BrightStar Franchise vs. Always Best Care Franchise: How They Compare

You’re set on starting a home care franchise, but how do you determine the best opportunity? We’ve taken the steps to compare BrightStar and Always Best Care so you don’t have to. Complete with costs, services, support, and more, our guide will help you decide which franchise opportunity may be the best investment for you.

To start, we’ve got a quick breakdown of costs between the two brands. See both franchises at a glance.

BrightStar Franchise

Founded in 2002, BrightStar began franchising just three years later. Currently, the brand has 365 locations across the U.S. and is actively seeking entrepreneurs to join them in one of two capacities. BrightStar franchisees have the option of starting a home care business or a senior living franchise.

Franchisees who invest in the in-home care model provide services such as Alzheimer’s and dementia care, childcare, companionship, in-home therapies, personal care, and short-term transitional care. This opportunity is the most affordable BrightStar investment option, ranging between $111,008 and $191,108.

Franchise partners who opt to start a BrightStar senior living franchise have two opportunities to choose from: BrightStar Senior Livingor BrightStar Care Homes. BrightStar Senior Living specializes in assisted living and memory care. Communities have between 38 to 44 studio or one-bedroom suites and carry a hefty investment cost ranging between $8 to $10 million.

BrightStar Senior Care Homes are the newest opportunity from BrightStar. Offering the same type of services as their Senior Living facilities, the Care Homes are smaller ranch-style communities that have only eight to 12 suites. To own or build these residences, it costs between $1.1 and $1.7 million.

BrightStar has territories available nationwide and does offer training and ongoing support, which includes quarterly field visits, monthly calls, and full operations manuals.

Always Best Care Franchise

Always Best Care was founded in 1996 by Michael Newman in Sacramento, CA. After 10 years of perfecting the business model, the brand began franchising. Now, Always Best Care has 228 franchise locations in the U.S. and is actively looking to expand further across the country and into Canada.

Always Best Care franchisees are able to build multiple revenue streams through our diverse set of services offered including in-home care, senior living referral, skilled home health care, special care services, and respite care.

We offer a more affordable franchise opportunity with investment costs ranging between $74,725 and $125,400. Franchise locations focus primarily on providing high-quality in-home care services, but franchisees can also take advantage of Always Best Care’s assisted-living referral services. Franchisees do not own an assisted-living facility, but instead work with existing communities to help families place their loved ones in a residence that matches their needs. It’s a no-cost service to our clients because our franchisees receive payment from the facilities after placement, meaning families can take their time to best determine the right fit for their loved one.

Plus, franchise partners receive ongoing support at the corporate and local level. Our corporate office consistently provides training, access to national research associations, marketing tools, and technology support. At the local level, we have National Directors and Area Representatives to provide our franchisees with continuous mentorship throughout the life of their agreement.

Get Started with Always Best Care

Instead of spending millions to tap into the growing assisted-living market, join a franchise that found a better way to capitalize on both in-home care and assisted-living services – while still putting the needs of seniors and disabled individuals first.

As one of the best senior care franchises in the industry, our system had an impressive 2021. Always Best Care saw a systemwide revenue of $188,539,553.18*, which is a whopping 10.11% increase from 2020. Additionally, the majority of our franchisees had revenues over $2,000,000* the same year.

For those interested in owning an Always Best Care franchise, we require a $200,000 net worth and at least $100,000 in liquidity.

To learn more about our franchise opportunity, request information, and one of our brand representatives will be in touch.

*Please refer to Item 19 of our FDD