Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of franchisediff.com and all related services (collectively, the “Service”). The Service is operated as a sole proprietorship by Heemin Cho, based in Illinois, United States (“FranchiseDiff,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). By clicking “I agree” where presented, or by accessing or using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read these Terms and agree to be bound by them, and you consent to enter into this agreement electronically. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Description of the Service

FranchiseDiff displays factual information extracted from publicly filed Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) in a structured, year-over-year comparison format. We are a data tool. We are not a franchise broker, consultant, lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor, and nothing on the Service is legal, tax, or investment advice. See our Disclaimer for details.

The Service is operated from the United States and is intended for users located in the United States. We make no representation that the Service or its content is appropriate or available for use in any other jurisdiction. Users who access the Service from outside the United States do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with their local laws.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and capable of entering into a binding contract under the laws of your jurisdiction to use the Service. By using the Service you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements.

3. Accounts

Some features require an account. You agree to provide accurate and complete information when registering, to keep your account credentials confidential, and to be responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at support@franchisediff.com if you suspect any unauthorized access. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

4. Subscriptions, billing, and refunds

Paid subscriptions are billed monthly in advance through Stripe at the price disclosed at signup. We may change pricing or add new plans at any time. Price changes for existing subscribers will be communicated by email at least 30 days before they take effect.

No refunds. All charges are final. We do not issue refunds, partial refunds, or pro-rated credits for unused portions of any billing period, including in cases of cancellation, account termination, or non-use of the Service. This is the trade-off that lets us keep the price low and skip an annual contract.

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• Scrape, crawl, mirror, or systematically download data from the Service except via features we explicitly provide
• Resell, sublicense, redistribute, or republish the data displayed on the Service without our prior written permission
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code or underlying methodology of the Service
• Use the Service, or any data, content, or output accessed through it, to design, develop, market, or operate a similar or competing product, website, or service
• Use the Service, or any data accessed through it, to train, fine-tune, retrieval-augment, evaluate, or otherwise build machine-learning or artificial-intelligence systems intended to replicate, summarize, or reproduce our extracted dataset
• Share, transfer, or rent your account credentials, or use a single subscription to provide access to more than one person
• Probe, scan, or test the security of the Service, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, server, or network
• Bypass, disable, modify, or otherwise circumvent any access control, paywall, rate limit, content blur, or other technical limitation of the Service, including by inspecting, modifying, or replaying client-side code or network requests
• Submit lead form information that is false, belongs to someone else, or is intended to harass any third party
• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in any way that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the Service

We reserve the right to investigate suspected violations and to suspend or terminate accounts that engage in any of the above. We may also employ technical means — including rate limits, IP-based blocks, fingerprinting, and anti-automation measures — to detect and prevent prohibited use, and you agree not to interfere with or attempt to defeat any such measures.

6. Lead referrals; not an agent or broker

If you submit information through a “Talk to a Franchise Expert” or similar lead form, you consent to FranchiseDiff sharing your submission with one or more independent franchise consultants who may contact you about the franchise you inquired about. FranchiseDiff may receive a referral fee from those consultants for qualified leads. This relationship is also disclosed in our Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.

Phone and SMS contact consent (TCPA). If you submit a phone number through a lead form, you expressly authorize FranchiseDiff and the independent franchise consultants who receive your submission to contact you at that number — including by phone calls, voicemail messages, automated dialing systems, pre-recorded or artificial-voice messages, and SMS or text messages — about the franchise opportunity you inquired about. Consent to such contact is not a condition of receiving information from FranchiseDiff. Standard message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to text messages, by asking the caller to stop, or by emailing support@franchisediff.com.

Not an agent or broker.FranchiseDiff is not, and does not act as, an agent, broker, employee, or representative of any franchisor, franchisee, lender, or franchise consultant. We are an independent informational service and lead-aggregation tool. The independent franchise consultants who receive lead submissions are separate businesses that operate at their own direction; their advice, conduct, representations, fees, and agreements with you are entirely between you and them. FranchiseDiff is not responsible for any consultant's acts, omissions, or recommendations, and does not endorse any particular consultant or franchise.

Not a regulated franchise broker or sales agent. FranchiseDiff is not a “franchise broker,” “franchise sales agent,” “subfranchisor,” or any analogous regulated role under the franchise laws of any U.S. state, including but not limited to New York General Business Law §681, Maryland Code §14-201 et seq., Washington Revised Code §19.100, Rhode Island General Laws §19-28.1, the FTC Franchise Rule (16 C.F.R. Part 436), or any equivalent statute. FranchiseDiff does not engage in the offer or sale of franchises within the meaning of any such rule.

