Fourth vs FranchiseBlast

Fourth is a cloud suite for restaurant and hospitality operators covering workforce management, inventory and purchasing, payroll and HR, and analytics. FranchiseBlast was a franchise audit and self-assessment product, acquired by FranConnect in January 2021. Both are listed under Multi-Unit & Enterprise Restaurant Operations. They differ in audience, platforms and security and compliance.

Key differences

  • audience

    The audiences they list differ. Listed for one product only, for example: Fourth: Multi-location restaurant operators; FranchiseBlast: Restaurant franchise brands.

  • platforms

    They do not run on the same platforms. Fourth: Web, iOS, Android; FranchiseBlast: Web.

  • security and compliance

    The security and compliance details they list differ. Fourth: ISO 9001; FranchiseBlast: ISO 27001.

  • company background

    By headquarters, Fourth (Austin, United States) and FranchiseBlast (Herndon, United States). Parent companies: Fourth, Marlin Equity Partners (majority owner as of the 2019 acquisition; Insight Partners minority); FranchiseBlast, FranConnect (acquired FranchiseBlast on 2021-01-19).

Side by side

Fourth vs FranchiseBlast: side-by-side comparison from published vendor information
FieldFourthFranchiseBlast
What it isFourth is a cloud suite for restaurant and hospitality operators covering workforce management, inventory and purchasing, payroll and HR, and analytics.FranchiseBlast was a franchise audit and self-assessment product, acquired by FranConnect in January 2021.
Best forMulti-location restaurant operators; Enterprise and quick-service chains; Hotels, bars and retail; Operators wanting workforce and inventory in one vendorRestaurant franchise brands; Franchisors running development and openings; Brands needing audits and food-safety quality control
Pricing modelQuote onlyQuote only
Starting priceNot publishedNot published
Free planNot publishedNot published
Free trialNot publishedNot published
ContractSet by the order form (initial term not stated in the terms)Not published
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
CountriesAustralia, Canada, United Kingdom, United StatesNot published
LanguagesNot publishedNot published
Number of integrations25Not published
CertificationsISO 9001ISO 27001
Security practicesCloud hosting in US, EMEA and APAC data centres built to Tier 3 standards with zero-trust network design, Data processing agreement publishedNot published
FoundedNot publishedNot published
HeadquartersAustin, United StatesHerndon, United States
OwnerMarlin Equity Partners (majority owner as of the 2019 acquisition; Insight Partners minority)FranConnect (acquired FranchiseBlast on 2021-01-19)
Last reviewed29 September 202629 September 2026

Integrations

No partner appears in every list.

Named only by Fourth

  • Aloha (NCR)
  • BlueCats
  • CareerBuilder
  • Cooper-Atkins
  • Digital Dining
  • Focus
  • HungerRush
  • Indeed
  • ITD Food Safety
  • Oracle Micros 3700
  • Monster
  • PAR POS (formerly Brink)
and 13 more
  • POSitouch
  • QU
  • Restaurant Manager
  • Revel
  • Oracle Simphony
  • Snagajob
  • Squirrel
  • Sysco
  • Toast
  • Lightspeed U Series (formerly Upserve)
  • US Foods
  • Xenial IRIS
  • Xpient

Named only by FranchiseBlast

FranchiseBlast does not name any integrations in the material we reviewed.

Which to choose

Fourth

Choose Fourth if you are in one of these groups: Multi-location restaurant operators; Enterprise and quick-service chains; Hotels, bars and retail.

FranchiseBlast

Choose FranchiseBlast if you are in one of these groups: Restaurant franchise brands; Franchisors running development and openings; Brands needing audits and food-safety quality control.

What we could not confirm

Fourth

  • Any price; conditions of the free year of HotSchedules promotion
  • Legal entity name and registration (several Fourth companies appear in the terms)
  • Current ownership (the latest ownership event stated is the 2019 Marlin acquisition)
  • Initial contract term and minimum length
  • Interface languages and the full list of countries served
  • Fourth iQ app platforms and availability dates
  • Employee count
  • Accounting integrations
  • Customer counts differ between pages (120,000 locations on the homepage; 15,000 customers across 100,000 sites on the about page)

FranchiseBlast

  • Whether the standalone FranchiseBlast product is still sold or has been folded into FranConnect Operations
  • Any price
  • Named integrations
  • Founding year of FranConnect, funding, employee count
  • Countries and interface languages
  • Native mobile apps and hardware
  • Contract terms

Go further

Fourth profileFranchiseBlast profile

Other comparisons with these products

Sources

Facts on this page come from the pages below. Prices and features change, so confirm with each vendor before you buy.

Fourth, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage: positioning, 120,000 locations claimhttps://www.fourth.com/
  2. Company overview, customer claimshttps://www.fourth.com/company/about
  3. Offices and support numbershttps://www.fourth.com/company/contact
  4. HotSchedules features, apps, promotionhttps://www.fourth.com/product/hotschedules
  5. MacromatiXhttps://www.fourth.com/product/macromatix
  6. Workforce management featureshttps://www.fourth.com/solution/workforce-management-software
  7. Inventory featureshttps://www.fourth.com/solution/inventory-management
  8. Fourth iQ and named customershttps://www.fourth.com/solution/ai-intro
  9. Integration partnershttps://www.fourth.com/partner/integrations
  10. Renewal, fee changes, Fuego serviceshttps://www.fourth.com/legal/general-terms-and-conditions
  11. Hosting and securityhttps://www.fourth.com/legal/fourth-hosting-data-security
  12. Press releases: ISO 9001https://www.fourth.com/company/press-room
  13. 2019 acquisition, founding year, officeshttps://www.marlinequity.com/news/marlin-completes-the-acquisition-of-hotschedules-and-fourth/
  14. Data processing agreement (listed in sitemap)https://www.fourth.com/legal/data-processing-agreement
  15. System requirements page (listed in sitemap, not read)https://www.fourth.com/legal/minimum-system-requirements-for-all-systems

FranchiseBlast, reviewed 29 September 2026

  1. Homepage: platform, AI agents, customers, ISO 27001 badgehttps://www.franconnect.com/
  2. Old FranchiseBlast address; redirects to the homepagehttps://www.franconnect.com/franchiseblast/
  3. Acquisition press release, 2021-01-19https://www.franconnect.com/franconnect-acquires-franchise-management-software-provider-franchiseblast/
  4. Platform moduleshttps://www.franconnect.com/platform-overview/
  5. Sales CRMhttps://www.franconnect.com/platform-overview/sales/
  6. Quality managementhttps://www.franconnect.com/platform-overview/quality-management/
  7. Traininghttps://www.franconnect.com/platform-overview/training-and-development/
  8. Royaltieshttps://www.franconnect.com/platform-overview/royalty-manager/
  9. Restaurant fit and customershttps://www.franconnect.com/industries/restaurants/
  10. Pricing: no public pricehttps://www.franconnect.com/franconnect-implementation-and-pricing/
  11. Headquarters, scalehttps://www.franconnect.com/company/about-us/