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FDD-sourced · 8 brands

QSR franchise cost

Quick-service and fast-casual chains, the highest-volume, most-searched franchise category.

Total investment across this category runs $263,000 to $4,312,200.

What a QSR franchise costs, and why the range is so wide

QSR is the trade's shorthand for quick-service restaurant: the counter, drive-thru and delivery chains that sell burgers, chicken, pizza, subs and tacos. A QSR franchise can be a counter in a gas station or a freestanding drive-thru on a new pad site, and the format you pick moves the price more than the brand does.

The 2026 disclosure documents make the point brand by brand. Popeyes puts a new in-line restaurant at $504,545 to $1,968,245 and a new free-standing one at $1,222,045 to $3,923,245. Subway's traditional restaurant runs $263,000 to $630,000, and its non-traditional locations $227,000 to $458,000. Taco Bell licenses a separate Express format, a take-out unit for sites too small or awkwardly laid out for a standard restaurant, at $287,950 to $857,700. Compare brands format to format, or the cheapest name on a list is just the one quoting its smallest box.

QSR

Subway

$263,000–$630,000

8% royalty

 QSR

Wingstop

$310,400–$1,048,500

6% royalty

 QSR

Chick-fil-A

$317,521–$3,463,155

 QSR

Little Caesars

$376,500–$1,769,200

6% royalty

 QSR

Jersey Mike's

$436,176–$1,162,228

6.5% royalty

 QSR

Popeyes

$504,545–$3,923,245

5% royalty

 QSR

Taco Bell

$934,750–$4,312,200

5.5% royalty

 QSR

McDonald's

$1,472,000–$2,807,000

5% royalty

QSR franchises compared

Across the 8 QSR brands on FranPicks, the lowest entry point is Subway at $263,000 and the highest ceiling is Taco Bell at $4,312,200. Royalties run from 5% at Popeyes to 8% at Subway, and 5 of the 8 publish an average revenue figure in Item 19.

QSR franchises compared, cheapest entry point first
Brand Total investment (Item 7) Initial fee Royalty Ad fund Avg. revenue (Item 19) Units (Item 20) FDD
Subway $263,000 to $630,000 $15,000 8% 4.5% Not disclosed 18,773 2026
Wingstop $310,400 to $1,048,500 $25,000 6% 5.5% $2,007,626 2,586 2026
Chick-fil-A $317,521 to $3,463,155 $10,000 15% + profit share None listed $9,161,239 2,863 2026
Little Caesars $376,500 to $1,769,200 $20,000 6% 7% Not disclosed Not listed 2026
Jersey Mike's $436,176 to $1,162,228 $20,000 6.5% 5% $1,367,578 3,235 2026
Popeyes $504,545 to $3,923,245 $50,000 5% 5% $1,893,675 3,229 2026
Taco Bell $934,750 to $4,312,200 $25,000 5.5% 4.25% Not disclosed 7,998 2026
McDonald's $1,472,000 to $2,807,000 $45,000 5% 4% $4,057,000 13,706 2026

How to read the QSR numbers

The royalty column is only half the ongoing cost. Most brands here also take an advertising contribution, and the two together are what comes off the top of every sale: Wingstop, for example, charges a 6% royalty plus a 5.5% Ad Fund, 11.5% of gross sales in all. Chick-fil-A doesn't fit the column at all, because its operators pay a percentage of sales and then split profit with the company, which is why its page explains the model instead of quoting one number.

The revenue column is the one to read twice. A brand that publishes an Item 19 is telling you what its restaurants actually sell; a blank there means the franchisor chose not to, and any earnings figure a recruiter offers is unverified. Wingstop's 2026 Item 19, for instance, reports average annual net sales of $2,007,626 across 2,116 franchised U.S. restaurants, with 43% of them above that average. Sales are not profit, so the useful comparison is sales against the build cost, not sales alone.

If you're shortlisting on price, the lowest-cost franchises page ranks the cheapest restaurant concepts from their 2026 filings, and best food franchises adds coffee and dessert brands. Check whether your liquid capital clears a brand's minimum with the affordability estimator before you request an FDD.

Sources