Fitstop vs 9Round

9Round is the only target with anything to sell into right now. Its 142-unit installed base—141 of them franchised—gives you immediate TAM that Fitstop can’t match with a single corporate store and zero franchised operators. Both brands use an approved-supplier model, so terrain is level, but timing tilts hard toward 9Round: a current 2026 FDD means the system is actively recruiting and operating, while Fitstop’s filing is overdue, signaling a frozen or non-compliant franchise program. Budget-wise, 9Round’s lower initial franchise fee ($19,900 vs. $50,000) and tighter build-out range leave operators with more cash to spend on software, and a 6% royalty (vs. 7%) preserves margin for tech investment.

The obvious tradeoff is 9Round’s negative unit growth of roughly -29% year-over-year—a shrinking network means the TAM is contracting. But that contraction hasn’t yet erased the existing book of business, and a declining brand often pushes owners toward efficiency tools to protect profits, creating a receptive buying window. Fitstop offers no such window: with only one unit and an overdue FDD, there’s no franchisee base to sell to and no sign of forward motion. The risk of betting on a phantom brand far outweighs the risk of a temporary decline in a 142-unit chain.

Verdict: 9Round’s live, 141-owner base and active FDD make it the only software-sales opportunity worth pursuing now, despite the shrinking footprint.