Franchise portal or your own recruitment: the trade-off

What are franchise directories and portals actually good for?

Let's start honestly: a directory or portal has a purpose. For someone just starting to explore, an overview of sectors, investment levels and franchise brands is a quick way to see the playing field. A fair lets you talk to ten franchisors in a single afternoon. For a franchise brand, a listing is a way to be present where candidates are looking.

So the question is not about right or wrong. It is about what you can reasonably expect. Orientation is different from selection, and visibility is different from a candidate who fits. That is where the objections you hear in the market come from.

A portal gives you reach among candidates, but no findability per location. How to test that difference is explained in assessing your current agency or portal.

Which franchise portal drawbacks do franchisors mention?

These are objections franchisors often raise about the classic model. They do not apply to every platform, and the best way to find out how a specific channel works is to ask that channel directly.

What experiences with franchise directories do candidates share?

Prospective franchisees have their concerns too. They usually come down to one insight: what you read in a directory was written or paid for by the franchise brand itself. That does not make it untrue, but it does make it one-sided.

Put your current channels side by side with the cost per franchisee calculator: costs, leads and signed contracts per channel.

What should candidates check themselves, including for a takeover?

Explore widely, but decide on your own research. This checklist helps you move from a listing to a well-founded decision. The Dutch Franchise Act gives you the right to information in advance and a four-week standstill period before you sign. Use that time. Have your contract reviewed by a franchise lawyer; this is not legal advice.

Which questions should franchisors ask every recruitment channel?

Whether it is a directory, a fair, an agency or your own campaign: ask every channel the same questions. That way you compare like with like. How to attract and filter candidates yourself is covered in recruitment marketing for franchisors.

Is franchise matching reliable, and how do we do it differently?

Matching is only as reliable as the revenue model behind it. If a party earns money on every sign-up, there is little reason to filter strictly. That is why we work without upfront costs: the franchisor pays per verified introduction plus a success fee on signing. A candidate is first checked on own capital, financeability, region and motivation, and sees no more than three suitable franchise brands with the reasoning behind each. How that model works in detail is explained in recruiting without an advertising package.

Data only goes to a franchise brand with the candidate's consent, separately for each brand. We do not sell leads or lists. And we are not a quality mark: we advise every candidate to involve an independent franchise lawyer and accountant. The matching itself runs through franchise-starten.nl, the site in our network for prospective franchisees. Who is behind all this is explained in the story behind our agency.

What do franchise portals, fairs and matching sites cost?

Published prices are rare in this market. On 4 October 2026 we checked the websites of the best-known providers ourselves and only included amounts that are stated there literally; everything else is listed as "on quotation" or "not public". When comparing, pay attention to the unit: you pay for a stand per fair, a recruitment budget per candidate and our packages per location per month.

The difference is mainly in the last column. With a stand at a fair or an advertising package you pay upfront, even if not a single franchisee comes of it. With recruiting on results you pay nothing upfront; so first put your current costs side by side using our franchisee recruitment cost calculator.

Portal, own recruitment or a combination: how do franchise brands choose?

For a young franchise brand still building awareness, a listing alongside your own recruitment can make sense, as long as you measure what it delivers. Also read what works in online marketing for new franchise brands. An established brand usually gains more from its own findability. With SEO for your franchise website you draw candidates to your own recruitment pages. Candidates are also increasingly asking AI assistants for advice, so becoming visible in ChatGPT is part of the mix. Many candidates also search on the go, which is why being found on mobile phones matters.

Whatever you choose: run every channel through the checklist above and measure, per channel, what a conversation and a signing cost. You will find more practical guides among more articles in our knowledge base, and individual questions are answered in frequently asked questions.