Ghost Kitchen Franchise Cost: What It Really Takes (2026)

“How much does a ghost kitchen franchise cost?” is a question with no single answer, because “ghost kitchen” means three different things, and each costs something different. A ghost kitchen is a delivery-only food operation with no dining room, selling through third-party delivery apps. But when someone says “ghost kitchen franchise,” they might mean a real franchise you buy, a menu license added to a restaurant, or just renting kitchen space by the month. This guide separates the three, gives one delivery-only cost range published in a franchisor’s own FDD (Dog Haus), and covers the ongoing costs and the industry shakeout that the cheap-entry pitch tends to leave out.

Every dollar figure below is attributed to a named source. Where no primary source states a figure, none is given. None of it is an earnings figure, and none is a promise about what a ghost kitchen would make for you.

First, three different things called a ghost kitchen

Before any number, figure out which of these you are actually looking at, because they are not the same purchase.

The first is a facility or commissary you rent. A shared, multi-kitchen facility hosts several operators, and you rent space in it. Dog Haus’s disclosure document describes exactly this arrangement for its Remote Kitchen franchise: a partially equipped commercial kitchen within a multi-kitchen facility, under a separate agreement with an approved supplier. A lease of kitchen space by itself is not a franchise offering, so ask whether any franchise is being sold and whether an FDD comes with it.

The second is a virtual-brand license. A virtual brand is a delivery- or pickup-only menu name. Restaurant Business reported in 2021 that restaurants were using excess kitchen capacity to host virtual brands such as MrBeast Burger. If you do not already run a kitchen, this is usually not a path you can buy into directly.

The third is an actual franchise. This is the one people mean when they picture buying a ghost kitchen: a franchise with an FDD, a fee, and a royalty, that you open as a delivery-only operation. Nation’s Restaurant News reported in June 2024 that Ghost Kitchens International had launched franchising the previous year, and Dog Haus’s March 18, 2025 FDD describes a delivery-only Remote Kitchen alongside its restaurants.

What each actually costs

The table separates disclosed costs from models without a sourced figure. Treat every range as a starting point to confirm in the current FDD, not a quote.

What you are buying	Sourced cost	Note
A traditional brand’s delivery-only format (Dog Haus Remote Kitchen)	$99,612 to $212,900, including $40,000 paid to the franchisor or its affiliates	Per Dog Haus’s FDD issued March 18, 2025, the most recent FDD on public file in Minnesota’s registry as of October 14, 2026. The same brand’s Fast Casual Restaurant is $357,437 to $625,800
Ghost Kitchens International franchise (formerly Ghost Kitchen Brands)	No figure: California’s DFPI registry returned no ‘ghost kitchen’ result on October 14, 2026	Nation’s Restaurant News reported in June 2024 that it had launched franchising the previous year; ask any seller for an FDD with Items 5, 6 and 7
Renting kitchen space (not a franchise)	No figure: no primary source states one	Ask the operator for the rent, term and fees in writing

Minnesota’s Department of Commerce issued an Order of Cancellation of Dog Haus’s Minnesota registration dated June 15, 2026, stating the franchisor “has failed to file an annual report and fee”; California’s DFPI record for the Remote Kitchens registration lists no 2026 filing as of October 14, 2026. Request the current FDD from Dog Haus and check your state’s registry.

The Dog Haus comparison is the most useful data point here, because it prices the same brand’s delivery-only and dine-in formats side by side in one document. The Remote Kitchen range works out to roughly 28 percent of the Fast Casual range at the low end and 34 percent at the high end, which shows the buildout savings from skipping the dining room.

Pros and cons versus a brick-and-mortar

The tradeoff runs both ways, and it is worth weighing.

On the plus side, the documented entry cost is lower: Dog Haus’s Remote Kitchen range is a fraction of its Fast Casual range, because you skip the dining room. For a first-timer with limited capital, that lower barrier is a real appeal.

On the other side, you trade that for heavy dependence on delivery platforms whose commissions compress the margin on every sale, and you lose the walk-in visibility, foot traffic, and customer loyalty a storefront builds. Quality control also gets harder when every order leaves in a delivery bag you do not control. None of these is disqualifying, but together they explain why a lower entry cost does not automatically make a ghost kitchen the easier business.

What a delivery-only kitchen buys every month

Packaging and bags are recurring costs that affect how food arrives, which matters when every order leaves in a bag.

• Commercial insulated delivery bags
• Tamper-evident delivery bags
• Leak-proof soup containers for delivery
• Bulk cup-carrier delivery trays
• Insulated food carriers for catering

The shakeout you should know about

This matters for diligence, so do not skip it. Restaurant Dive reported in November 2023 that Kitchen United would sell or close all of its physical locations and pivot to software, after shutting all eight of its Kroger locations, which had made up 44 percent of its 18-unit footprint. The outlet called Kitchen United one of the first, and one of the only enduring, success stories among ghost kitchen platforms, and said it joined other ghost kitchen firms that had suffered unit closures, layoffs or strategy failures in the prior two years.

What that report establishes is enough for the point that matters to a buyer: this model has been tested and thinned, so a brand’s staying power and its franchisee results deserve more scrutiny here than in an established category. Check the brand’s own Item 20 for outlet counts, transfers, terminations and closures rather than relying on sector commentary.

How to evaluate a ghost-kitchen opportunity

Model delivery commissions before you commit.

Our free 3-year projections template lets you enter revenue, cost of goods and operating costs, including app commissions and packaging, plus royalty and ad-fund rates. Plus the due-diligence kit.

Email addressSend me the kit

Optional: connect me with a vetted franchise-development partner if I match what they're looking for. FranchiseFeast may be paid a referral fee for this. It is never required to get what you asked for, and you can withdraw at any time.Your background (optional)Prefer not to sayCorporate or executive backgroundEntrepreneur, no food experience yetI already operate multiple unitsSomething else

Company

The kit is educational only, not legal or financial advice. By subscribing you agree to ourterms and privacy policy. How we're paid, including referral fees:affiliate & referral disclosure.

Use the same discipline you would for any food franchise, plus two ghost-kitchen-specific checks. First, confirm what you are actually buying, a franchise with an FDD, a menu license, or a lease, because the word covers all three. Second, model the delivery commissions and the facility costs into the ongoing costs before you judge it against a storefront, since the low buildout is only half the picture. Then request the FDD, read Item 7 for the true investment and Item 6 for the recurring fees with a franchise attorney, and, if the brand publishes an Item 19, read it rather than trusting any margin claim you see online.

For more low-cost concepts and the traps that come with them, see the guides to food franchises under $100K, food franchises under $25K, and the mistakes to avoid with a cheap food franchise.