Donatos Pizza franchise
A pizza restaurant offering dine-in, takeout and delivery services. At the end of 2025 there were 179 Donatos Pizza locations in the US, 128 franchised and 51 company-owned.
- Cost to open
- $587K–$1.18M
- Franchise fee
- $30,000
- Royalty
- 4% of net sales
- Locations, 2025
- 179+7 in 2 yrs
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Company snapshot
- SBA loans
- On the SBA Franchise Directory
From DONATOS PIZZERIA, LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
How much a Donatos Pizza franchise costs
Opening Single restaurant costs an estimated $586,637 to $1,182,537. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: DONATOS PIZZERIA, LLC, 2026 filing, page 25
Donatos Pizza franchise fee
The franchise fee is $30,000. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: DONATOS PIZZERIA, LLC, 2026 filing, page 16
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | A continuing licensing fee of 4% of net sales. |
|---|
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: DONATOS PIZZERIA, LLC, 2026 filing, page 18
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Donatos Pizza publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: DONATOS PIZZERIA, LLC, 2026 filing, page 71
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 127 (+6) | 51 | 0 |
| 2024 | 125 (−2) | 51 | – |
| 2025 | 128 (+3) | 51 | 1 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
Source: DONATOS PIZZERIA, LLC, 2026 filing, page 79
How Donatos Pizza compares
Of the 23 pizza franchises on this site, Donatos Pizza is the 13th cheapest to open and the 12th largest by number of locations.
| Measure | Donatos Pizza | Typical pizza |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $587K | $573K |
| Royalty | 4% | 5% |
| Closed or left per year | 0.4% | 2.7% |
| Change in franchised locations, 2 yrs | +5.8% | +3.9% |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 17 of 23 |
Typical is the median across the 23 brands in pizza franchises.
