Doodle Bugs! franchise
2026 filing · March 16, 2026
Doodle Bugs! at a glance
A children's learning academy providing childcare and education for children from six weeks to 12 years old. At the end of 2025 there were 17 Doodle Bugs! locations in the US, 1 franchised and 16 company-owned, so most are run by the company itself.
The business
- Franchisor
- Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Typical size
- 8,000–15,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $546K–$1.49M
- A leased site without the optional center development program
- Franchise fee
- $65,000
- Plus a $25,000 preliminary agreement fee paid when the preliminary agreement is signed
- Royalty
- 6%
- 6% of gross revenues, paid weekly, plus a 1% local support fee where it applies and at least 1% (minimum $1,000 a month) on local marketing
- Brand fund
- None now
- Not charged at present (0%); up to 2% of gross revenue
- Renewal fee
- See terms
- $5,000 plus all legal costs
- Agreement length
- 15 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 17
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 1
- Company-owned
- 16
- Change in 3 years
- 0
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 3
- Most in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida
From Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 61; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Doodle Bugs! among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Doodle Bugs! | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $1,019,438 | Costs more than 83% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $65,000 | Higher than 92% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 6% | Higher than 35% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 17 | Fewer than 53% of franchises |
How much a Doodle Bugs! franchise costs
Opening a leased site without the optional center development program costs an estimated $546,375 to $1,492,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are center equipment, computer hardware, and supplies ($175,000 to $500,000) and additional funds (3 months) ($150,000 to $300,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preliminary Agreement Fee | $25,000 | ||
| Franchise License Fee | $65,000 | ||
| Background Check | $2,500 | ||
| Center Equipment, Computer Hardware, and Supplies | $175,000 | $500,000 | |
| Real Estate and Development Costs (if purchased) | $0 | ||
| Lease and Utility Security Deposits | $25,000 | $100,000 | |
| Pre-Opening Marketing | $25,000 | $75,000 | |
| Vehicles | $875 | $75,000 | |
| Signage | $13,000 | $50,000 | |
| Software (operations/security) | $2,000 | $10,000 | |
| Licenses | $500 | $5,000 | |
| Marketing fees (3 months) | $7,500 | $100,000 | |
| Insurance | $25,000 | $75,000 | |
| Legal fees | $5,000 | $10,000 | |
| Opening Inventory of Supplies | $15,000 | $25,000 | |
| Bank/Financing Costs | $10,000 | $75,000 | |
| Additional Funds (3 months) | $150,000 | $300,000 | |
| Total | $546,375 | $1,492,500 | |
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, page 16
Doodle Bugs! franchise fee
The franchise fee is $65,000, plus a $25,000 preliminary agreement fee paid when the preliminary agreement is signed. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross revenues, paid weekly, plus a 1% local support fee where it applies and at least 1% (minimum $1,000 a month) on local marketing. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | Not charged at present (0%); up to 2% of gross revenue. |
| Transfer | $25,000 plus costs and expenses that we incur. |
| Renewal Fee | $5,000 plus all legal costs |
| Additional Training Fee | $60/hour and a maximum of $500/day, plus expenses. |
| Local Marketing Fee | 1% of Gross Revenues, but not less than $1,000 per month. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 12–13. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
No figures Doodle Bugs! does not share sales or profit figures for its locations. Talking to current and former franchise owners is the usual way to learn what a location earns.
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, page 50
Growth and closures
Share of franchised locations, 2025 / 2023–2025. Typical means the median: half of brands are above it, half below.
| Measure | Doodle Bugs! | Typical daycare brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrowthNet change in franchised locations | 0% / 0% | +4.3% / +19% | +1.2% / +10% |
| ClosuresTerminated, not renewed or stopped operating | 0% / 0% | 0% / 4.5% | 3.9% / 16% |
| Bought backLocations the franchisor took back | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% | 0% / 0% |
Typical daycare brand is the median of the 15 brands in daycare franchises with three years of counts.
How Doodle Bugs! compares
Of the 40 daycare franchises on this site, Doodle Bugs! is the 15th cheapest to open and the 16th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Doodle Bugs! | Typical daycare brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $546K | $737K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.49M | $1.44M | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $65K | $65K | $40K |
| Royalty | 6% | 7% | 6% |
| US locations | 17 | 10 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | No | 29 of 40 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 40 brands in daycare franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1 (0) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 (0) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 (0) | 16 | 0 | 0 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: daycare franchise costs and franchise failure rates.
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, page 51
Where Doodle Bugs! locations are
At the end of 2025, Doodle Bugs! had locations in 3 states. The most are in New York, Pennsylvania and Florida.
- New York12
- Pennsylvania3
- Florida2
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| Pennsylvania | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Florida | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, page 52
Who owns Doodle Bugs!?
Doodle Bugs! franchises are sold by Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC.
From Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC’s 2026 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 10, bankruptcy on page 10
Doodle Bugs! filings
The figures on this page come from Doodle Bugs! Franchising Company, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued March 16, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | March 16, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other daycare franchises
All daycare franchises
Doodle Bugs! is also on these lists: education franchises.