Low-Cost Food Franchises

Best Salad and Bowl Franchise to Open: Who Is Actually Open

Five salad and bowl brands compared on availability first, then cost. One has paused applications, one's US status is unresolved, and one signals multi-unit only.

Bubble Tea Franchise Costs: One Verifiable Royalty in Five

Across five major bubble tea brands, only Kung Fu Tea's royalty can be verified from a primary document. The others publish no rate at all on their own sites.

Chop Stop Franchise Cost: Applications Are Paused

Chop Stop says on its own site that it has temporarily paused franchise applications. It publishes no fee, investment range or royalty anywhere.

Food Franchise Investment Tiers: What Changes as Cost Rises

Across the brands on this site, single-unit ownership systematically disappears as the capital tier rises. That, not the price, is what separates the tiers.

Which Food Franchise Vertical Is Cheapest to Open?

Comparing verticals hides the real cost driver. Three brands publish per-format ranges, and within one brand the format swings cost more than the category does.

Freshii Franchise Cost: Its FDD Carries a Risk Statement

Freshii's 2023 disclosure document carries the franchisor's own warning about its financial condition, and Item 20 shows US franchised units falling 121 to 52.

Great American Cookies Cost: New Owners Since June 2026

Great American Cookies was sold out of its parent's Chapter 11 in June 2026. What that changes, what it charges, and what nobody can tell you yet.

IHOP Franchise Cost: $1.5M Net Worth Per Restaurant Built

IHOP charges 8% in ongoing fees, low for this category, against a net-worth requirement that scales per restaurant committed. The trade-off explained.

Jamba Franchise Cost: Its Parent Publishes One Fee Table

Jamba's parent GoTo Foods publishes a single fee table across all its brands, so its 6% net-sales royalty sits next to Auntie Anne's 7%. What that reveals.

Jimmy John's vs Wayback Burgers: Ongoing Fees Nearly Match

The far larger brand publishes no franchise figures at all. The far smaller one publishes a detailed cost page, and then contradicts itself on it.

Krispy Kreme Franchise Cost: There Are Zero US Franchises

Krispy Kreme's own 10-K reports 303 US shops, all company-owned, and zero US franchise shops. Its franchise page returns a 404. What the filing says instead.

Nothing Bundt Cakes Cost: $45,000 and a Sunday Fight

Nothing Bundt Cakes publishes a $45,000 fee and 11% in ongoing fees without stating the basis. Its Utah franchisees fought a Sunday-opening mandate.

Philly Pretzel Factory Cost: A $60,000-Liquid Entry Tier

Philly Pretzel Factory publishes three formats from $176,000, with requirements tiered to each. It does not publish a franchise fee or royalty at all.

Playa Bowls vs Sobol: One Carries Four Risk Statements

Sobol is cheaper than Playa Bowls on investment, royalty and marketing. Its disclosure document also carries four risk statements, including spousal liability.

Pokeworks Franchise Cost: A Target, Not Just a Range

Pokeworks publishes $270,435 to $599,661 per restaurant and then does something rare: it names a target of $400,000 to $450,000 including working capital.

Blaze Pizza Franchise Cost: Fee, Investment and Royalty

What a Blaze Pizza franchise costs per its own franchising page: the $30,000 fee, the total investment range, a 5% royalty on gross sales, and a 2% marketing fund.

Bojangles Franchise Cost: Investment, Fee and Veteran Terms

What a Bojangles franchise costs: the $35,000 fee, Express and Traditional investment ranges, the $1M liquidity gate, and its veteran fee and royalty relief.

Buffalo Wild Wings Franchise Cost: BWW vs BWW GO

Buffalo Wild Wings franchise costs for both formats: a $2.46M to $4.9M traditional build versus BWW GO at $375,845 to $919,500, and why the smaller one charges more.

BurgerFi Franchise Cost: A Chapter 11 You Should Know About

BurgerFi's parent filed Chapter 11 in 2024 and was sold that December, with franchised locations excluded. Its site advertises 49 more units than trade press.

