Benchmarks / Quick-service food
McDonald's franchise cost 2026
From the McDonald's Franchise Disclosure Document (McDonald's USA, LLC), issued May 1, 2026, as amended July 1, 2026. Every figure below cites the FDD item and the page number printed in the document.
Initial fee · Item 5, p. 9
$45,000
Royalty · Item 6, p. 10
5% of sales (4% for some existing restaurants)
Ad fund · Item 6, p. 10
At least 4% of sales
Cost to open · Item 7, p. 16
$1,472K–$2,807K
Traditional restaurant. Excludes percentage rent and royalty.
Required ongoing fees
What the FDD says you keep paying after you open, in its own terms.
| Fee | Amount, as stated in the FDD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 5% of gross sales 4% applies only to some restaurants operated before 2024 (note 2, p. 12). | Item 6, p. 10 |
| Advertising and promotion | Not less than 4% of gross sales Spent through local co-ops and the national fund; co-ops may set a higher rate. | Item 6, p. 10 |
| Technology fees (16 annual fees not marked optional) | $16,501.44 a year in total, e.g. Edge $5,220, deployment and support $2,866.04, Sesame POS $1,133 Our sum of the annual fees on pp. 11–12 that are not marked optional; includes GRNT and Edge, which apply once deployed. Optional fees add $793. One-time fees are extra. | Item 6, p. 11 |
| Rent | Paid to McDonald’s: monthly base rent, plus percentage rent of generally 6%–23% of gross sales for new traditional restaurants (minimum generally 11.5% from year 8). In 2025, effective rent at franchised restaurants ranged from 0% to 33.37% of sales (Item 19, p. 36). | Item 6, note 3, p. 13 |
Not turned into a yearly figure: Monthly base rent and any pass-through rent, which depend on McDonald’s investment in the site; One-time technology fees ($4,975 for Sesame, kiosk, DMB 2.0, GRNT and Edge); Audit costs and relocation contribution, which apply only in specific cases.
ALL-IN COST MODEL · PREVIEW
At $3,887,000 a year in sales, the median 2025 sales of franchised traditional restaurants open at least a year (Item 19, p. 35):
- Royalty ITEM 6, P. 10$194,350
- Advertising and promotion ITEM 6, P. 10$155,480
- + 1 more required fees and rentin the full model
Required fees and spend: $366,331 a year (9.4% of sales).
With rent to McDonald’s: $599,551–$1,260,341 a year.
At launch, the full model shows every line converted to a yearly figure with its page cite, the same model at the low and high Item 19 sales levels, the one-time and conditional costs, and an alert when a new filing changes any of it.
See plans →Source
McDonald's USA, LLC, Franchise Disclosure Document issued May 1, 2026, as amended July 1, 2026. Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, file 640986, registration effective April 15, 2026 (amendment July 1, 2026). 407 pages.
Open the filing on the Wisconsin DFI site, then click Download under Franchise Disclosure Document for the PDF. Or search the Wisconsin franchise search for file 640986.
Checked October 31, 2026. Page numbers are the ones printed in the FDD.
What this does not include
The model covers fees and required spend set by the franchise system. It leaves out labor, food or supplies, insurance, utilities, loan payments and taxes, which the FDD does not fix. This is research, not legal, tax or investment advice. Read the full FDD and have a franchise attorney review it before you sign.