How Much Does a Kumon Franchise Cost? 2026 Sourced FDD Record
The published source receipt on this page supports the Kumon 2026 Item 7 record.
The Kumon Item 7 total initial investment is $101,630 to $233,780, with an initial franchise fee of $2k in the Inkvex benchmark. The total reflects leased learning center rather than a real-estate purchase. The exact filing receipt appears below.
Source-backed filing record
Format breakdown
The published source receipt on this page supports the Kumon 2026 Item 7 record.
Lowest-cost franchise fee in the set ($2,000), education tutoring center.
The total reflects leased learning center rather than a real-estate purchase.
Source checked 2026-10-18: Minnesota Department of Commerce CARDS, 2026 FDD record 35725-202603-05, received 2026-03-31. Item 7 appears on printed FDD page 15.
- Paid to Kumon before opening: $6,500 to $7,500 of the total goes to Kumon before you open: the deposit, the franchise fee, initial materials and pre-opening marketing. (Item 7, pp. 15-16)
- Franchise fee: $2,000, rising to $3,000 if you add English as a Foreign Language. Not refundable. (Item 5, p. 6)
- Royalty is per student: $42.75 per full-paying student in each subject each month during the temporary license period, $38 after it, plus $30 for each new enrollment. Kumon can change the rates on one year's notice with no contractual limit. (Item 6, p. 8; Note 2, p. 11)
- Marketing fee after opening: $300 a month, starting in the 7th month after you open or take over a center. (Item 6, p. 10)
- New centers only: The Item 7 range already subtracts leasehold and furniture costs that Kumon pays for new centers, and rent help for a first agreement. A buyer taking over an existing center is not reimbursed for carpet, blinds or paint. (Item 7, p. 18)
- Territory: No exclusive territory. You may enroll students only within a reasonable commuting distance, as Kumon decides. (Item 12, p. 36)
- Earnings claims: Kumon makes no financial performance representation in Item 19. (Item 19, p. 47)
- System size: 1,705 franchised and 5 company-owned centers at the end of 2025. Kumon sold 12 of its 18 company centers to franchisees in 2025. (Item 20, p. 47; Table 4, p. 57)
Item 7 line by line (19 rows)
Source: Kumon 2026 FDD, Minnesota Department of Commerce CARDS record 35725-202603-05, received 2026-03-31, checked 2026-10-18. Page numbers are the ones printed on the FDD pages.
| Expense | Low | High | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Training Agreement Deposit Fee | $1,000 | $1,000 | Item 7, p.15 |
| Initial Franchise Fee (net of the $1,000 deposit for a first center; $2,000 to $3,000 gross) | $1,000 | $2,000 | Item 7, p.15 |
| Initial Purchase of Materials | $2,000 | $2,000 | Item 7, p.15 |
| Pre-Opening Marketing Spend | $2,500 | $2,500 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Architect Design | $0 | $15,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Leasehold Improvements | $40,000 | $90,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Security Deposit, if required | $0 | $30,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Rent | $9,000 | $27,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Furniture, Equipment, Signage and Supplies | $9,000 | $11,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Notebook Computers and Tablets | $2,000 | $4,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Professional Fees | $1,000 | $5,000 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Liability Insurance | $580 | $580 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Business License, Name Registration | $100 | $200 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Kumon Lead Management System | $0 | $100 | Item 7, p.16 |
| Recommended Reading List | $3,000 | $3,700 | Item 7, p.17 |
| Fingerprinting, Criminal Background Check | $50 | $100 | Item 7, p.17 |
| Payroll Cost for Assistants (3 months) | $11,000 | $14,000 | Item 7, p.17 |
| SAM Prevention Training | $400 | $600 | Item 7, p.17 |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $19,000 | $25,000 | Item 7, p.17 |
| Total | $101,630 | $233,780 | Item 7, p.17 |
Main fees in the filing (10 of them)
Source: Kumon 2026 FDD, Minnesota Department of Commerce CARDS record 35725-202603-05, received 2026-03-31, checked 2026-10-18. Page numbers are the ones printed on the FDD pages.
