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FranPicks

Ranked by total investment

The lowest-cost franchises to open

Sorted by the low end of each brand's Item 7 range, cheapest first. It starts at $155,388.

Photo via Pexels

  1. UFC Gym Total investment: $155,388–$6,211,970
  2. 7-Eleven Total investment: $162,900–$1,656,800
  3. Great Clips Total investment: $187,800–$419,900
  4. The UPS Store Total investment: $222,368–$606,081
  5. Subway Total investment: $263,000–$630,000
  6. Wingstop Total investment: $310,400–$1,048,500
  7. Chick-fil-A Total investment: $317,521–$3,463,155
  8. Smoothie King Total investment: $329,850–$1,278,900
  9. Little Caesars Total investment: $376,500–$1,769,200
  10. Jersey Mike's Total investment: $436,176–$1,162,228
  11. Popeyes Total investment: $504,545–$3,923,245
  12. Taco Bell Total investment: $934,750–$4,312,200
  13. Planet Fitness Total investment: $1,282,500–$5,386,000
  14. McDonald's Total investment: $1,472,000–$2,807,000

What is the cheapest restaurant franchise?

Of the restaurant brands compared below, Charleys has the lowest entry point in its 2026 disclosure document: $202,690 to $1,004,447 for a store that adds chicken wings to its cheesesteaks, in an in-line or freestanding space. Jimmy John's non-traditional locations come next at $206,200, and that figure already includes initial lease costs. Checkers & Rally's starts at $214,000 for a unit inside a Walmart or a sports arena, and Subway's non-traditional locations at $227,000.

Count coffee and snack counters as restaurants and the floor drops further. A non-traditional Dunkin', which its FDD calls a Special Distribution Opportunity, starts at $142,000, and an Auntie Anne's concession stand, trailer or food truck at $118,225, the lowest entry point of any food brand here.

Most of those floors belong to a non-traditional format, a unit inside someone else's building or on wheels; Charleys is the exception. The same brands cost more as a standard store: Checkers & Rally's prices an end-cap restaurant from $309,000 and a site-built one from $767,500, Subway's traditional restaurant starts at $263,000, and Jimmy John's traditional location at $366,200. If the cheapest number on a brand's sheet is a non-traditional format, ask whether that format is even open in your market before you plan around it.

The cheapest food franchises in 2026 filings

Every food brand below opens for under $440,000 at the low end of its range. The range is the brand's Item 7 estimate for the format named; "paid to franchisor" is the share of it that goes to the company or its affiliates, from the same cover page.

Cheapest food franchises, lowest entry point first
Brand Type Format priced Total investment Initial fee Paid to franchisor Filing
Auntie Anne's Pretzel shop Concession stand, trailer or food truck $118,225 to $367,300 $10,500 $10,659 to $34,567 2026 FDD
Dunkin' Coffee and donuts Non-traditional (Special Distribution Opportunity) $142,000 to $862,500 See Item 5 $10,340 to $62,740 2026 FDD
Wetzel's Pretzels Pretzel shop Concession truck or trailer $172,125 to $327,900 $7,500 About $10,625 to $12,500 2026 FDD
Charleys Restaurant In-line or freestanding, with wings $202,690 to $1,004,447 $24,500 $24,500 to $27,000 2026 FDD
Jimmy John's Restaurant Non-traditional, initial lease costs included $206,200 to $686,000 $17,500 $17,500 to $21,900 2026 FDD
Checkers & Rally's Restaurant Non-traditional (Walmart, sports arena) $214,000 to $736,000 $30,000 $45,000 to $55,000 2026 FDD
Subway Restaurant Standard location $263,000 to $630,000 $15,000 See page 2026 FDD
Tropical Smoothie Cafe Cafe Single cafe $275,500 to $770,500 $35,000 $45,000 2026 FDD
Marco's Pizza Restaurant Store $286,477 to $811,186 $25,000 $61,336 to $119,886 2026 FDD
Taco Bell Express Restaurant Take-out Express unit (license) $287,950 to $857,700 $22,500 to the licensor $22,500, plus $27,250 to an affiliate for a first unit 2026 FDD
Baskin-Robbins Ice cream shop Standard shop $307,400 to $626,700 $25,000 $28,300 to $36,650 2026 FDD
Wingstop Restaurant Standard location $310,400 to $1,048,500 $25,000 See page 2026 FDD
Chick-fil-A Restaurant Standard location $317,521 to $3,463,155 $10,000 See page 2026 FDD
Smoothie King Coffee and dessert Standard location $329,850 to $1,278,900 $30,000 See page 2026 FDD
Little Caesars Restaurant Standard location $376,500 to $1,769,200 $20,000 See page 2026 FDD
Firehouse Subs Restaurant Traditional restaurant $405,350 to $875,950 $20,000 $26,200 2026 FDD
Jersey Mike's Restaurant Standard location $436,176 to $1,162,228 $20,000 See page 2026 FDD

Read the ranges as written, not as interchangeable. Jimmy John's says its range includes initial real estate lease costs, while Firehouse Subs, Checkers and Wingstop state that theirs exclude real estate, so check each FDD's Item 7 notes before comparing floors. Taco Bell Express is a license for take-out units at sites Taco Bell considers too small or awkwardly laid out for its standard restaurants, not a smaller version of the full franchise. And the share paid to the franchisor varies more than the headline fees suggest: from $10,340 at the low end of a non-traditional Dunkin' to as much as $119,886 at Marco's Pizza.

"Cheap to open" is not "cheap to run"

This ranking answers exactly one question: what does it cost to get the doors open? That is the Item 7 number, the estimated initial investment, and it's the figure most first-time buyers anchor on because it's the one standing between them and starting. It is worth knowing. It is not the whole picture.

A low entry cost can sit on top of a thin margin, a heavy royalty, or a build-out that only pencils out at high volume. A mobile or home-based service brand may cost a fraction of a build-out-heavy restaurant to launch and still be harder to make a living from. So treat this list as the shortlist, not the verdict: use it to see what you could plausibly afford to start, then open each brand's page and read the royalty and the Item 19 revenue disclosure before you decide what it's actually worth.

Hands counting a fan of twenty-dollar bills over financial paperwork on a desk
The initial investment is the number you can see. The royalty, the ad fund, and the working capital you're required to hold are the ones that decide whether the opening was worth it. Photo via Pexels

What the low number leaves out

Item 7 ranges usually include the franchise fee, build-out or equipment, opening inventory, and a few months of working capital, but franchisors define "a few months" differently, and the range's low end assumes the cheapest version of nearly every line. Your real number depends on your market's rents and labor, whether you own or lease, and how long it takes the location to reach breakeven. Read the range as a floor and a ceiling with a lot of your own decisions in between, and confirm your liquid capital and net worth clear the brand's minimums with the estimator before you start filling out applications.

Wingstop is a good example of how far the low end can sit from a typical opening. Its 2026 FDD range starts at $310,400, while its annual report puts the average new restaurant at about $580,000 before real estate; the Wingstop franchise cost page breaks down where the difference comes from. For the whole restaurant category side by side, with royalties and disclosed revenue, see the QSR franchise cost guide and best food franchises.

Sources