7. Intellectual property

The Service, including its design, code, the structure and organization of extracted data, and all related trademarks, is owned by FranchiseDiff and protected by intellectual-property laws. The underlying franchise information is sourced from publicly filed FDDs, the original text of which belongs to the respective franchisors. Franchise brand names and logos shown on the Service belong to their respective owners and are used solely to identify the franchises being discussed; their inclusion does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or sponsorship.

Subject to your compliance with these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and view the Service for your personal, non-commercial evaluation of franchise opportunities.

8. Copyright complaints (DMCA)

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our DMCA contact (below) including: (a) a description of the work you claim is infringed; (b) the URL or location of the allegedly infringing material; (c) your contact information; (d) a statement that you have a good- faith belief the use is not authorized; (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf; and (f) your physical or electronic signature. We will review valid notices in good faith and respond consistent with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. §512.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ACCURACY OF DATA. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that any information extracted from FDDs is complete, accurate, or current.

Automated extraction. The data shown on FranchiseDiff is produced by automated processing of FDD PDFs, including AI-assisted text extraction, structuring, and classification, supplemented by periodic manual verification of selected fields. Automated extraction is how we cover 200+ brands consistently, but it can introduce transcription errors, misclassification, mis-attribution between fiscal years or items, gaps where a PDF is poorly scanned or formatted, generation of values not present in the underlying source document, and staleness relative to the most recent filing. Always verify critical information against the official FDD and consult a qualified franchise attorney before making any investment decision. See our Disclaimer for additional limitations.

Reservation regarding de-identified data. FranchiseDiff may use aggregated, de-identified, or anonymized usage data and feedback to evaluate, improve, and expand the Service, including improving the accuracy of automated extraction. This use is consistent with our Privacy Policy and does not include using your account, lead, or feedback data to train artificial-intelligence models.

10. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FRANCHISEDIFF AND ITS OPERATOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100) IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID US ANY AMOUNTS IN THAT PERIOD. Some jurisdictions do not allow these limitations, in which case they apply to the maximum extent permitted.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless FranchiseDiff and its operator from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of (a) your breach of these Terms, (b) your misuse of the Service, (c) your violation of any law or third-party right, or (d) your reliance on any information displayed on the Service.

12. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. To delete your account and the personal information we hold about you, email support@franchisediff.com from the address associated with your account; we will confirm the request and process deletion in line with the schedule described in our Privacy Policy. We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or for any other reason at our sole discretion.

Subscription cancellation vs. account deletion are separate actions. If you have an active paid subscription, requesting account deletion does not automatically cancel the subscription, and cancelling the subscription does not automatically delete your account. To stop being charged, cancel the subscription through the Stripe customer portal first; to remove your data from our systems, then email us to delete the account. If you ask us to delete an account that still has an active subscription, we will also treat that as a request to cancel the subscription, but you should always confirm cancellation in Stripe to be sure.

Refund on for-convenience termination by us. If we terminate your access for our own convenience — that is, not because of a breach of these Terms by you, abuse of the Service, security risk, legal compulsion, or non-payment — and you have a paid subscription with prepaid time remaining in the current billing period, we will refund the unused, prepaid portion on a pro-rated daily basis. No refund is owed for termination based on your breach or for any other ground permitted by these Terms.

After termination, your account data is retained and deleted in accordance with the schedule described in our Privacy Policy. Sections that by their nature should survive termination — including without limitation Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 — will survive.

13. Force majeure

We are not liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms when the failure or delay results from causes outside our reasonable control, including but not limited to outages or service disruptions affecting our hosting, database, payment, authentication, or email providers; failures of third-party APIs we depend on; widespread internet disruptions; cybersecurity incidents not caused by our negligence; acts of governments or regulators; natural disasters; pandemics; or labor disputes. Performance under these Terms is excused for the duration of the force-majeure event and a reasonable period thereafter to restore the affected portion of the Service.

14. Dispute resolution; binding arbitration; class-action waiver

Please read this section carefully — it affects your legal rights. By agreeing to these Terms, you and FranchiseDiff agree to resolve any dispute through individual binding arbitration rather than in court, and you waive the right to participate in any class action or representative proceeding. You may opt out of this section within 30 days of first accepting these Terms; instructions are below.

14.1 Informal resolution. Before filing arbitration, you agree to first attempt to resolve the dispute by emailing support@franchisediff.com with a description of the dispute and the relief you seek. The parties will negotiate in good faith for at least 30 days before either side initiates arbitration.

