Wingstop franchise
A Wingstop franchisee runs a chicken wing restaurant. At the end of 2025 there were 2,586 Wingstop locations in the US, 2,529 franchised and 57 company-owned.
- Cost to open
- $310K–$1.05M
- Franchise fee
- $25,000
- Royalty
- 6%
- Locations, 2025
- 2,586+851 in 3 yrs
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Company snapshot
- SBA loans
- Not on the SBA Franchise Directory
From Wingstop Franchising LLC’s 2026 filing; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
How much a Wingstop franchise costs
Opening one Wingstop restaurant, excluding buying or leasing the real estate costs an estimated $310,400 to $1,048,500. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
Source: Wingstop Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 22
Wingstop franchise fee
The franchise fee is $25,000, per restaurant, plus a separate $25,000 development fee per restaurant under the required development agreement. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Wingstop Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 13
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 6% of gross sales, paid weekly. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | An ad fund contribution of 5.5% of gross sales (set each year between 5% and 5.5%). |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Wingstop Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 14
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Wingstop publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations: franchised restaurants open the whole 2025 fiscal year averaged $2,007,626 in net sales, with a median of $1,890,866. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Wingstop Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 65
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,877 (+199) | 49 | 4 |
| 2024 | 2,154 (+277) | 50 | 4 |
| 2025 | 2,529 (+375) | 57 | 9 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
Wingstop is number 1 for new US locations from 2023 to 2025; see the fastest-growing franchises.
Wingstop passes four of the five tests on our list of the best franchises to own; it isn't on the SBA Franchise Directory.
Source: Wingstop Franchising LLC, 2026 filing, page 67
How Wingstop compares
Of the 14 chicken franchises on this site, Wingstop is the 2nd cheapest to open and the 4th largest by number of locations.
| Measure | Wingstop | Typical chicken |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $310K | $1.24M |
| Royalty | 6% | 5% |
| Closed or left per year | 0.3% | 1.6% |
| Change in franchised locations, 3 yrs | +50.7% | +15.7% |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 11 of 14 |
Typical is the median across the 14 brands in chicken franchises.
