How Much Does It Cost to Buy a Franchise? (Price Guide)

The cost of buying a franchise has no single answer, because the word covers a home-based service business and a free-standing restaurant with a drive-thru. A median is a fair place to start, but your own number depends almost entirely on the kind of business you choose. Industry matters more than the brand's reputation.

Every figure on this page comes from the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), the document a franchisor must give you before you buy. The section that matters most for startup cost is Item 7, the table of estimated initial investment. Item 5 covers the initial franchise fee, Item 6 covers ongoing fees, and Item 19, when a franchisor includes it, covers financial performance. The data was last checked on Oct 13, 2026.

The median system lists a total of $187,750 – $452,000, based on a large set of 2025 and 2026 disclosure documents that excludes hotels. The midpoint is $325,015. Half of the systems fall on either side of that middle, so many sit well below it and many sit far above.

The total already includes the franchise fee. It also includes the build-out, equipment, signs, inventory, training travel, deposits, and a working capital reserve. It does not include the cost of buying an existing business from its current owner, which is priced differently, usually off that location's cash flow.

Category predicts cost better than brand strength does, mainly because it decides whether you need a customer-facing building. The ranges below are medians for each category.

Food and beverage sits at the top of the list because restaurants need kitchens, dining rooms, and often drive-thru lanes. Fitness follows, since gyms need large spaces and expensive equipment. Home services, cleaning, and business services cost much less because the work happens at the customer's site or in an office, with no storefront to build.

Industry medians describe a neighborhood. A brand's own Item 7 tells you the price. The brands below show how far apart real systems can be, and each range includes that brand's franchise fee.

Look at the McDonald's and Subway rows together. Both are restaurant franchises, yet their ranges do not overlap at all. Chick-fil-A has a very wide range, so ask how its format and property arrangements affect what an operator pays. When you compare brands, use the same format and the same year for both.

The franchise fee is the payment for the right to use the brand, the training, and the pre-opening support. The median initial fee across current filings is $42,500. Another guide puts the typical range at $10,000 – $50,000, with some brands charging more.

The fee is already counted inside the Item 7 total, so do not add it on top. It also tells you little about the overall cost. A brand with a modest fee can still cost far more to open than one with a larger fee, because the build-out dominates.

Startup cost is only half the picture. Most franchisors also charge a percentage of sales for as long as you operate. The median royalty is 6% of gross sales, with a median advertising fund contribution of 2%. A separate guide describes typical royalties as running 4% – 12% of gross sales.

Technology fees are a third piece. The median technology fee is $311/mo.

These charges start once you open, whether or not the business is profitable. Two brands with the same startup cost can have very different economics once the fee stack is applied, so include it in any comparison.

Articles that quote a single average cost for a franchise often disagree, and there are several possible reasons. Some may count only restaurants, some may leave out real estate, and some may use older filings. Averaging ranges from very different businesses also produces a number that describes no real franchise. The estimate below is the median Item 7 range from VetMyFranchise.

The full span from the cheapest system to the most expensive is technically accurate but not much use for budgeting. Medians and category ranges give you a narrower and more realistic target.

1. Pick the industry first. The category range is a better guide than the cross-industry median.
2. Find the Item 7 table for each brand you are considering and compare the same format and year.
3. Check which lines the table does not cover, such as land, financing, and your own living expenses.
4. Add the ongoing fees to the model and test them against realistic sales.
5. Ask the franchisor what a recent opening actually spent compared with the table.

• Which Item 7 lines can move the most for my site?
• What exactly does the initial franchise fee buy?
• How can the royalty, advertising, and technology fees change over the term?
• Does the FDD include financial performance information in Item 19, and what does it measure?
• What are the renewal, transfer, and termination terms?

Review the full FDD with a franchise attorney and an accountant before you sign any agreement or pay a deposit. A cost table cannot tell you what the contract requires of you.