Bakery Franchise Cost 2026: Kiosk to Full Cafe, Ranked

Bakery franchise costs vary by format: “bakery” can mean a mall pretzel kiosk or a full sit-down bakery-cafe. The lowest Item 7 floor among the brands below is $29,250 inside a new Schlotzsky’s restaurant; the largest run past $1.8 million. Compare the format as well as the brand: equipment, buildout and seating requirements differ between a kiosk and a full storefront.

The table separates initial franchise fees (Item 5), ongoing royalties and advertising funds (Item 6), and estimated opening investments (Item 7). The FDDs were checked October 14, 2026; seven were issued in 2026, and Le Macaron’s was issued in 2025. Investment ranges are costs to open, not earnings figures. Confirm the applicable format and terms in the current disclosure document.

Compare the format before the brand

The reason bakery costs range so widely is that many of these brands sell multiple formats under one name. Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s each offer everything from a small mall kiosk or concession stand up to a full co-branded store, and their opening budgets vary substantially by format. A kiosk needs a counter, a display case, and a small equipment package. A full bakery-cafe needs ovens, mixers, walk-in refrigeration, a dining room, and the real estate to hold it all. That is where the money goes.

So the first decision is not which brand but which format, and it should follow your capital and your market. A kiosk or cart in existing mall or retail traffic is the low-cost, smaller-footprint path; a standalone bakery-cafe is a far larger commitment with a bigger operation and more risk. Read every figure below with the format in mind, because a single brand can appear in both the cheap tier and the expensive one.

The full cost table, ranked by investment floor

This table lists the bakery franchises with a current FDD or published investment range, ordered by the low end of their published total investment. Each row separates the disclosed formats. Ranking uses the lowest single-location Item 7 estimate; multi-unit development commitments are separate.

Brand	Format range	Franchise fee (Item 5)	Total investment (FDD Item 7)	Royalty (Item 6)	Ad/marketing fund (Item 6)	FDD issuance date
Cinnabon	Express, full, concession and co-brand	$8,000 Express; $35,500 full; $5,500 concession; $71,000 co-brand	Express in new Schlotzsky’s: $29,250 to $66,900; other Express: $70,850 to $191,950; traditional full: $256,950 to $703,500; nontraditional full: $196,250 to $715,100; concession truck: $171,465 to $325,875; concession trailer: $125,465 to $263,650; Auntie Anne’s co-brand: $410,675 to $1,205,400; Carvel co-brand or Swirl: $463,250 to $1,136,500	6% of Net Sales; Schlotzsky’s Express pays then-current product price per case instead. Other-location Auntie Anne’s co-brand: 6% of Cinnabon-attributed Net Sales and 7% of Auntie Anne’s-attributed Net Sales (may rise to 8%)	Other locations: 2.5% of Net Sales; streetside and Swirl: 3%; Schlotzsky’s Express: none. Other-location Auntie Anne’s co-brand: 2.5% of Cinnabon-attributed and 2% of Auntie Anne’s-attributed Net Sales	March 27, 2026
Le Macaron	Mobile kiosk, food truck, shop or permanent kiosk	$45,000 per single franchise	Mobile kiosk: $91,730 to $139,500; food truck: $112,530 to $157,000; shop or permanent kiosk: $164,180 to $452,000	6% of Gross Sales	1% of Gross Sales marketing fee; not uniformly imposed	June 23, 2025
Auntie Anne’s	Concession, full and co-brand	$10,500 concession; $35,500 full; $71,000 co-brand	Concession trailer: $115,225 to $261,800; concession truck: $118,225 to $279,100; full: $157,795 to $835,500; Cinnabon co-brand: $410,675 to $1,205,400; Jamba co-brand: $472,375 to $1,811,400	Currently 7% of Net Sales, may rise to 8%. Other-location co-brands: that rate on Auntie Anne’s-attributed Net Sales, plus 6% on Cinnabon-attributed or 6% on Jamba-attributed Net Sales (Jamba may rise to 7%). Streetside Cinnabon co-brand: 6%; streetside Jamba co-brand: 6%, may rise to 7%, of Net Sales	Other locations: 2% of Net Sales; streetside: 3%. Other-location co-brands: 2% of Auntie Anne’s-attributed Net Sales plus 2.5% of Cinnabon-attributed or 3% of Jamba-attributed Net Sales	March 27, 2026
Duck Donuts	Single shop	$40,000	$394,150 to $628,700	6% of weekly Gross Sales	2% of Gross Sales brand fund; may rise to 3%	April 8, 2026
Nothing Bundt Cakes	Full bakery, by size	$45,000	1,600 to 1,800 sq ft: $475,200 to $994,100; larger than 1,800 sq ft: $490,900 to $1,156,200	6% of weekly Net Revenues	Combined Production Fund and Paid Media Fund: 5% of weekly Net Revenues	April 30, 2026; amended May 26, 2026
Great Harvest Bread	Single bakery-cafe	$40,000	$591,742 to $871,077	5% of Gross Sales	2.5% of Gross Sales brand fund	March 23, 2026
Paris Baguette	Nontraditional to traditional bakery-cafe	$50,000 first cafe; $40,000 subsequent cafes or each area-developer cafe	$727,515 to $1,860,550; low end typically nontraditional, high end traditional	5% of weekly Gross Sales; reduced by 1 percentage point for the first 12 months for qualifying early openings	Currently 2% of weekly Gross Sales; may rise to 3%	March 30, 2026
Crumbl	Single cookie shop	$50,000	$848,566 to $1,472,533	8% of gross sales	2% of gross sales marketing fund; additional cooperative contribution of 1% to 2% of gross sales if established	April 6, 2026; amended May 13, 2026