| Fee | Amount | When you pay | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $2,000, or $3,000 with English as a Foreign Language | In full when you sign the Franchise Agreement. Not refundable. | Item 5, p.6 |
| Initial materials | $2,000 | In full when you sign the Franchise Agreement, also for a second center or a takeover. Not refundable. | Item 5, p.7 |
| Pre-opening marketing | $2,500 | Lump sum paid to Kumon, which pays the marketing vendors. Not refundable. | Item 5, p.7 |
| Deposit Fee (first center only) | $1,000 | For the Instructor Development Program training kit. Applied to the franchise fee if you complete the program and sign. | Item 5, p.7 |
| Royalty | $30 per newly enrolled student. During the temporary license period, $42.75 a month per full-payment student and $21.38 per partially exempt or prorated student, in each subject. After it, $38 and $19. | Monthly by electronic funds transfer, currently on the 17th or the next business day | Item 6, p.8 |
| New Center Marketing Fee | $300 a month | Monthly, starting in the 7th month after you open or take over your center | Item 6, p.10 |
| Relocation Fee | $2,000 | When your center opens at the new location, if fewer than 80% of your enrolled students transfer | Item 6, p.9 |
| Liquidated Damages | Three times your average monthly royalty in the three months before your last day of operating | Immediately upon notice, for example if you leave without the Section 14.4 notice | Item 6, p.10 |
| Late or Inaccurate Report Fee | $200 the first month, $500 the second, $1,000 the third, then $1,000 more each month. If you miss a monthly report, Kumon estimates the royalty from your most recent report plus 10%. | When debited by electronic funds transfer | Item 6, p.8 |
| Administrative Fee for Late Payment | 1.5% of the overdue amount each month or $75, whichever is higher | When debited by electronic funds transfer for a late payment | Item 6, p.8 |
Questions to ask Kumon (5)
Source: Kumon 2026 FDD, Minnesota Department of Commerce CARDS record 35725-202603-05, received 2026-03-31, checked 2026-10-18. Page numbers are the ones printed on the FDD pages.
- If I take over an existing center instead of opening a new one, which Kumon-paid items in the Item 7 range do not apply to me?
- How many students must I enroll to reach the lower $38 royalty, and what happens if I later fall below the ongoing requirements?
- Item 6 lets you change royalty rates with no contractual limit. How have the rates changed in recent years?
- Which area counts as a reasonable commuting distance for my site?
- If I am buying an existing center, can I see that center's actual financial records?
Inkvex analysis, not a franchisor disclosure
What the Kumon numbers mean next to the rest of the benchmark
This section places the stored $101,630 to $233,780 range against the other 54 brand groups. The medians, ranks, ratios, and nearest peers are Inkvex arithmetic, not franchisor disclosures. The corpus mixes 2024 through 2026 records, multiple formats, and different real-estate treatments, so use it for directional comparison and verify the underlying rows before making a decision.
Against Education
Across the 5 Education format rows in this benchmark, the median low is $174,250 and the median high is $265,750. Kumon opens 42% below that median low, a gap of $72,620, and tops out 12% below the median high, a gap of $31,970. 0% of Education formats here exclude real estate from the headline total, so check the real-estate handling before setting two brands in this category side by side.
Against all 55 brands
Kumon ranks 45th of 55 by high-end total, its $233,780 high end running 64% below the $644,000 corpus median high, and its $101,630 low end 63% below the $275,500 corpus median low. The brands sitting closest to Kumon on high-end total are BrightStar Care at $220,186 in Senior care, Minuteman Press at $216,346 in Business svc and Mr. Handyman at $215,000 in Home services, which is the company Kumon actually keeps on cost regardless of what industry it is sorted into.
The spread between low and high
Kumon discloses a high end 2.3 times its low end, against a median of 2.1 times across these 55 brands. At 2.3 times, the ratio sits between the quartiles of this benchmark. That placement describes only the width of the stored range. The gap between the two ends is $132,150, and nothing in Item 7 tells a buyer where inside that gap their own build lands.
What financing review still requires
This page does not calculate the cash a buyer needs and does not predict lender approval. SBA currently lists a $5,000,000 maximum for a single 7(a) loan, but eligibility, loan amount, documents, and terms depend on the borrower, lender, project, and transaction. The currently effective SBA SOP 50 10, Version 8.1 (effective October 1, 2026) contains transaction-specific equity rules. A lender should build the sources-and-uses schedule from the current FDD, local bids, working capital, and any costs the Item 7 range excludes.
What the headline total does and does not include
The total reflects leased learning center rather than a real-estate purchase. In plain terms, the $101,630 to $233,780 headline for Kumon reflects occupying premises rather than buying them, so lease terms drive what the space actually costs.
Verify this before you sign a Kumon agreement
This page is a benchmark comparison sourced to the filing cited above. When the relevant language appears in the Kumon FDD you upload, an Inkvex review can surface quoted passages, a 1-to-10 risk score, real-estate and working-capital issues, and an attorney-handoff summary. Coverage depends on the document and analysis output, so verify every material point against the filing and with franchise counsel.
Run a first-pass review of the Kumon FDD before counsel starts the full read.
Kumon franchise cost FAQ
Answers distinguish the stored benchmark record, source-backed filing evidence when available, and Inkvex arithmetic. The format breakdown above carries the record detail and filing source status.
How much does a Kumon franchise cost?
Does the Kumon franchise cost include real estate?
How should a buyer plan financing for a Kumon franchise?
Is Kumon expensive compared with other franchises?
What is the Kumon franchise fee?
This page is legal information, not legal advice. It is a first pass for your attorney or franchise counsel, not a substitute for one. Item 7 is a franchisor estimate. This page links an exact filing page only where a source receipt exists; otherwise the figures are benchmark records whose exact filing page Inkvex has not published. Verify every number against the current FDD.