How We Rank
the Top Franchises

The Franchisee Satisfaction Index (FSI) is the industry standard by which the health of any franchise company can be measured and tracked over time. Established by Franchise Business Review in 2007, FSI is a collective assessment of the critical areas of franchisee satisfaction and engagement.

Franchise Business Review has surveyed over 1,100 franchise brands, representing tens of thousands of franchisees. This data makes our FSI benchmark an extremely powerful tool for evaluating systems, tracking operational performance, and predicting future success.

The FSI measures franchisee satisfaction and engagement in eight key areas:

Training & Support Successful execution of a franchise business is all about the training, support, and ongoing development that franchisees receive from their franchisor.	Executive Leadership When it comes to successful leadership of any franchise company, the perception of the franchisees is the reality under which the franchisor has to operate.
Systems & Operations Proven systems and established operating procedures are part of the foundation of franchising. These are the things that make a franchise system run smoothly, maintain a competitive advantage, and achieve greater success over time.	Franchisee Community Building a successful business and making money are important, but much of the long-term satisfaction and day-to-day enjoyment of operating a franchise business comes from the relationships formed within the franchisee community.
Self-Evaluation Part of our 360-degree evaluation of a franchise system includes an honest self-assessment of performance by franchisees.	Core Values Without a basic understanding of trust, honesty, and respect, all business initiatives will meet with significant challenges.
Financial Opportunity While the long-term financial goals of franchisees vary widely, making a living and earning a reasonable return on their investment are things that most share in common. Financial success is a primary driver of overall satisfaction.	General Satisfaction General satisfaction is where the rubber meets the road. Has the everyday experience of owning a franchise lived up to the expectations of the franchisees? Would they recommend this franchise to others? And most importantly, would they do it again?

FSI can range from 0 to 100 and represents a weighted sum of positive responses to a specific question or a group of questions within one of the areas being measured for satisfaction. If you were to simply add up all the positive responses to a question, giving the same value to an “excellent” response that you give to a “good” or “very good” response, you would paint an overly optimistic picture. FSI provides a realistic view of favorable satisfaction ratings by weighting more positive responses and discounting lesser responses to any given question.

FSI ratings provide a reference point or benchmark to help gauge the overall level of franchisee satisfaction or satisfaction in a specific area. While an FSI of 66.2% on its own is not all that valuable, using it as a benchmark to measure against other areas, or to compare various franchise systems and industry sectors, is extremely useful.

Now that you better understand how we research and rate franchise brands, you’re probably curious about which brands made this year’s list! You can view this year’s top-rated brands here.