Comparing bakery formats?

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The Cinnabon Express estimate inside a new Schlotzsky’s excludes the host restaurant and assumes simultaneous construction. Cinnabon concessions are offered only to qualifying existing franchisees. Auntie Anne’s cover lists a concession range of $118,225 to $367,300, but its Item 7 tables give the trailer and truck ranges above. Both Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s list a $71,000 Cinnabon/Auntie Anne’s co-brand fee in Item 5, while their Item 7 fee rows show $66,000. The table preserves each item’s disclosed figures; request clarification before budgeting that format.

Local spending is separate from the fund column. Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s each currently require at least 1% of Net Sales for local marketing each calendar quarter, with fund plus local requirements capped at 5% of Net Sales. Le Macaron requires 1% of Gross Sales locally, with any 1% cooperative contribution credited toward that requirement. Duck Donuts requires 1% of Gross Sales locally; Great Harvest requires the greater of 2% of Gross Sales or $500 monthly; Paris Baguette requires 1% of Gross Sales. Crumbl’s local requirement is currently 0%, but may rise to 2% of monthly gross sales after 60 days’ notice.

Multi-unit agreements have separate commitments. Le Macaron’s 2025 FDD cover lists a $99,000 development fee for rights to three locations. Its area-development opening estimates are $145,730 to $193,500 for a mobile kiosk, $166,530 to $211,000 for a food truck, and $218,180 to $506,000 for a traditional shop or permanent kiosk. These include development rights, not three complete shop buildouts. Item 5 credits the development fee toward the three initial franchise fees.

Other development estimates also differ from a single-location budget: Duck Donuts lists $415,850 to $666,200; Great Harvest lists $631,742 to $911,077 under its two-outlet development agreement; Nothing Bundt Cakes’ cover lists $520,200 to $1,039,100 for the first bakery with rights to three bakeries; and Paris Baguette’s cover lists $777,515 to $1,910,550 for the first cafe under a four-cafe agreement. Crumbl’s Item 7 estimates $2,545,698 to $4,417,599 for a minimum of three locations. Compare the number of openings actually included before using these figures.

