Fast food franchise costs

Fast food, or quick-service, franchises are the most familiar franchises and some of the most expensive to open. A free-standing restaurant with a drive-thru needs land or a ground lease, a building, a full kitchen and a large crew, and the biggest burger and chicken chains cost well over a million dollars before the first sale. A new McDonald’s costs $1.47M–$2.64M, not counting the land and building the company usually owns and leases to you.

The cheaper end is counter-service food in a leased storefront or a food court: sandwiches, wings, bowls and pizza. Those cost a fraction as much, sell less and rarely have a drive-thru, which since the pandemic carries most of the sales at the large chains. At the other extreme, Chick-fil-A charges a franchise fee of only $10K because it builds and owns the restaurant itself and takes a large share of profit instead.

What a fast food franchise costs

Across the 309 brands on the fast food list, the typical cost to open runs from $353K at the low end of each brand’s estimate to $786K at the high end. The low end is a small location in a cheaper market with little build-out; the high end a large site in an expensive one. Of these brands, 74 start at $250K or less and 10 at $100K or less.

Where the money goes

Each franchisor itemizes its cost to open. Grouping the lines for the 234 fast food brands with a full breakdown shows what a typical budget pays for, as an average share of the high estimate, with the typical amount.

For a drive-thru brand, the building and site work are the largest line by far, followed by kitchen equipment, signs and the drive-thru system. Many big brands quote the cost without land, either because the franchisor owns the property and leases it to you or because they assume a ground lease, so check whether real estate is in the estimate before comparing brands. Counter-service brands in leased space spend mainly on the fit-out.

Cheapest and most expensive fast food franchises

The cheapest fast food brands with at least 20 US locations, by the low end of the cost to open. Use the full range on each brand’s page for budgeting, not the low end alone.

Fees and royalties

The typical fast food brand charges a franchise fee of $35K, a royalty of 6% of sales and 2% to a marketing fund. Another 16 brands charge a flat or tiered royalty instead of a single percentage. Royalties and marketing come off sales before rent, staff or loan payments, so on a $1.14M year they cost about $91K. The fees and royalties guide compares industries.

What fast food franchise locations sell

Of the fast food brands, 94 publish a comparable yearly sales figure per location. The typical one is $1.14M, above the $797K typical across all brands.

Sales per restaurant vary more in fast food than in almost any other industry. A busy drive-thru chain can sell several million dollars a year, while a small counter-service brand may sell a few hundred thousand. Look at sales against the cost to open and at what share goes on food, paper and labor, which together take most of every dollar in quick service.

Which fast food franchises are growing

Of the 145 fast food brands with three years of figures, 93 added US locations from 2023 to 2025 and 42 shrank. The typical brand with 20 or more locations changed by +3.9%, against +3.8% across all franchises.

The brands that lost the most locations were Subway (1,803), KFC (398) and Burger King (392). The fastest-growing franchises ranking covers every industry.

Who runs a fast food franchise

Of the fast food brands whose agreements are clear, 215 let a trained manager run the business day to day and 88 require the owner to. Initial training typically runs 129 hours, against 71 across all brands. The typical brand loses 2.2% of its franchised locations a year to closures, terminations and non-renewals. On the SBA Franchise Directory are 128 of the 309 brands, so SBA-backed loans are available for them.

Best fast food franchises to own

These fast food brands pass all five tests on the best franchises to own ranking: they grew, lost no more owners than is typical, publish earnings figures, are on the SBA directory and had 100 or more US locations three years ago.

Before you buy a fast food franchise

Ask how the brand finds and approves sites, who owns the real estate and what the rent will be. Ask for the brand’s food, paper and labor costs as a share of sales, and how often national discount promotions run. Check remodel requirements during the term, which can cost hundreds of thousands, and whether the brand sells to single-unit owners or only to experienced multi-unit groups.

If the full drive-thru cost is out of reach, the cheap restaurant franchises guide lists small formats of big brands and the cheapest food concepts, and the SBA loans guide covers how most owners pay for a restaurant.