Donut franchises
The typical donut franchise here costs $504,000 to $825,000 to open. Sort the table by cost, fee, royalty or number of locations.
- Brands
- 5
- Typical cost
- $504K–$825K
- Lowest start
- $234KMochinut
- Share earnings
- 3 of 5
All 5 brands
Sort by any column, or filter by budget and fees.
| Dunkin' | $532K–$1.83M | $40,000+ | 5.9% | 8,780 | $1.37M |
| Shipley Do-Nuts | $517K–$855K | $40,000 | 5% | 393 | $933K |
| Duck Donuts | $394K–$629K | $40,000 | 6% | 146 | Yes |
| Mochinut | $234K–$459K | $35,000 | 5% of gross sales | 138 | No |
| Hurts Donut | $504K–$825K | $35,000 | 7% | 18 | No |
How donut franchises compare
Of the 5 brands, 2 give a comparable yearly sales figure per location, from $933K at Shipley Do-Nuts to $1.37M at Dunkin'. From 2023 to 2025, 4 of the 5 brands with three years of counts grew their US locations, and Dunkin' added the most (+662). Who runs it, by the franchise agreement: 3 must be run by the owner, 2 can be run by a trained manager. How sales figures compare · Who runs it
| Brand | Sales per location | Locations vs 2023 | Exits/yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkin'A trained manager can run itExits: 1.4% a year | $1.37Maverage | 8,780+662 | 1.4% |
| Shipley Do-NutsOwner must run itExits: 1.6% a year | $933Kaverage | 393+56 | 1.6% |
| Duck DonutsOwner must run itExits: 10.6% a year | n/a | 146+34 | 10.6% |
| MochinutOwner must run it | n/a | 138+21 | n/a |
| Hurts DonutA trained manager can run itExits: 8.0% a year | n/a | 18−3 | 8.0% |
Sales are the yearly average (or median) per franchised location from each brand’s latest filing; per-owner figures, company-run locations and groups under five locations are left out. Locations are franchised plus company-owned in the US at the end of the latest year reported, with the change since 2023. Exits/yr is franchised locations closed, terminated or not renewed each year, as a share of the average count; buy-backs and transfers don’t count.
Best donut franchises to own
The 2 brands here that pass all five tests: growth, few owner exits, earnings figures shared, SBA listing and 100+ US locations three years ago. Below, the closest misses. How the ranking works
| Brand | Growth | Exits/yr | Cost to open |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Dunkin'$532K–$1.83M to open | +8.2% | 1.4% | $532K–$1.83M |
| 2. Shipley Do-Nuts$517K–$855K to open | +17% | 1.6% | $517K–$855K |
| Duck DonutsMissed “Few exits”: 10.6% of locations exited each year$394K–$629K to open | +30% | 10.6% | $394K–$629K |
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Donut franchises: questions
What is the cheapest donut franchise?
Of the 5 brands here, Mochinut has the lowest estimated starting investment: $233,500 to $459,000 to open.
Which donut franchise is the largest?
Dunkin', with 8,780 locations (8,744 franchised) at the end of 2025.
What royalty do donut franchises charge?
Royalties on gross sales in this list run from 5% to 7%, with a median of 5.9%. Most brands add a separate marketing or brand fund fee.
Which donut franchises share earnings figures?
3 of 5 share sales or earnings figures, among them Duck Donuts, Dunkin', Shipley Do-Nuts.