Which costs less to open, HOTWORX or Upgrade Labs?

HOTWORX: $288,890 – $1,083,310 (2026 FDD · Item 7); Upgrade Labs: $880,500 – $1,560,500 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 16). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for HOTWORX. At least one range spans several business formats. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.

How do HOTWORX and Upgrade Labs royalties compare?

HOTWORX: $695 per month per studio location (2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15); Upgrade Labs: 2500% (2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 11). Royalties as disclosed in Item 6; other recurring fees are listed separately.

Which has more locations, HOTWORX or Upgrade Labs?

HOTWORX: 812 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 90); Upgrade Labs: 5 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 48). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.

Franchise opportunities compared

HOTWORX vs Upgrade Labs

Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.

HOTWORX2026 FDD

Upgrade Labs2026 FDD

Initial investment · Item 7

HOTWORX

$288,890 – $1,083,310

2026 FDD · Item 7

Upgrade Labs

$880,500 – $1,560,500

2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 16

Initial franchise fee · Item 5

HOTWORX

$19,950

2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 13

Upgrade Labs

$65,000

2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 10

Royalty · Item 6

HOTWORX

$695 per month per studio location

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15

Upgrade Labs

2500%

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 11

Before you compare

Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
HOTWORX discloses more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
Only HOTWORX has reviewed Item 19 figures here.

Financial commitment

Disclosure

HOTWORX

Upgrade Labs

Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

HOTWORX

$288,890 – $1,083,310

2026 FDD · Item 7

Upgrade Labs

$880,500 – $1,560,500

Total initial investment lower estimate

2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 16

Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)

HOTWORX

$19,950

2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 13

Upgrade Labs

$65,000

2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 10

Royalty (Item 6)

HOTWORX

$695 per month per studio location

Monthly Royalty Fee

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15

Upgrade Labs

2500%

Monthly royalty dollar minimum, or greater percentage of gross sales

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 11

Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)

HOTWORX

$500

Advertising Daily Deal Site Noncompliance Fee — per day

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 21

Upgrade Labs

1500%

Monthly brand fund dollar minimum, or greater percentage of gross sales — 1500%

2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 11

System scale & health

Disclosure

HOTWORX

Upgrade Labs

Total outlets (Item 20)

HOTWORX

812

Outlets at end of 2025

2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 90

Upgrade Labs

Outlets at end of 2025

2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 48

Net outlet change (Item 20)

HOTWORX

+230

Calculated: 582 at end of 2023 → 812 at end of 2025

Upgrade Labs

Calculated: 2 at end of 2023 → 5 at end of 2025

Outlet exits (Item 20)

HOTWORX

Not available

No complete exit records for a year

Upgrade Labs

Not available

No complete exit records for a year

Franchising since (Item 1)

HOTWORX

January 2017

2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 7

Upgrade Labs

Not available

Not in reviewed records

Franchisor founded (Item 1)

HOTWORX

2016

2026 FDD · Item 1 · PDF p. 7

Upgrade Labs

Not available

Not in reviewed records

Financial performance (Item 19), by location group

HOTWORX

Franchised (797 locations) — other measures

797 outlets

other Open franchise outlets

2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 77

Franchised (700 locations) — memberships

490 memberships

mean Fully operational studio memberships

2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82

Franchised (149 locations) — other measures

5.53 – 7.44 percent

range First-year monthly cancellation rate

2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 78

+8 more groups in the full report

Upgrade Labs

Not disclosed — no Item 19 financial performance representation

Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.

HOTWORX vs Upgrade Labs: common questions

Which costs less to open, HOTWORX or Upgrade Labs?: HOTWORX: $288,890 – $1,083,310 (2026 FDD · Item 7); Upgrade Labs: $880,500 – $1,560,500 (2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 16). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for HOTWORX. At least one range spans several business formats. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.
How do HOTWORX and Upgrade Labs royalties compare?: HOTWORX: $695 per month per studio location (2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 15); Upgrade Labs: 2500% (2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 11). Royalties as disclosed in Item 6; other recurring fees are listed separately.
Which has more locations, HOTWORX or Upgrade Labs?: HOTWORX: 812 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 90); Upgrade Labs: 5 (2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 48). Total outlets from Item 20. Outlet counts do not indicate territory availability or franchisee results.
Do HOTWORX and Upgrade Labs disclose financial performance (Item 19)?: HOTWORX has reviewed Item 19 figures for 11 location groups; Upgrade Labs makes no Item 19 financial performance representation. Different location groups are not directly comparable, and revenue is not profit.

Answers restate the reviewed figures above. Not a ranking or recommendation.

How Franopolis reviews FDD figures