Best Quick-Service Restaurant Franchises
33 brands ranked by Health Score — our composite of growth, fees, scale, and data transparency.
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| # | Brand | Investment | Royalty | Units | Growth | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Culver's | $2.6M–$8.6M | 4% | 997 | +5.61% | 94 |
| 2 | Domino's Pizza | $156K–$744K | 5.5% | 7,068 | +2.3% | 89 |
| 3 | Jersey Mike's | $186K–$1.4M | 6.5% | 2,989 | +11.74% | 89 |
| 4 | Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen | $1.2M–$3.9M | 5% | 3,177 | +3.28% | 89 |
| 5 | Dunkin' | $527K–$1.8M | 5.9% | 8,499 | +2.38% | 84 |
| 6 | Firehouse Subs | $380K–$796K | 6% | 1,248 | +3.12% | 84 |
| 7 | Papa John's | $261K–$853K | 5% | 3,291 | +2.2% | 84 |
| 8 | Tim Hortons | $988K–$3.3M | 6% | 693 | +4.33% | 84 |
| 9 | Zaxby's | $1.4M–$3.8M | 6% | 969 | +2.98% | 84 |
| 10 | Bojangles | $2.8M–$3.7M | 4% | 825 | +1.45% | 79 |
| 11 | Five Guys | $978K–$1.4M | 6% | 1,558 | +2.43% | 79 |
| 12 | McDonald's | $1.5M–$2.7M | 5% | 13,559 | +0.75% | 79 |
| 13 | Wendy's | $1.5M–$3.0M | — | 5,933 | -1.61% | 77 |
| 14 | Chick-fil-A | $427K–$2.3M | — | 2,684 | +4.92% | 74 |
| 15 | Del Taco | $1.5M–$3.3M | 5% | 594 | +0.34% | 74 |
| 16 | Jimmy John's | $366K–$728K | 6% | 2,689 | +1.67% | 74 |
| 17 | Arby's | $862K–$2.5M | 4% | 3,365 | -1.41% | 72 |
| 18 | Burger King | $2.0M–$4.7M | 4.5% | 6,701 | -1.14% | 72 |
| 19 | Hardee's | $1.4M–$2.6M | 4% | 1,571 | -1.65% | 72 |
| 20 | Sonic Drive-In | $1.7M–$3.1M | 5% | 3,461 | -1.7% | 72 |
| 21 | Taco Bell (Traditional) | $935K–$4.3M | 5.5% | 7,847 | +2.2% | 70 |
| 22 | Wendy's | $1.5M–$3.0M | 4% | 5,933 | -0.5% | 70 |
| 23 | Dairy Queen | $1.7M–$2.8M | 4% | 74 | +1.35% | 69 |
| 24 | Little Caesars | $447K–$1.8M | — | 4,285 | +1.64% | 69 |
| 25 | KFC | $303K–$1.4M | 5% | 3,638 | -3.38% | 64 |
| 26 | Tropical Smoothie Cafe | $341K–$815K | 6% | 1,515 | — | 59 |
| 27 | Checkers/Rally's | $640K–$2.3M | 4% | 785 | -7.01% | 58 |
| 28 | KFC (Traditional) | $1.1M–$3.8M | 5% | 3,638 | -3.3% | 58 |
| 29 | Steak 'n Shake | $1.3M–$2.3M | 5% | 436 | -9.86% | 58 |
| 30 | Panda Express | $515K–$3.3M | 8% | 156 | — | 57 |
| 31 | Captain D's | $899K–$1.4M | 4.5% | 530 | -0.5% | 55 |
| 32 | Subway | $263K–$630K | 8% | 19,502 | -3.24% | 44 |
| 33 | Jack in the Box | $1.9M–$4.0M | 5% | — | — | 24 |
QSR franchises dominate franchise investment because the unit economics are proven and transparent — most major chains disclose Item 19 financial performance. The barrier is capital: median QSR investment runs $350K-$1.5M, and real estate/build-out is 60-70% of that. Multi-unit deals are standard (most QSR franchisors require 3+ unit commitments), so your effective capital requirement is 3x the per-unit number. The upside is predictable revenue and strong resale values — established QSR locations trade at 3-5x EBITDA.
All data is extracted from official Franchise Disclosure Documents filed with state regulators. Investment ranges come from FDD Item 7; royalties from Item 6; unit counts and growth from Item 20. See our guide to reading an FDD for methodology details.
Compare Quick-Service Restaurant Franchises
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