Dutch Bros Competitors That Franchise: Fees and Costs (2026)

Dutch Bros no longer offers new franchises, according to its official support page. For an outside operator comparing similar coffee businesses, the useful questions are which brands franchise, what their disclosed opening costs include, and whether their published application terms fit the proposed business. Costa Coffee is a useful contrast: as of October 14, 2026, its US partnering page listed franchise among its offerings but published no US franchise terms; see the Costa Coffee US availability review.

This comparison uses 2026 FDD Item 5 fees and Item 7 investment ranges for ten brands. Bad Ass Coffee is a separate press-release comparison because no current FDD was available in the source set. FDD dates below follow the document covers, even when the download filename ends in 2025.pdf. The source review date is October 14, 2026; website statements come from saved pages, not a new live availability check.

Does Dutch Bros franchise?

No. Dutch Bros’ support page, reviewed 2026-10-14, states: “Dutch Bros no longer offers the option to franchise.” There is no Dutch Bros franchise fee to quote: with no franchise offering, no Item 5 fee is published for new operators.

Existing franchise shops remain in the system. The 2025 Form 10-K reports 811 company-operated and 325 franchise shops at December 31, 2025. The Q2 2026 Form 10-Q updates those counts to 888 company-operated and 337 franchised shops at June 30, 2026. Those dated counts describe the existing system, not an invitation to buy a new franchise. The Dutch Bros franchise guide explains the distinction.

Black Rock Coffee Bar is another lookalike brand that does not offer franchises, per its FAQ cited in that guide, checked September 29, 2026.

Dutch Bros competitors: fees, investment and application status

The table separates standard first-unit terms from discounts and development payments. Item 7 estimates are not site-specific quotes. Status cells quote the saved official pages where an application statement is available; “Not stated on its site” means the available site evidence supplies no explicit application-status statement. An inquiry invitation does not establish approval or territory availability. Status statements were reviewed 2026-10-14; Caribou’s capture is dated 2026-10-13.

Brand	Format	Franchise fee (Item 5)	Total investment (Item 7)	Taking new franchisees?	FDD issued
Scooter’s Coffee	Drive-thru kiosk / end cap	$40,000; separate $20,000 opening support fee	Kiosk $1,163,650-$1,345,750; end cap $658,898-$1,068,525	Real estate page: “Discover exciting franchise opportunities in emerging markets across the nation.” Reviewed 2026-10-14	April 3, 2026
Dunn Brothers Coffee	Coffee shop	$30,000	$448,600-$728,400, single shop	Not stated on its site	May 8, 2026
Biggby Coffee	Whitebox leasehold / modular / site-built	$20,000 first unit; $10,000 additional unit for qualifying existing franchisees	Whitebox leasehold $242,200-$610,000; modular $457,750-$826,000; site-built $484,200-$973,000	Cost page: “Submit an inquiry today!” Reviewed 2026-10-14	April 30, 2026
PJ’s Coffee	Free-standing / inline or end cap / nontraditional	Item 5: $15,000-$40,000 traditional; $15,000-$30,000 nontraditional, including multi-unit terms. First-unit Item 7 assumes $40,000 / $30,000; later multi-unit option $15,000	First unit: free-standing $925,500-$1,680,000; inline/end cap $522,500-$899,000; nontraditional $280,500-$585,500	Not stated on its site	April 10, 2026
Ellianos Coffee	Traditional drive-thru / end cap cafe / nontraditional	$30,000; additional same-owner store $15,000	Traditional $797,450-$1,397,400; end cap cafe $693,700-$918,700; nontraditional $186,500-$526,000; excludes real estate	Not stated on its site	March 17, 2026
The Human Bean	Drive-thru	$35,000, including $5,000 site analysis fee	$672,000-$1,537,000	Not stated on its site	February 25, 2026; amended May 5, 2026
7 Brew	Traditional drive-thru	$35,000 first store; $25,000 each later store; minimum ten-store development fee $125,000	$940,500-$2,283,500; initial store plus minimum ten-store development rights, not construction of all ten	Support page: “At this time, we are not accepting new franchise applications or expressions of interest.” Reviewed 2026-10-14	May 11, 2026
Ziggi’s Coffee	Drive-thru only / freestanding cafe with drive-thru / endcap cafe with drive-thru	$40,000; separate $10,000 launch fee per franchise	Drive-thru only $586,830-$1,759,855; freestanding cafe $655,336-$2,093,361; endcap cafe $592,336-$1,148,361	Franchise page: “Form is for those interested in franchising and opening a Ziggi’s Coffee location.” Reviewed 2026-10-14	March 31, 2026
Caribou Coffee	Chalet / drive-thru-only Cabin / nontraditional kiosk	Chalet/Cabin $30,000; kiosk $15,000, or $7,000 at a university or hospital	Chalet $898,100-$1,515,000; Cabin $606,100-$979,000; kiosk $281,100-$712,000; excluding lease	Franchising page: “Minimum commitment of 10+ locations” and “$3 million in cash/liquid assets”. Captured 2026-10-13; reviewed 2026-10-14	April 28, 2026
Aroma Joe’s	Existing building conversion / ground-up / nontraditional	$25,000; $20,000 existing franchisees; $12,500 qualifying veterans	Existing building conversion $431,300-$905,100; ground-up $937,300-$2,168,800; nontraditional $180,300-$623,300	Not stated on its site	March 3, 2026
Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii	Shop / nontraditional shop; press-release figures	Not stated in the release; see the current FDD Item 5	Release range $524,200-$990,500; nontraditional $186,700-$915,500. These are not verified current Item 7 figures	Not stated on its site	No current FDD in source set; company release June 3, 2026

