Free Brand Snapshot
Franchise cost benchmarks
Initial fee, royalty, ad fund and Item 7 range for every brand we cover, straight from their 2026 Franchise Disclosure Documents, with a link to the source filing. Free; enter your email to see the full table. Full line-by-line detail, Item 19 and Item 20 summaries, and category comparisons are in the paid reports.
| Brand | Initial fee ITEM 5 | Royalty ITEM 6 | Ad fund ITEM 6 | Cost to open ITEM 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald's Quick-service food | $45,000 | 5% of sales (4% in some cases) | At least 4% of sales | $1,472,000 – $2,807,000 |
| Jersey Mike's Quick-service food | $20,000 plus a $10,000 development fee | 6.5% of sales | 5% of sales (1% + 4%) | $436,176 – $1,162,228 |
Figures as stated in each brand's 2026 FDD; checked October 31, 2026. Sources: McDonald's: 2026 FDD, effective Apr 15, 2026 (Wisconsin DFI filing 640986); Jersey Mike's: 2026 FDD, issued Apr 10, 2026; Anytime Fitness: 2026 FDD, issued Mar 31, 2026, amended Sep 14, 2026; Great Clips: 2026 FDD, issued Mar 30, 2026. Fees change. Always read the current filing.
- Jersey Mike's$436K – $1.16M
- McDonald's$1.47M – $2.81M
Item 7 is the franchisor's own estimate. We show it next to what else the filing discloses, so you can see the whole picture.
How to read the FDD items
- Item 5, initial fees: what you pay the franchisor before you open.
- Item 6, other fees: what you keep paying, like royalty and ad fund.
- Item 7, initial investment: the franchisor's estimate of everything it takes to open, from build-out to working capital.
- Item 19, financial performance: sales or profit figures, if the franchisor chooses to share them. Check which outlets they cover.
- Item 20, outlets: how many units opened, closed, were transferred to new owners or left the system, by year.
Where the numbers come from
Franchisors must give buyers an FDD under the FTC Franchise Rule, and several states, such as Wisconsin and Minnesota, publish the filings as public records. We take figures from those filings and the franchisor's own published Item 7 tables, and link the source for each.
A percentage royalty is charged on sales, so the same rate costs more in a busier unit. Compare total yearly fees, not just the headline rate.
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