14.2 Binding arbitration.Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved informally shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules then in effect, available at www.adr.org. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single neutral arbitrator and shall take place remotely (by video or phone) unless both parties agree to an in-person hearing in Lake County, Illinois. The arbitrator's award is final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

14.3 Class-action waiver.You and FranchiseDiff agree that each may bring claims against the other only in your or its individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of representative or class proceeding. If a court decides that applicable law precludes enforcement of any of this paragraph's limitations as to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) shall be severed from the arbitration and brought in the courts identified in Section 15.

14.4 Carve-outs.This Section does not require arbitration of: (a) claims that qualify for small-claims court in the county of your residence, so long as the claim stays in that court and proceeds on an individual (non-class) basis; or (b) claims for injunctive or other equitable relief to stop unauthorized use of, or infringement of intellectual-property rights in, the Service. In any action brought under sub-clause (b), the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.

14.5 30-day opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing support@franchisediff.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, with the subject line “Arbitration Opt-Out” and your account email address in the body. Opting out does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

14.6 Severability of this Section. If any portion of this Section 14 is found unenforceable, that portion shall be severed and the remainder shall continue to apply, except that if the class-action waiver in Section 14.3 is found unenforceable, the entire Section 14 shall be void and the dispute shall be resolved in the courts identified in Section 15.

14.7 Mass-arbitration procedures.If 25 or more demands for arbitration are filed against FranchiseDiff by or with the assistance of the same or coordinated counsel within a 30-day period and the demands raise substantially similar claims, the parties agree those demands shall be administered under the AAA Mass Arbitration Supplementary Rules then in effect (or successor rules of substantially similar effect). The parties shall meet and confer within 14 days of the 25th-filing trigger to (i) select up to ten (10) representative demands to proceed first as bellwether proceedings, (ii) stay the remaining demands pending the outcome of the bellwether proceedings, and (iii) attempt good-faith resolution of the remaining demands using the bellwether outcomes as the framework for resolution. Filing fees and arbitrator compensation for the stayed demands shall be tolled during the stay. Nothing in this Section 14.7 limits any individual claimant's right to file an individual arbitration demand or to opt out of arbitration under Section 14.5.

15. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. For any dispute not subject to arbitration under Section 14, you and FranchiseDiff agree that the dispute shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Lake County, Illinois, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Material changes — those that meaningfully affect your rights or obligations (for example, changes to dispute resolution, liability, refund policy, or how we share data) — will take effect no sooner than thirty (30) days after we post the updated Terms on the Service and, where we have your email on file, send a notice to your account email. If you do not agree to a material change, your remedy is to cancel your subscription and stop using the Service before the change takes effect.

Non-material changes — typo corrections, clarifications, formatting, contact-detail updates — take effect upon posting. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any update constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Changes to Section 14 (Arbitration) require affirmative re-acceptance. Any amendment to Section 14 — including changes to the arbitration provider, class- action waiver, opt-out window, or mass-arbitration procedure — will not take effect against any user with respect to claims that have arisen as of the proposed effective date unless that user affirmatively re-accepts the updated Section 14. If you do not re-accept, the version of Section 14 in effect at the time of your most recent acceptance will continue to apply to disputes that arose by that date.

17. Miscellaneous

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, constitute the entire agreement between you and FranchiseDiff regarding the Service.

Severability and waiver. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent; we may assign them as part of a corporate transaction.

Notices. Notices to you may be sent by email to the address associated with your account, by posting on the Service, or by any other reasonable method. Notices to FranchiseDiff must be sent to support@franchisediff.com and are deemed received on the earlier of (i) the date FranchiseDiff acknowledges receipt in writing or (ii) three (3) business days after the email is sent.

Headings. Section headings in these Terms are for convenience only and do not affect the interpretation of any provision.

No agency. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, employment, or agency relationship between you and FranchiseDiff.

Beta and preview features.Features identified as “beta,” “preview,” “experimental,” or “early access” are provided AS-IS, may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice, are excluded from any service-level commitment, and may have additional terms communicated at the point of access.

Feedback. Any feedback, suggestions, ideas, or improvement requests you submit to FranchiseDiff are non-confidential, and you grant FranchiseDiff a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, and incorporate that feedback into the Service or any other product or service, without attribution or compensation.

Export controls and sanctions. You represent that you are not located in, ordinarily resident in, or under the control of, any country, region, or person subject to U.S. comprehensive economic sanctions (including, as of the date of these Terms, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine), and that you are not on any U.S. government list of denied, restricted, or sanctioned parties. You agree not to use the Service in violation of any applicable export-control or sanctions law.

18. Contact

For questions about these Terms, email support@franchisediff.com.