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How to read the FDD figures

The fee column is not a list of every payment due before opening. Scooter’s separately charges an opening support fee; Ziggi’s separately charges a launch fee. The Human Bean includes its site analysis fee within its initial franchise fee. Do not add an included charge twice or assume the initial franchise fee covers every startup payment.

Development commitments also change the comparison. 7 Brew’s $125,000 minimum development fee includes the first $35,000 franchise fee plus $10,000 for each of nine additional development rights. Those additional payments do not offset the later $25,000 franchise fees. Its Item 7 total covers the first store and development rights, not construction of all ten stores. Caribou’s development payment is the full first-location fee plus half the initial fee for each additional location, credited against franchise fees. These terms appear in the respective FDDs’ Item 5 provisions.

PJ’s first-unit ranges above come from the Item 7 table, not the lower cover-page starting figures that include later-unit pricing. Biggby’s additional-unit discount applies to existing franchisees with a store and no franchise-agreement default. Ellianos’ end cap cafe and nontraditional estimates are separate from its traditional drive-thru range. Ziggi’s mobile unit is outside this fixed-location comparison. Aroma Joe’s FDD says its nontraditional estimate uses 2024 location costs because 2025 location costs were unavailable.

Website and FDD differences, compared October 14, 2026

The comparison below uses saved website evidence and the prior article’s recorded website figures. It does not represent a fresh live website check.

• The Human Bean: its FAQ capture, dated 2026-10-13, lists $672,000-$1,527,000. Item 7 lists $672,000-$1,537,000, a $10,000 higher upper bound. For its fees and franchise availability alongside Dutch Bros, see the Human Bean vs Dutch Bros comparison.
• Dunn Brothers: the prior article recorded $455,600-$798,960 from the official FAQ. The May 8, 2026 FDD’s single-shop Item 7 range is $448,600-$728,400. The table uses the FDD rather than treating the older website figure as current.
• Ellianos: the prior article recorded $803,450-$1,427,400, excluding real estate, from the investment page. The March 17, 2026 FDD’s traditional-store Item 7 range is $797,450-$1,397,400, also excluding real estate.
• Ziggi’s: its saved franchise page lists $560,000-$2,000,000. The FDD provides the three separate fixed-location ranges above; the website range is not a substitute for the selected format’s Item 7 estimate.
• Scooter’s, Biggby and PJ’s: saved website figures match the listed single-store Scooter’s ranges, Biggby whitebox range and PJ’s first-unit ranges. Biggby’s FDD also provides the modular and site-built estimates. Caribou’s saved page supplies qualifications but no fee or investment figures.
• Bad Ass Coffee: the prior article recorded $452,200-$920,500 on its multi-unit page, with no FDD year stated for that range. Its June 3, 2026 company release gives the different ranges shown in the table. This is a website-versus-release difference, not a verified current FDD comparison.

Minnesota’s CARDS registry shows a 2024 FDD and a May 2025 order of cancellation for Royal Aloha Franchise Company, LLC (checked 2026-10-14). The registry records are labeled “2024 Clean FDD” (31038-202404-08) and “Order of Cancellation” (9905-202505-01).

Questions to ask before you choose a brand

• What does the current FDD’s Item 7 include for the exact format and site, and what does it exclude? Use how to read an FDD to compare the estimate with the proposed agreement.
• What does Item 5 charge for the first unit, later units and development rights? After separating those payments, review the franchisor’s financial statements using the Item 21 guide.
• What does the brand’s dated application statement say about new operators, location commitments and qualification requirements?
• Which ongoing royalty and advertising obligations apply? Use the full comparison to compare those charges alongside initial investment.
• Will a franchise attorney and an accountant review the current FDD and agreement for the proposed deal before any commitment?