Charleys Cheesesteaks Franchise Cost: Three Units Minimum

Charleys requires new franchisees to buy at least three licenses, so its $203,736 entry figure is really a three-restaurant commitment. The real fee math.

Church's Texas Chicken Franchise Cost: Fees and Conflicts

What a Church's Texas Chicken franchise costs: a 5% royalty on gross revenues, a 5% marketing fee, and three conflicting fee figures on its own site.

Culver's Franchise Cost: It Won't Publish One

Culver's wants hands-on owner-operators and requires $500,000 liquid, but publishes no fee, investment range or royalty anywhere. What it does disclose.

Del Taco Franchise Cost: SoCal Closed, Royalty on Net Sales

Del Taco states it is not taking Southern California applications, charges 5% of net sales rather than gross, and ramps royalties from 1% for three-unit developers.

Firehouse Subs Franchise Cost: Every State Open, 11% Ongoing

Firehouse Subs publishes three per-format investment ranges, a $20,000 fee, territory in every US state, and a veteran incentive worth up to $100,000 per restaurant.

Freddy's Franchise Cost: Single Units Welcome, 3 States Closed

Freddy's publishes a single-unit tier, three per-format investment ranges and a 4.5% royalty on gross sales. It also lists three states as not available.

Habit Burger Franchise Cost: Multi-Unit Only, 2023 Figures

Habit Burger asks for multi-unit franchisees in the sentence inviting you to enquire, and its live cost page still cites a 2023 FDD. What it publishes.

Jersey Mike's Franchise Cost: What Its IPO Filing Reveals

Jersey Mike's SEC filing says over 90% of its 1,600-store pipeline goes to existing owners, yet half its 630 owners run one or two stores. Both are true.

Playa Bowls Franchise Cost: Its FDD Shows Fees Get Discounted

Playa Bowls publishes a $35,000 franchise fee, and its own FDD discloses that 37 franchisees paid between $15,000 and $30,000 in one year. What else Item 5 reveals.

Qdoba Franchise Cost: Its Pages Disagree on Single Units

Qdoba publishes a $40,000 fee, two properly separated format ranges and the best territory map in its category. It also contradicts itself on single-unit buyers.

Robeks Franchise Cost: A Net-Sales Royalty It Won't Define

Robeks charges 7% on net sales, falling to 6% at three units. Nothing public defines what net sales excludes, which makes the rate impossible to compare.

Smoothie King Franchise Cost: It Publishes Its Entire FDD

Smoothie King hosts its full 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document on its own site. It confirms a $30,000 fee and 6% royalty, and exposes a contradiction.

Tropical Smoothie Cost: Three Cafes in Most Markets

Tropical Smoothie advertises a $275,500 single-cafe investment and requires three cafes in most markets. The real entry, the 11-12% ongoing, and the veteran math.

Whataburger Franchise Cost: There Is No Way to Apply

Whataburger's website has no franchising section at all. No application, no inquiry form, no published figures. What that means and what the real numbers were.

Which Wich Franchise Cost: No Territory Protection

Which Wich publishes a $30,000 fee, a $253,500 to $822,250 investment and a city-level market map. It also states it does not offer territory protections.

Wing Snob Franchise Cost: Its Own Site Gives Two Answers

Wing Snob publishes a $30,000 fee and a $5,000 veteran discount, but two of its own pages give investment ranges that differ by nearly double. Both are shown here.

Wings Etc Franchise Cost: Sold Out With No Open Markets

Wings Etc publishes a $39,500 fee and a $367,150 to $2,567,100 investment, but its own markets page says sold out. What that means before you apply.

Wingstop Franchise Cost: A $5M Net Worth and a Fee Conflict

What a Wingstop franchise costs: a $298,200 to $1,013,500 investment, a $5M net worth bar, and a franchise fee its own SEC filing and website state differently.

