Blaze Pizza Franchise Cost 2026: Fee, Investment, Royalty

Per its April 30, 2026 FDD, Blaze Pizza charges a $30,000 initial franchise fee, estimates a $757,000 to $1,297,100 total investment, and charges a 5% royalty on gross sales plus a Creative Fund contribution, currently 2%.

The April 2026 FDD also sets a separate local advertising requirement. Its filename says 2025, but the cover issuance date is April 30, 2026. The figures below are opening costs and contractual obligations, not earnings estimates.

How much does a Blaze Pizza franchise cost?

Item 5 makes the $30,000 initial franchise fee nonrefundable and payable in a lump sum when each franchise agreement is signed. Item 7 estimates the following costs for a single restaurant. The two largest lines are leasehold improvements and furniture, fixtures, equipment and décor.

Item 7 line, as printed	Low	High
Initial Franchise Fee	$30,000	$30,000
Leasehold Improvements	$300,000	$570,000
Furniture, Fixtures, Equipment and Décor	$300,000	$400,000
Signage and Graphics	$20,000	$40,000
Uniforms, Initial Inventory and Smallware	$24,000	$41,500
Grand Opening Advertising Program	$10,000	$30,000
Additional Funds – 3 Months	$20,000	$45,000
TOTAL ESTIMATED INITIAL INVESTMENT	$757,000	$1,297,100

The selected lines above do not constitute the entire Item 7 budget. Architect and engineer costs, permits, computer equipment, rent deposits, training and professional fees are also included in the FDD total. The franchise fee is one part of the opening investment, not a substitute for it.

Compare the investment floor with the pizza franchise cost comparison and cheapest pizza franchise ranking, which explain how different restaurant formats affect startup costs.

The royalty and advertising obligations

Item 6 charges a Continuing Royalty of 5% of Gross Sales for the previous week, payable each Wednesday. The Creative Fund contribution is currently 2% of weekly Gross Sales, with authority to increase it to 4% upon 60 days’ written notice. Item 6 notes that certain franchisees, including some nontraditional venues, may contribute on a different basis.

Local advertising is separate: Item 6 requires spending 2% of total Gross Sales for the immediately preceding six-month period. If spending falls short during any rolling six-month period, Blaze may require the difference to be paid into the Creative Fund. The current royalty and Creative Fund together equal 7%; the separate local requirement adds another 2% advertising obligation. Other fees and operating expenses remain outside those percentages.

Blaze’s franchising FAQ, checked 2026-10-13, states “A 5% royalty fee based on gross sales” and “A 2% national marketing contribution”. Its reference to local marketing omits the percentage that Item 6 supplies. The FDD Item 6 guide uses Blaze’s gross-sales royalty to explain why the calculation basis matters.

Qualification: the gate most buyers actually hit

SBA Franchise Directory: Blaze Pizza appears in the SBA’s Franchise Directory file effective October 9, 2026 (SBA Franchise Identifier Code S0225; franchisor certification marked received). A listing is what a lender checks for brand eligibility; it is not an endorsement, and your own eligibility as a borrower is assessed separately. See how to check the SBA Franchise Directory.

Blaze’s franchising sites, checked 2026-10-13, list $200K+ liquid capital and $500K+ net worth. These screening minimums are separate from Item 7: qualifying does not establish that the entire build is funded or guarantee approval.

The April 2026 FDD says Blaze primarily requires franchisees to develop multiple units under an Area Development Agreement, although it may offer individual franchises. Resolve the number of restaurants required before treating the single-restaurant Item 7 range as your complete commitment. The franchise startup capital guide explains qualification, opening costs and working capital.

See whether your capital covers a Blaze build

Our free startup-cost worksheet follows the FDD's Item 7 lines, so you can test the liquidity minimum against the full build cost. Plus the due-diligence kit.

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What its site says vs what its FDD says

The franchising sites were checked 2026-10-13. They publish headline costs but omit the initial term, renewal conditions and franchised-versus-company-owned breakdown supplied by the April 30, 2026 FDD.

