How we make money — and what money can never buy
Franchise research has a trust problem: most directories are paid listings in disguise, most "top franchise" awards are marketing products, and some research firms are owned by the brokers who profit from your purchase. We built the Factbook to be the exception, and this page is the contract: our entire price list, published, next to the list of things that are not for sale at any price.
What money can never buy
A brand's rank or Factbook Score. Both are computed from regulatory filings under a public formula. There is no mechanism — technical or human — for payment to change them.
Suppression of facts. Turnover rates, litigation disclosures, fee increases, changelog entries — these publish for every brand, paying or not.
Review removal or editing. Verified owner reviews can be responded to, never bought out.
Placement disguised as editorial. Anything paid is labeled SPONSORED — every time, everywhere.
Your contact details. We never resell reader information to brokers or lead networks.
What we do sell (complete price list)
Everything below buys presentation and reach— never position, never facts. If a product isn't on this list, we don't sell it.
| Product | Price | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Profile claim | Free | Verify ownership, correct facts, respond to reviews. Never affects score or coverage. |
| Enhanced profile | $199/mo $99/mo founding brands | Photos/video, expanded FAQ, territory availability, analytics. Facts and score identical to unclaimed profiles. |
| Sponsored placement | $500–$1,500/mo | Clearly labeled SPONSORED modules in defined slots. Never inside ranking order. |
| Qualified introductions | Not yet launched | Pricing will be published here before the product exists. Introductions never alter data or rank. |
| Research report sponsorship | $2,000–$5,000 | Logo sponsorship of quarterly reports. Sponsors see reports at publication, same time as everyone. |
What this means in practice: a brand paying us $1,500/month with a 12% turnover rate will show a 12% turnover rate, a mediocre score, and any negative verified reviews it earns — directly beneath its sponsored module. If that's unacceptable, we're the wrong platform.
The firewall
Data extraction, scoring, review moderation, and editorial ranking decisions are handled separately from sponsorship sales. Compensation is never tied to any brand's score or coverage outcome.
Disclosure of paying relationships
Every brand page discloses its commercial status. Our ownership is equally simple: Franchise Factbook is independently owned, with no investment from — and no revenue share with — any franchisor, broker network, or lead-generation company. If that ever changes, this page changes first.
If we break this policy
Tell us. Verified violations get corrected publicly — the fix, the cause, and the change that prevents recurrence, posted to the changelog.