Chick-fil-A franchise: what it costs
Opening a Chick-fil-A restaurant under the Operator program costs $317,521 to $3,463,155. That figure comes from the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), the paperwork a brand must give you ahead of any purchase.
The Chick-fil-A franchise cost, piece by piece
- Full opening cost
- $317,521 to $3,463,155 Item 7, 2026 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- $10,000 Item 5, 2026 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- You pay 15% of gross receipts (after subtracting a services fee and equipment rent), plus 50% of each month's profit Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- 3.25% of gross receipts at most, and it's not charged now Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- $9,161,239 a year on average across 2,302 locations it counts, before costs Item 19, 2026 FDD
- Number of locations at the end of 2025
- Franchise owners ran 2,795 of them and the company ran 68 Item 20, 2026 FDD
Each figure above comes from the 2026 Chick-fil-A Franchise Disclosure Document. Chick-fil-A, Inc. filed it with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and it's dated March 31, 2026. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Sales and earnings figures from this Chick-fil-A FDD
Item 19 is the FDD section where a brand may state what its locations earn or sell, and Chick-fil-A shares figures there. Average yearly sales of $9,161,239 are the headline number, covering 2,302 Operator restaurants, free-standing and drive-thru, each open at least a full year in 2025. It is money the store takes in, not profit, because rent, wages and every other cost get paid from it.
Before you count on any number in it, our guide walks you through reading an Item 19
Other chicken franchises next to Chick-fil-A
Chick-fil-A has the lowest opening cost of the chicken franchises on this site.
| Brand | Total cost to opentotal, lowest to highest | Upfront feeone-time fee | Royaltyongoing, usually a % of sales | Sales or earnings showndoes the brand show sales figures | Year filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chick-fil-A | $318K to $3.46M | $10,000 | 15% + 50% of profit | Yes | 2026 |
| Chicken Salad Chick | $777K to $999K | $50,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Dave's Hot Chicken | $824K to $4.12M | $40,000 | 6% | No | 2026 |
| Slim Chickens | $1.19M to $4.94M | $30,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Popeyes | $1.22M to $3.92M | $50,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Zaxby's | $1.45M to $3.81M | $35,000 | 6% | Yes | 2025 |
| KFC | $2.11M to $4.16M | $45,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
Before you buy, a brand has to hand over its Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD); the brand's latest one is where every figure comes from. A royalty is the slice of sales, or the fixed amount, you keep paying the brand once you open. "Sales or earnings shown" tells you whether the brand shares what its locations bring in. A K stands for thousand, an M for million. The filing year is the year that FDD was listed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
All chicken franchises, side by side
The Chick-fil-A location count
At the end of 2025, the United States had 2,863 Chick-fil-A locations, with franchise owners running 98% of them (Item 20). In that same part of the FDD, you get phone numbers for owners still running stores and ones who left. Your best way to learn how these costs play out in real life is to call a few of them.
Get the Chick-fil-A FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the Chick-fil-A FDD and franchise agreement with you.