Caribou Coffee vs Tim Hortons: franchise cost side by side

Caribou Coffee is the cheaper of the two to open, from $898,100; Tim Hortons starts at $988,000.

Every figure comes from the brand's FDD, the disclosure file it must hand you before you sign.

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Caribou Coffee is the cheaper to open, from $898,100.

Tim Hortons starts at $988,000, the lowest cost to open given in each FDD.

From each FDD	Caribou Coffee	Tim Hortons
Total cost to open	$898,100 to $1,515,000	$988,000 to $3,312,500
Upfront fee	$30,000	$50,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	5% of gross sales	6% of gross sales in most cases (4.5% to 6%)
Marketing fund	up to 3% of gross sales (2% to the brand fund now)	4% of gross sales
Published sales	Published, no single figure	$107,845 a month (average of 585 locations, 2025)
Outlets	144 franchised, 350 company	669 franchised, 24 company
Year filed	2026	2026

More comparisons with Caribou Coffee and Tim Hortons

Every brand's fee, royalty and Item 7 range is also in one table you can download: the franchise fee comparison.

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