What its site says	What its FDD says
$30K franchise fee; $757K to $1.297M initial investment	Items 5 and 7: $30,000 fee; $757,000 to $1,297,100 total. The site’s upper endpoint is rounded.
5% royalty based on gross sales; 2% national marketing contribution	Item 6: 5% of Gross Sales; Creative Fund currently 2%, up to 4% upon 60 days’ written notice.
Local marketing spend requirements, without a percentage	Item 6: 2% of Gross Sales over a rolling six-month period; a shortfall may be payable to the Creative Fund.
$200K+ liquid capital; $500K+ net worth	Site qualification minimums are separate from Item 7’s single-restaurant investment.
240+ locations across the United States and internationally	Item 20: 230 franchised and zero company-owned outlets at the 2025 fiscal year end. These are dated figures with different stated scopes.
No initial term or renewal conditions stated	Item 17: ten-year initial term; two conditional ten-year successor agreements.
Per its franchising page, checked 2026-10-13, target markets include limited availability in California and Florida	Item 12: any protected territory is conditional and defined in the agreement; no blanket exclusive territory.

Initial term and renewal

Item 17, rows a-c, sets ten years from the date the restaurant first opens to the public. A franchisee in good standing may enter two successor franchise agreements, each with a ten-year term. The successor contract may have materially different terms.

Renewal conditions include compliance with contractual obligations, remodeling to current standards, training, signing a general release and successor agreement with a renewal addendum, and paying 50% of the then-current initial franchise fee. The table also requires that the franchisee has not committed three or more material defaults in any 36-month period. After the two successor terms there is no further contractual right to a successor agreement, although the operator may apply for a new franchise agreement. See the FDD Item 17 guide.

How many Blaze Pizza outlets are there?

Item 20, Table 1, reports these year-end counts, per the April 2026 FDD. The fiscal year-end dates are December 31, 2023, December 29, 2024 and December 28, 2025.

As of fiscal year end	Franchised	Company-owned	Total
2023	283	13	296
2024	255	11	266
2025	230	0	230

These historical counts do not establish the number operating today. The FDD Item 20 guide explains how to read the accompanying transfer and closure tables alongside the outlet summary.

Territory: the constraint before the money

Blaze’s franchising sites, checked 2026-10-13, name target regions across the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, South Central and West Coast, with California and Florida marked limited. A site’s market list is not contractual protection or confirmation that a specific location is available.

Item 12 permits operation only at the accepted location. Blaze may provide limited protected rights in a territory it defines in its discretion; otherwise the rights are limited to the restaurant’s street address. The key conditional protection says: “If you receive protected rights, during the term of your Franchise Agreement, we will not open or operate, or license others to own or operate, any Restaurant (defined below) in your Territory.”

That protection has exceptions. Item 12 reserves rights for nontraditional venues, other brands, certain shopping-center or mall locations subject to a right of first refusal, and other specified channels. It also provides no guaranteed catering or delivery area. Review the actual attachment defining your rights with a franchise attorney; the FDD Item 12 guide explains the distinction between protected and exclusive territory.

Franchise Times reported on December 18, 2024, in an article updated July 17, 2025 and checked 2026-10-13, that a Southern California franchisee signed a six-year, 25-unit development agreement and separately acquired six Southern California stores. The article did not identify the prior owner of those six stores. A signed development agreement is a commitment to develop, not evidence that all 25 restaurants opened. Its historical description of more than 300 locations is separate from the later Item 20 counts above.

Questions to ask Blaze Pizza before you sign

• Does the FDD delivered for your offer have the same issuance date and figures as the April 30, 2026 document summarized here?
• Which Item 7 costs apply to your site, and how much capital covers the full development commitment?
• What territory protection appears in your agreement and its attachments, and which exceptions apply?
• What remodeling and other conditions apply to a successor agreement under Item 17?
• What do Item 20’s transfers, terminations and closures show about the markets under consideration?
• Is a single restaurant available, or must you sign an Area Development Agreement?

Have a franchise attorney and accountant review the complete FDD and proposed agreements before committing. For comparison with another build-your-own pizza brand, see the MOD Pizza franchising guide.