Dutch Bros Franchise Cost? Human Bean vs Dutch Bros (2026)

There is no Dutch Bros franchise price: Dutch Bros’ support page, checked October 14, 2026, says it “no longer offers the option to franchise,” and its 2021 S-1/A says it decided in 2017 to “stop franchising altogether.” The Human Bean, a drive-thru coffee brand also based in Oregon, does franchise: its FDD issued February 25, 2026 (amended May 5, 2026) lists a $35,000 initial franchise fee and a $672,000 to $1,537,000 total investment, with no royalty. Both brands offer a similar drive-thru experience; The Human Bean’s franchisor is based in Medford, and Dutch Bros was founded in Grants Pass. FranchiseFeast does not sell franchises and is not paid by either company. Every figure here comes from a franchisor’s site, a franchise disclosure document (FDD) or an SEC filing, all cited at the bottom. None is an earnings figure.

Can you franchise The Human Bean and Dutch Bros? The short version

The Human Bean, yes. Dutch Bros, no. Both are drive-thru coffee brands with devoted followings and a similar customer experience, which is why people compare them, but only one has an FDD, a franchise fee and a sales process open to a new buyer. Dutch Bros’ path to running a shop is employment and promotion.

The Human Bean’s costs, in brief

The FDD issued February 25, 2026 (amended May 5, 2026) lists a $35,000 initial franchise fee and an Item 7 investment range of $672,000 to $1,537,000. It charges no royalty, but lists a 1% Brand Fee on Adjusted Gross Sales Revenues, which may increase up to 2%, and earns revenue from required supply purchases. Item 20 reports 176 franchised outlets at the end of 2025. The canonical cost guide covers the recurring fees, supply-chain disclosures, outlet changes and the dated difference between the FAQ and FDD investment ranges.

Full Human Bean cost breakdown: The Human Bean franchise cost

Why Dutch Bros isn’t on the table, and what its path is

As of October 14, 2026, Dutch Bros’ own support page says it no longer offers the option to franchise. Its S-1/A, filed in September 2021, gives the sequence in its own words: “In 2008, we stopped selling franchises to people that did not come from within our system. In 2017, we decided to stop franchising altogether and moved to a company-operated strategy with all operators recruited from within our system.” Its fiscal 2025 annual report repeats the position and expects most new shops to be company-operated.

The company still franchises in one narrow sense, and the counts show it:

The franchised count rose by 73 shops over those five years, and the 10-K says franchise partners “continue to open new shops as they look to infill their high-demand markets” (12 franchised openings in the first half of 2026, per the 10-Q). The 10-Q also lists reacquiring existing franchised shops as one way the company may use capital, and its subsequent-events note says that on July 27, 2026, after the June 30 count above, the company purchased the franchise rights and assets of 31 locations in Arizona from a franchisee for approximately $63.5 million. So the accurate summary is “not open to newcomers,” not “shrinking.” The support page says that, moving forward, all locations are company-owned, while the filings count 337 franchised shops at June 30, 2026; read the support page as the sales position and the filings as the shop count. The route to running a Dutch Bros is employment and promotion, a job rather than a purchase, and none of The Human Bean’s numbers apply to it.

Which model fits you, and what to do next

If you want a drive-thru coffee franchise you can actually buy, The Human Bean is a direct option, and the distinctive question is whether a no-royalty, required-purchase model works in your favor at your expected volume. Request the FDD, read Items 6 and 8 with a franchise attorney, and model the supply economics against your own sales. The Human Bean cost breakdown sources each figure. Run your own volume through the franchise royalty calculator to see what a conventional royalty would have cost.

If you specifically want Dutch Bros, the only route is the internal operator path. If you want to keep comparing drive-thru brands you can still franchise, the PJ’s versus Dutch Bros breakdown, the coffee franchise cost guide and the roundup of brands like Dutch Bros that do franchise cover the ones that are available.