How much does a Discovery Map franchise cost?
Opening a Discovery Map franchise takes a total initial investment of $29,050 to $36,300, according to the brand's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document. The FDD's Item 19 reports median sales of $52,290 across 101 outlets.
Discovery Map franchises businesses that publish maps and sell advertising space to local businesses whose ads border the Map. Category: Business Services.
Item 7
What it costs to open a Discovery Map franchise
The franchisor's own estimated initial investment, as disclosed in its 2025 FDD. The total is $29,050 to $36,300. Each line below carries the FDD page it was read from.
Where the money goes
The largest costs are Map Racks and related equipment ($1,500 to $3,250), Additional Funds ($0 to $1,850), and Map Coloring ($1,050 to $1,750). Together they make up about 19% of the high-end estimate.
The initial franchise fee is $25,000, about 86% of the low-end total.
Our arithmetic from the Item 7 table below.
| Expenditure | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $25,000 | $25,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Map Coloring2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $1,050 | $1,750 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Travel and Living Expenses while Training2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $500 | $1,500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Map Racks and related equipment2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $1,500 | $3,250 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Computer System2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $500 | $1,200 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Licenses/ | $0 | $250 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Supplies & Misc. Expense2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $250 | $1,000 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Insurance2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $250 | $500 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Additional Funds2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $0 | $1,850 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
| Total estimated initial investment2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 | $29,050 | $36,300 | 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13 |
Source Discovery Map, 2025 FDD, Item 7, p. 13, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-15.
Item 19
What Discovery Map franchisees actually report earning
Median Sales
$52,290
Discovery Map's 2025 FDD, Item 19, for the October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Basis: All franchise businesses that completed a full sales cycle and published a map in the fiscal year ending on September 30, 2024.
Sample size: 101 outlets. The FDD also reports average sales per map of $59,502. We lead with the median because an average is pulled upward by the strongest outlets; the median is the middle outlet.
What the franchisor excluded from this figure
- The two 17-inch by 11-inch maps are excluded from the analysis.
- The small number of 11” x 17” maps are excluded from this financial performance representation.
- Maps that were not published during the fiscal year are excluded from this financial performance representation.
- Company or affiliate owned map(s) are excluded from this financial performance representation.
This is a disclosure of what some existing outlets reported, not a projection of what a new Discovery Map outlet would earn. Your results will differ.
Source Discovery Map, 2025 FDD, Item 19, p. 33, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-15.
Item 20
How many Discovery Map outlets there are, and how many closed
Discovery Map ended 2024 with 118 franchised outlets and no company-owned outlets. In that year 11 franchised outlets opened and 6 left the system.
Three years at a glance
From 2022 through 2024, Discovery Map opened 16 franchised outlets and 12 outlets left the system. That is a net gain of 4, from 114 to 118 franchised outlets. Of the outlets that left, 10 were terminated, 1 was not renewed, and 1 was bought back by the franchisor.
On average, about 3.5% of franchised outlets left the system each year, roughly 1 in 28.
Our arithmetic from the FDD's Item 20 table below. "Left the system" counts every outlet the franchisor reports as terminated, not renewed, bought back, or closed for other reasons.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 113 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 118 | 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 39 |
| 2023 | 114 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 39 |
| 2022 | 114 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 114 | 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 39 |
Source Discovery Map, 2025 FDD, Item 20, p. 34, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-15.
Compare
How Discovery Map compares with other Business Services franchises
Measured against the 140 Business Services franchises on this site, using each brand's own FDD.
- Cost to open. The middle of Discovery Map's estimated range is $32,675. It costs less to open than 94% of Business Services franchises here.
- Outlets leaving each year. 3.5% for Discovery Map. That is lower than 80% of the 101 Business Services franchises with at least 10 outlets.
- Three-year growth. Discovery Map's franchised system grew 3.5%. The typical Business Services franchise here grew 4.4%.
- Earnings disclosure. 71 of the 140 Business Services franchises here publish earnings figures in Item 19. Discovery Map is one of them.
Our arithmetic from each brand's Item 7 and Item 20. Growth and departure comparisons leave out brands with fewer than 10 outlets, where one opening or closure distorts the figures. See every Business Services franchise side by side.
Alert me when Discovery Map files a new FDD
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