStar Care?

0.00%; numerator / denominator: 0 / 22. Historical 7(a) FY2010-2019 approvals; CHGOFF / (PIF + CHGOFF + EXEMPT) × 100, snapshot 2026-06-30. This is not a franchise failure probability. Median SBA loan: $259,500; window: FY2023-FY2026 YTD through 2026-06-30; sample: 46 loans. Median financing is not total investment.

SBA loans sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗

Median SBA loan sourceSBA data · Jun 30, 2026 ↗