Athletic Republic vs 9Round

9Round gives you volume, but volume in freefall. A 29% unit contraction year-over-year means your total addressable market is shrinking fast—142 units today, but at this pace you’re looking at a much smaller installed base within a typical 12–18 month sales cycle. Low investment range ($160K–$390K) and a modest 6% royalty signal tight operator margins, which translates to constrained software budgets. The approved-supplier procurement model doesn’t lock you out, but it does mean you’ll fight for wallet share against incumbent vendors already embedded in that supply chain. TAM is wide but thinning; timing is terrible.

Athletic Republic is the sharper bet. Only 41 units, but 2.5% positive unit growth and a disclosed AUV of $617K tell you these are higher-revenue, higher-investment locations ($298K–$678K) with operators who can actually afford a multi-module software stack. A 7% royalty on that AUV implies per-unit royalty payments around $43K annually—operators are generating real cash flow, which directly correlates with willingness to pay for POS, scheduling, and marketing automation that drives revenue. The smaller unit count means you’ll saturate this TAM quickly, but you’re selling into a growing, premium segment where deal sizes will be larger and churn lower.

The tradeoff is reach versus revenue quality. 9Round offers a bigger list but a deteriorating base with budget constraints. Athletic Republic offers a tight, healthy network where every closed deal punches above its weight in ARR and stickiness. In B2B software sales, a small, expanding, high-AUV franchise system beats a large, contracting, low-margin one every time.

Verdict: Athletic Republic is the stronger software-sales opportunity right now—positive growth, premium unit economics, and operator budgets that match a multi-product software pitch.