The low-cost tier: kiosks and nontraditional formats

If your goal is the lowest entry cost, the kiosk and concession formats are the answer, and they mostly live inside brands you already know. Cinnabon’s FDD lists an Express Bakery at $29,250 to $66,900 in a new Schlotzsky’s restaurant and $70,850 to $191,950 in any other location, so the very lowest figure applies to one specific host, not to any mall. Auntie Anne’s Item 7 lists $115,225 to $261,800 for a concession trailer and $118,225 to $279,100 for a concession truck. Le Macaron French Pastries lists in its June 23, 2025 FDD a format ladder, from a mobile kiosk at $91,730 to $139,500 and a food truck at $112,530 to $157,000 up to a traditional shop or permanent kiosk at $164,180 to $452,000, which makes it easy to price the format you want.

These smaller formats have lower disclosed opening budgets. Operating costs still depend on the site, staffing, equipment and host agreement. Compare capacity and local foot traffic alongside the Item 7 estimate.

The full bakery-cafe tier

At the other end are the full-format bakery brands, where you build a real bakery and, in some cases, a dining room. Per its FDD, Nothing Bundt Cakes lists $475,200 to $994,100 for a 1,600 to 1,800 square foot bakery, and $490,900 to $1,156,200 for a larger one. Crumbl, the cookie brand, lists $848,566 to $1,472,533. Paris Baguette sits at the top with a full bakery-cafe build, $727,515 to $1,860,550.

For a dated status check on another cookie brand, see whether Insomnia Cookies offers franchises.

Nothing Bundt Cakes changed hands in 2026: its FDD Item 1 states that the KKR Acquisition closed May 18, 2026. See our Nothing Bundt Cakes cost guide for its size-specific opening budgets and ongoing fees.

Great American Cookies also changed hands in 2026: FBG Bid Co. announced on June 16, 2026 that it completed the acquisition of substantially all assets of certain FAT Brands subsidiaries, including Great American Cookies (see the GlobeNewswire release). As of October 14, 2026, the OHG Brands site, which lists Great American Cookies, says “Locations and territories are available across the U.S. and internationally.” The Great American Cookies cost guide covers what is published. Separately, Krispy Kreme reported zero US franchise shops as of December 28, 2025, but its Q2 2026 10-Q reports WKS refranchising on March 23, 2026. That historical count does not establish current US franchise availability.

If you’re pricing equipment for an independent bakery instead, see our guides to countertop dough proofers and bakery display cases, plus our bakery business books for planning reading.

One more framing note: if you are choosing between bakery and another category, the format you build moves the cost more than the category does.

Two brand-status notes. First, Crumbl’s franchising page shows “Apply Today” and a minimum liquidity requirement of $200,000 (checked October 14, 2026). As with any brand, read its current Item 19 and Item 20 (openings, closures, transfers) and call current and former franchisees.

For Le Macaron, Minnesota’s franchise registry shows an Order of Cancellation dated July 27, 2026, stating that the franchisor, Le Macaron Development LLC, failed to file an annual report and fee (checked October 14, 2026). See the Le Macaron registry record.

Cheapest is a filter, not the answer

A low investment number narrows the field; it does not pick the brand. A kiosk and a full bakery-cafe are different businesses with different economics, and the ongoing royalty and advertising fund, with standard percentage royalties running 5 to 8 percent across these FDDs and an ad fund on top, apply to nearly every format (a Cinnabon Express Bakery in a Schlotzsky’s pays no percentage royalty). Paris Baguette’s qualifying early-opening incentive reduces its 5% royalty by one percentage point for the first 12 months. Use the table to shortlist, then request the FDD, read Item 7 for the true investment and Item 6 for the recurring fees with a franchise attorney, and confirm the brand is recruiting in your market.

For more low-cost concepts, see our food franchises under $100K guide and the cheapest pizza franchises breakdown, and for the closely related dessert category, our ice cream and dessert franchise guide.