Franchise Facts Report → brands → Starting Strength
Starting Strength franchise — is it worth it?
Low risk Significant turnover Item 19 disclosed
Starting Strength is a fitness franchise with a low initial investment range of $3,613 to $4,674.
Everything below is free, read straight off Starting Strength's registered filing, with where the numbers land against fitness peers. Weighing Starting Strength against other options? Get a free shortlist of franchises that fit your budget.
Figures above are as disclosed in Starting Strength's most recent FDD (registered 2026). Source: Minnesota Dept. of Commerce — CARDS franchise registrations · filing 37157-202608-07 — check it yourself. See every other Minnesota-registered franchise.
Considering Starting Strength? See what else fits your budget
Tell us your budget and the industries you're open to. We'll match you with 5–10 franchises whose own FDDs fit — ranked by earnings disclosure, growth and closure rate — and email you the list. Starting Strength will be on it if it fits.
How much does a Starting Strength franchise make?
Starting Strength is one of the franchisors that answers this on the record: its most recent FDD makes an Item 19 financial performance representation — actual unit earnings figures, disclosed by the franchisor itself. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly from this filing, so we don't print one; Item 19 of the source FDD has the tables. See every fitness brand that discloses earnings in the Gym & fitness franchises with disclosed Item 19 earnings ranking.
Starting Strength franchise profit vs. revenue
Revenue is not profit. An Item 19 almost always reports sales — what a location takes in — not what an owner keeps. Out of that number come Starting Strength's 8% royalty, the ad fund, rent, payroll, supplies and debt service. No FDD tells you a Starting Strength franchise's profit, because profit depends on your site, your rent and how you run it — so treat any "Starting Strength franchise profit" figure quoted elsewhere as someone's estimate, not a disclosure.
Starting Strength lawsuits & legal history (FDD Item 3)
Starting Strength's most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. That is a real signal rather than a gap: the FTC Franchise Rule requires a franchisor to disclose material litigation involving itself, its predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 in a current filing means there was nothing it was required to report. It is worth reading alongside the churn numbers — a system can have a clean Item 3 and still be losing franchisees, which is what Item 20 shows.
Starting Strength closures & failure rate
Before you sign, Starting Strength will hand you a list of current owners to call as references — and they choose who's on that list. It won't include the owners who quit, got bought out, or were forced out last year. The FDD does report that number, even though the reference list leaves those people off. Below is what Starting Strength's most recent filing shows, and whether it's normal for a fitness of this kind.
The closest thing an FDD has to a failure rate is Item 20 — outlet openings, closures, terminations and non-renewals, reported by the franchisor. Starting Strength's latest tables show significant franchisee turnover. Its franchised-outlet closure rate — closures, terminations and non-renewals against outlets — is 7784.6%, against a fitness median of 5.4% — worse than the category. Net franchised outlets moved +2 to 28 in the latest reported year.
Who owns Starting Strength?
Starting Strength's franchise is offered by Strength Train LLC — the franchisor named on the cover of its most recently filed Franchise Disclosure Document (2026), and the entity a franchisee actually signs with. That name comes straight off the filing at MN CARDS; it identifies the franchisor, not necessarily the ultimate parent company behind it. The same franchisor files separate FDDs for other brands, which is worth knowing — sibling brands share a franchise-support organization but disclose their own numbers:
Fitness franchises at a similar investment level
Anyone weighing Starting Strength is really weighing it against the other brands their money could go into. These are the closest by total initial investment (FDD Item 7), each with its own FDD-based page.
Starting Strength franchise — frequently asked
Who owns Starting Strength — who is the franchisor?
Starting Strength's most recently filed FDD (2026) names Strength Train LLC as the franchisor — the entity you would actually sign the franchise agreement with, as stated on the disclosure document itself. The same franchisor also files FDDs for Starting Strength. A registry filing names the franchisor, not necessarily its ultimate parent company.
How much does a Starting Strength franchise cost?
Starting Strength's most recently filed FDD (Item 7) puts the total estimated initial investment at $3,613 – $4,674 and a 8% royalty. That price is the franchisor's own estimate of what it takes to open, not a quote. Against fitness peers it sits in the top quartile (median $490,037).
How much profit does a Starting Strength franchise make?
Starting Strength discloses unit earnings in Item 19, but that figure is revenue — sales — not profit. Royalties (8% of gross for Starting Strength), the ad fund, rent, payroll and supplies all come out of it, and no FDD discloses what an owner nets. Any Starting Strength franchise profit number quoted elsewhere is an estimate.
Does Starting Strength disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
Yes — Starting Strength reports unit-level earnings in Item 19. The headline figure did not machine-read cleanly, so check Item 19 of the source FDD for the numbers.
Are there lawsuits against Starting Strength?
No — Starting Strength's most recently filed FDD (2026) discloses no litigation in Item 3. Franchisors must disclose material litigation involving themselves, their predecessors, parents, affiliates and management, so an empty Item 3 is a genuine signal rather than an omission.
Is Starting Strength a good franchise to buy?
Nobody can answer that from Starting Strength's numbers alone — it comes down to how its investment, earnings, litigation and franchisee churn stack up against fitness peers and against your own budget. Our read on this filing is low risk. Every figure behind that read is on this page for free. If you're comparing options, the free shortlist on this page matches you with 5–10 franchises that fit your budget and industry.
Get a free email when something changes on Starting Strength or fitness: a new FDD registration, a new lawsuit, an outlet count that shifts, or Item 19 earnings going from undisclosed to disclosed. Pulled straight from the same state registries this page is built on.