Essential Speech and ABA Therapy franchise
2026 filing · April 30, 2026GrowingShares sales figures
Essential Speech and ABA Therapy at a glance
A therapy center where licensed professionals provide ABA, speech and occupational therapy to young children with developmental disabilities. At the end of 2025 there were 15 Essential Speech and ABA Therapy locations in the US, 12 franchised and 3 company-owned.
The business
- Industry
- Education
- Franchisor
- Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Typical size
- 2,500–5,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $299K–$803K
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $49,500
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 5%
- 5% of gross revenue, paid twice a month, plus a billing fee of 4% of claims collected and $44.95 per invoice to the franchisor's billing affiliate
- Renewal fee
- $1,500
- When the agreement ends and you sign again
- Agreement length
- 10 years
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 15
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 12
- Company-owned
- 3
- Change in 3 years
- +12
- Franchised locations, 2023–2025
- States
- 4
- Most in Texas, Georgia and New Mexico
Support and records
From Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 48; 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
Essential Speech and ABA Therapy among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Essential Speech and ABA Therapy | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $551,000 | Costs more than 68% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $49,500 | Higher than 64% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 5% | Lower than 69% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 15 | Fewer than 55% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $1,393,273 | Higher than 77% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 2.5× | Higher than 73% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Essential Speech and ABA Therapy franchise costs
Opening one Essential Speech and ABA Therapy costs an estimated $299,000 to $803,000. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are additional funds (6 months) ($120,000 to $240,000) and leasehold improvements ($0 to $100,000). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $49,500 | ||
| Billing Onboarding Services Fee | $1,000 | ||
| Travel to Training Expenses | $0 | $6,000 | |
| Leasehold Improvements | $0 | $100,000 | |
| Professional Photography Fee | $500 | $1,000 | |
| EMR Service (3 months) | $750 | $3,750 | |
| Furniture and Fixtures | $22,000 | $90,000 | |
| Signage | $2,000 | $15,000 | |
| Technology | $10,000 | $37,500 | |
| Rent (3 months) | $15,000 | $60,000 | |
| Security Deposit | $5,000 | $30,000 | |
| Utilities | $5,000 | $10,000 | |
| Office Supplies | $2,500 | $12,000 | |
| Grand Opening Advertising Expenses | $5,500 | ||
| Pre-Opening Advertising Expenditure | $7,500 | $18,000 | |
| Insurance | $3,000 | $5,000 | |
| Permits and Licenses | $2,500 | $5,000 | |
| Professional Fees | $1,500 | $15,000 | |
| Therapy Materials | $7,000 | $45,000 | |
| Contracting and Credentialing Services | $5,000 | $10,000 | |
| Staffing and Payroll (3 months) | $33,750 | $43,750 | |
| Additional Funds (6 months) | $120,000 | $240,000 | |
| Total | $299,000 | $803,000 | |
Source: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 16
Essential Speech and ABA Therapy franchise fee
The franchise fee is $49,500. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 11
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 5% of gross revenue, paid twice a month, plus a billing fee of 4% of claims collected and $44.95 per invoice to the franchisor's billing affiliate. |
|---|---|
| Technology Fee | $16.60 per email user per month |
| Transfer Fee | $5,000 plus our costs |
| Renewal Fee | $1,500 |
| Local Advertising Requirement | $300 per quarter |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 12
Other fees as filed, from pages 13–14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Essential Speech and ABA Therapy publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average revenue
- $1,393,273
- Median revenue
- $1,383,555
Yearly figures for 2025, covering franchised centers open more than two years (4 locations). The average is about 2.5 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, pages 36–37
SBA loans to Essential Speech and ABA Therapy franchisees
Lenders approved 10 SBA 7(a) loans for Essential Speech and ABA Therapy franchisees from 2023 to 2026, $2.69M in all. None has been paid off or charged off yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Essential Speech and ABA Therapy compares
Of the 221 education franchises on this site, Essential Speech and ABA Therapy is the 178th cheapest to open and the 105th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Essential Speech and ABA Therapy | Typical education brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $299K | $120K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $803K | $228K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $42K | $40K |
| Royalty | 5% | 7% | 6% |
| Sales per location | $1.39M | $323K | $794K |
| US locations | 15 | 15 | 21 |
| Closed or left per year | 5% | 3.7% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 148 of 221 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 221 brands in education franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Opened | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 (+4) | 3 | +4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 10 (+6) | 3 | +6 | 0 |
| 2025 | 12 (+2) | 3 | +3 | −1 |
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: franchise failure rates.
Source: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 39
Where Essential Speech and ABA Therapy locations are
At the end of 2025, Essential Speech and ABA Therapy had locations in 4 states. The most are in Texas, Georgia and New Mexico.
- Texas11
- Georgia2
- New Mexico1
- Virginia1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Georgia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Virginia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, page 39
Who owns Essential Speech and ABA Therapy?
Essential Speech and ABA Therapy franchises are sold by Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC.
From Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, 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: Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on page 11, bankruptcy on page 11
Essential Speech and ABA Therapy filings
The figures on this page come from Speech and ABA Therapy Franchising, LLC’s 2026 filing, issued April 30, 2026, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | April 30, 2026 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
