Bounce House Franchise Comparison Chart

Like most people, your interest in an indoor bounce house franchise most likely started off by visiting a party center like Pump It Up for Monkey Joe’s for a birthday party. Seeing the kids having a blast on the inflatables, it doesn’t take too long for an entrepreneur to realize this is a great business opportunity. Most local communities lack a safe outlet for kids to have fun, burn energy and party!

After a quick search you find out there are four main franchises in the US: Pump It Up, Bounce U, Monkey Joe’s and Jump Zone.

Everything looks great until you see the numbers required for the startup, right? Most people I have spoken with referred to these figures as “ridiculous!” In all fairness, all franchises have their advantages – you pay for the brand name recognition and support.

However, if you do not want to pay franchise fees and get royalty fees taken out from your hard earned money every month you have found the right place. Inflatable Startup was created to help people just like yourself, start your own indoor bounce house business without having to purchase a franchise.

You’ll find all the research, all documents including a full business plan template, and all the forms including waivers of liability, injury report forms, and everything else to open and manage your own jump center. Get started here.

Below you’ll find a comparison chart of the top 4 indoor inflatable jump center franchises.

Indoor Bounce House Franchises

Pump It Up Franchise Bounce U Franchise Monkey Joes Franchise Jump Zone Franchise
Year Founded 2000 2003 2004 2003
Began Franchising 2001 2004 2005 2004
Franchise Units 156 43 51 30

Franchise Startup Cost
Total Investment $304,550 – $703,900 $126,700 – $624,900 $428,425 – $755,575 $250,000+
Franchise Fee $40,000 $40,000 $40,000 $30,000
Ongoing Royalty Fee 6% 6% 5% $1,200*
Ongoing Marketing Fee 2% $0
Term of Agreement 10 yrs, renewable 10 yrs, renewable 10 yrs, renewable 10 yrs, renewable

Financial Requirements
Net Worth $500,000 $450,000 $500,000 not listed
Liquid Cash $100,000 $75,000 $150,000 not listed

Support & Training
At Headquaters 3 days 4 days 7 days not listed
At your location 2 – 4 days 2 days 7 days not listed

Franchise Rank
Franchise500 Rank 381 – 466 –

* The ongoing royalty fee for the Jump Zone franchise goes up $30 per year every year up to $1470 per month in the final tenth year.

Additional Info

In 2008, Bounce U franchise was acquired by its number one competitor at the time Pump It Up, making it the largest multi-brand franchiser for indoor inflatable playgrounds.

Money Joe’s information has been updated on 9/9/2016.

Would you rather open a jump center for a fraction of the startup cost? Get started here.