I am new to Ballroom, about 6months worth. I was wondering if it is worth getting involved with Dancesport competition as opposed to doing the "franchise" competitions.

I know that I would need to learn the international standard for the dances if I was going that route.

many of the Franch. schools have qualif staff for Intern.--however-- depending on your location-- it may be less expensive with an independant teacher

I have gone to a franchise studio for quite a while, and I can tell you that the instructors told me that the chain school comps are more "for fun" rather than competitive.

If you are seriously competitive and don't want to pay extremely high prices for the fancy stuff in the chain school comps, then you should go with the dance sport.

Keep in mind however, that many chain schools (not all, but most) do not get involved in the non chain school comps. So, as terence2 said, you may need an independent teacher.

Some of the best advice I got when I started was "go, watch, ask". I went to several competitions as an audience member, I participated (inclusive of franchise events)and I evaluated each organization that I participated in - as it pertained to my own goals.
I discovered many avenues of competition and a garden variety of organizations that exist throughout the world.
It truly is, in what you want, your goals, location, etc. Many factors.
You will find the right fit per se, ask, go watch, other students are great sources of information as is this topic board.

If you are in the US, you can also compete in American smooth and rhythm. You're not limited to International style.

While all pro-am competing is expensive, everything I've ever heard suggests that non-franchise comps are quite a bit less expensive.

If you are in the US, you can compete in American style at any non-franchise comp. You don't need to switch to International to compete.