Mexican food franchises

The typical Mexican food franchise here costs $644,425 to $1,968,450 to open. Sort the table by cost, fee, royalty or number of locations.

Brands: 13
Typical cost: $644K–$1.97M
Lowest start: $366KTacoTime
Share earnings: 13 of 13

All 13 brands

Sort by any column, or filter by budget and fees.

Mexican food franchises: investment, fee, royalty and locations

Taco Bell	$1.86M–$4.31M	$45,000	5.5%	7,998	Yes
Qdoba	$548K–$1.29M	$40,000	5%	827	$1.7M
Del Taco	$1.5M–$3.32M	$35,000	5%	594	$1.61M
Moe's Southwest Grill	$644K–$1.97M	$35,500	5%	568	$1.18M
Taco John’s	$814K–$2.04M	$40,000	5%	327	$1.26M
Fuzzy's Taco Shop	$1.05M–$3.04M	$40,000	5% of gross sales	106	Yes
TacoTime	$366K–$844K	$30,000	6% or $400/wk	89	$926K
Pancheros	$755K–$1.55M	$30,000	5% of gross revenue	73	$1.6M
Baja Fresh	$429K–$1.03M	$30,000	5% plus weekly surcharge	68	$823K
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill	$371K–$856K	$30,000	5%-6% of net revenue	60	Yes
Rusty Taco	$529K–$1.13M	$30,000	5%	26	$940K
Barrio Queen	$1.35M–$3.52M	$50,000	5% + surcharge	8	Yes
Mike’s Red Tacos	$640K–$1.99M	$40,000	5%	2	Yes

How Mexican food franchises compare

Of the 13 brands, 8 give a comparable yearly sales figure per location, from $823K at Baja Fresh to $1.7M at Qdoba; the middle figure is $1.22M. From 2023 to 2025, 4 of the 12 brands with three years of counts grew their US locations, and Taco Bell added the most (+478). Who runs it, by the franchise agreement: 5 must be run by the owner, 7 can be run by a trained manager, 1 don’t need the owner to take part. How sales figures compare · Who runs it

Mexican food franchises: yearly sales per location, US locations and change since 2023, yearly exits and who runs it
Brand	Sales per location	Locations vs 2023	Exits/yr
QdobaA trained manager can run itExits: 2.1% a year	$1.7Maverage	827+94	2.1%
Del TacoOwner must run it	$1.61Maverage	594	n/a
PancherosA trained manager can run itExits: 2.7% a year	$1.6Maverage	73−1	2.7%
Taco John’sA trained manager can run itExits: 6.3% a year	$1.26Maverage	327−41	6.3%
Moe's Southwest GrillOwner needn't take partExits: 6.1% a year	$1.18Maverage	568−69	6.1%
Rusty TacoOwner must run itExits: 17.8% a year	$940Kaverage	26−6	17.8%
TacoTimeA trained manager can run it	$926Kaverage	89−16	n/a
Baja FreshA trained manager can run it	$823Kaverage	68−16	n/a
Taco BellOwner must run itExits: 0.4% a year	n/a	7,998+478	0.4%
Fuzzy's Taco ShopA trained manager can run it	n/a	106−31	n/a
Salsarita's Fresh Mexican GrillA trained manager can run it	n/a	60−13	n/a
Barrio QueenOwner must run it	n/a	8+1	n/a
Mike’s Red TacosOwner must run it	n/a	2+1	n/a

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 Mexican food 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. Fewest exits first. How the ranking works

Best Mexican food franchises to own
Brand	Growth	Exits/yr	Cost to open
1. Taco Bell$1.86M–$4.31M to open	+6.4%	0.4%	$1.86M–$4.31M
2. Qdoba$548K–$1.29M to open	+13%	2.1%	$548K–$1.29M