Applebee's franchise
2026 filing · March 27, 2026Shares sales figures
Applebee's at a glance
A casual-dining restaurant and bar serving American grill favorites. At the end of its 2025 fiscal year there were 1,475 Applebee's locations in the US, 1,416 franchised and 59 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- Franchisor based in
- Pasadena, California
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $3.87M–$5.82M
- Tower II prototype restaurant
- Franchise fee
- $35,000
- Paid once, when you sign
- Royalty
- 4%
- 4% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Brand fund
- 4.25%
- 4.25% of gross sales, paid with the royalty
- Agreement length
- 20 years
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 1,475
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 1,416
- Company-owned
- 59
- States
- 49
- Most in California, New York and Texas
Support and records
- Lawsuits disclosed
- Yes
- Franchisor revenue, 2025
- $145.5M
- The company, not one location
- Franchisor net income
- $45.5M
- Latest filing
- Mar 27, 2026
- 2026 filing
From APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC’s 2026 filing; revenue and net income from its audited financial statements, page 74; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Applebee's among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Applebee's | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $4,846,469 | Costs more than 97% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $35,000 | Lower than 61% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 4% | Lower than 93% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 1,475 | More than 98% of franchises |
| Sales per locationYearly, as the brand reports it | $2,954,522 | Higher than 95% of brands that share sales figures |
| Sales against cost to openYearly sales over the cost midpoint | 0.6× | Lower than 95% of brands that share sales figures |
How much a Applebee's franchise costs
Opening Tower II prototype restaurant costs an estimated $3,870,004 to $5,822,933. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, page 22
Applebee's franchise fee
The franchise fee is $35,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, page 14
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 4% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 4.25% of gross sales, paid with the royalty. |
| Implementation Fees and NRO Technology Implementation Fee | $800 to $3500. |
| Transfer Fee | $2,500 per Restaurant. |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, page 15
Other fees as filed, from pages 16–18. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Applebee's publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
- Average sales
- $2,954,522
- Median sales
- $2,822,904
Yearly figures for 12 months ended December 28, 2025, covering traditional franchised restaurants operating at year-end, annualized (excludes express, dual-branded and temporarily closed restaurants) (1,351 locations). The average is about 0.6 times the midpoint of the cost to open.
Sales are what a location takes in before rent, payroll, royalties and other costs, not what its owner keeps.
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, page 53
SBA loans to Applebee's franchisees
Lenders approved 13 SBA-backed loans for Applebee's franchisees from 1990 to 2010, $13.7M in all: 9 7(a) loans and 4 504 loans. All 13 that have ended were paid in full; none was charged off.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Applebee's compares
Of the 813 restaurant franchises on this site, Applebee's is the 805th cheapest to open and the 27th largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Applebee's | Typical restaurant brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $3.87M | $408K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $5.82M | $866K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $35K | $35K | $40K |
| Royalty | 4% | 5% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 4.3% | 2% | 2% |
| Sales per location | $2.95M | $1.3M | $794K |
| US locations | 1,475 | 14 | 21 |
| Change in franchised locations, 0 yrs | −10.1% | +1.8% | – |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 474 of 813 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 813 brands in restaurant franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1,515 (−22) | 69 |
| 2022 | 1,575 (+60) | 0 |
| 2023 | 1,542 (−33) | 0 |
| 2024 | 1,460 (−82) | 47 |
| 2025 | 1,416 (−44) | 59 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating. The outlet years below are the franchisor's fiscal years, which end in late December.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: franchise failure rates.
Over 5 years, from the start of 2021 to the end of 2025, franchised locations went from 1,537 to 1,416 (−121, −8%). The earlier years come from the brand's 2024 filing.
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, page 54
2021–2022: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2024 filing, page 52
Where Applebee's locations are
At the end of 2025, Applebee's had locations in 51 states and territories. The most are in California, New York and Texas.
- California102
- New York91
- Texas87
- Michigan80
- Florida78
- Ohio75
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 102 | 0 | 102 |
| New York | 91 | 0 | 91 |
| Texas | 87 | 0 | 87 |
| Michigan | 80 | 0 | 80 |
| Florida | 78 | 0 | 78 |
| Ohio | 75 | 0 | 75 |
| Pennsylvania | 74 | 0 | 74 |
| Georgia | 24 | 32 | 56 |
| Indiana | 54 | 2 | 56 |
| New Jersey | 55 | 0 | 55 |
All 51 states
| Minnesota | 45 |
|---|---|
| Virginia | 44 |
| Missouri | 42 |
| Washington | 40 |
| North Carolina | 37 |
| Illinois | 31 |
| Alabama | 29 |
| Tennessee | 27 |
| Kentucky | 26 |
| South Carolina | 26 |
| Iowa | 25 |
| Massachusetts | 24 |
| Colorado | 22 |
| Kansas | 21 |
| Arizona | 20 |
| Mississippi | 19 |
| Wisconsin | 19 |
| New Mexico | 18 |
| Maryland | 17 |
| Oregon | 16 |
| Nebraska | 14 |
| West Virginia | 14 |
| New Hampshire | 13 |
| Delaware | 12 |
| Idaho | 12 |
| Louisiana | 12 |
| Maine | 12 |
| Nevada | 11 |
| North Dakota | 11 |
| Oklahoma | 10 |
| Utah | 9 |
| Montana | 7 |
| Puerto Rico | 7 |
| Arkansas | 6 |
| Rhode Island | 6 |
| Connecticut | 5 |
| South Dakota | 5 |
| Vermont | 3 |
| Wyoming | 2 |
| Alaska | 1 |
| Guam | 1 |
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, page 56
Who owns Applebee's?
Applebee's franchises are sold by APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC.
Applebee's is one of the 3 Dine Brands franchises here. Dine Brands Global is a public company based in Pasadena, California. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange as DIN.
From APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC’s 2026 filing; SEC.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | Yes. The filing describes past or pending cases involving the franchisor, its affiliates or its executives on pages 12–14. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | No bankruptcy of the franchisor. It discloses that one or more of its executives led or worked at another company that went through bankruptcy. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC, 2026 filing, litigation on pages 12–14, bankruptcy on page 14
Applebee's filings
A franchisor files a new disclosure each year it sells franchises. The figures on this page come from APPLEBEE’S FRANCHISOR LLC’s 2026 filing, issued March 27, 2026; the earlier ones below are on record with the Minnesota Department of Commerce and fill in older location counts.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 filing | March 27, 2026 | Minnesota | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
| 2024 filing | – | Minnesota | Locations, 2021–2022 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
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