Education
Code Ninjas Franchise
A franchise offering after-school enrichment programs teaching kids computer programming, coding, math, and logic through hands-on classes at standalone learning centers.
Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from Code Ninjas's own filing.
What it costs to open
From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.
Franchise fee
$45,000
Total to open
$174,250–$265,750
Ongoing royalty
8.25% of gross sales
What you'd actually spend, over time
The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.
Used to work out your royalty payments and your profit estimate below -- we don't assume a number for you.
Total cost of ownership over 5 years
$380,500 – $472,000
Startup investment
$174,250–$265,750
Royalty per year (8.25%)
$41,250
Total royalty, 5yr
$206,250
When would you break even?
Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. Code Ninjas's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical education profit margin (~15%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.
Defaulted to a general education industry benchmark, not a figure from Code Ninjas's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.
At that profit, you'd break even in about
2.3–3.5 years
Weigh that payback period against what you already know: Code Ninjas is currently losing locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.
Is Code Ninjas actually growing?
Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:
Locations opened vs. closed, by year
ShrinkingFrom Item 20 of Code Ninjas's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.
| Year | Franchised units, start | Franchised units, end | Net change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 284 | 262 | -22 |
| 2024 | 262 | 239 | -23 |
| 2025 | 239 | 238 | -1 |
Most recent year (2025): lost 1 franchised units, ending the year at 238 total.
Where this came from: California DFPI Registration Renewal, App ID APP00004758, filed 4/7/2026, effective 6/10/2026. FDD issuance date April 3, 2026. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-04-07. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.
If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.