Your Pie Franchise Cost: Fee, Investment and Royalty

What a Your Pie franchise costs: a $35,000 fee, a $404,750 to $1,249,000 investment, a 5% royalty on net sales, and the figures its own pages disagree on.

Zaxby's Franchise Cost: Fee, Investment and the Gaps

What a Zaxby's franchise costs: a $35,000 fee, $500K liquid and $1M net worth for one store, two conflicting investment ranges, and no published royalty rate.

Does In-N-Out Franchise? No, Not in 2026

No. In-N-Out has no franchise program, no public FDD, and no franchise fee. Its roughly 400 locations are all company-owned and run by the founding Snyder family.

Does Insomnia Cookies Franchise? No, Not in 2026

No. Insomnia Cookies stays company-owned in 2026 through two ownership changes, and no public evidence shows it has ever sold a franchise to an outside buyer.

Does MOD Pizza Franchise in 2026? Yes, Since 2024

Yes. MOD Pizza's refranchising push was announced in September 2024, not 2025 as often reported, and its own page lists no investment figures.

Five Guys Franchise Availability in the US, 2026

Five Guys does franchise, but as of July 2026 US and Canada territory is sold out. Here is where it is still recruiting, and burger brands with open US territory.

Is Cracker Barrel a Franchise? No, Here Is Why

No, Cracker Barrel does not franchise. All roughly 660 locations are company owned, per its own site and an SEC filing, plus diner brands that do franchise in 2026.

Is PizzaForno a Franchise or a License? The Test

PizzaForno calls its model a license, not a franchise. Here is what the company says, the FTC's three-part test, and what an FDD tells you a license does not.

Bakery Franchise Cost: From Kiosk to Full Cafe, Ranked

What a bakery franchise costs, from a sub-$70K Cinnabon kiosk to a $1.8M Paris Baguette cafe: sourced figures by format, and why the build drives the cost.

The Cheapest Boba Tea Franchises to Open, Ranked

The cheapest boba tea franchises that franchise to US buyers, with tracker-sourced figures to verify, plus the popular brands that don't actually franchise.

The Cheapest Chicken Franchises to Open, Ranked by Cost

The cheapest chicken franchises: near-zero-fee convenience-store programs versus the lowest-cost standalone brands, with sourced figures and the real tradeoffs.

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

What a ghost kitchen franchise really costs, the three things the term means, sourced investment ranges, and why delivery commissions undercut the cheap pitch.

The Cheapest Pizza Franchises to Buy, Ranked by Investment

The cheapest pizza franchises to buy, ranked by verified FDD total investment, and why format, take-and-bake and mobile, drives the entry cost. Sourced, no earnings.

Food Franchise Under $25,000: What the Budget Buys

Which food franchises really start under $25,000? Usually that is the fee, not the total. The sourced low-cost formats, the misleading ones, and what to verify.

Pizza Franchise Cost: FDD Item 7 and Royalty by Brand

How much a pizza franchise costs: an FDD-sourced comparison of the major brands by franchise fee, total investment, and royalty, and who still franchises.

Why "Cheapest Franchise" Lists Keep Lying to You

The same franchise shows up with wildly different price tags on different sites. Here's how those lists get built, and the Item 7 checklist that fixes it.

Food Franchises Under $100K That Actually Exist

Most 'food franchises under $100K' lists are recycled guesses. Here is what we could actually verify against FDD Item 7 filings, and why the list is short.

Food Truck Franchises: Costs vs. Going Independent

What food truck franchises actually cost versus building your own, with sourced FDD numbers, commissary reality, and the seasonality nobody mentions upfront.

Ice Cream and Dessert Franchises: Costs and Seasonality

Ice cream and dessert franchise investment ranges from six major brands, plus the seasonality math that decides whether the margins actually hold up.

Mobile Food Franchises: Carts, Trailers, and Kiosks

Sourced cost ranges for cart, trailer, and kiosk food franchises, plus the permitting and host-venue realities that don't show up in the brochure.