Culver's vs Sonic Drive-In: franchise cost side by side

Sonic Drive-In is the cheaper of the two to open, from $1,485,200; Culver's starts at $3,406,350.

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

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Sonic Drive-In is the cheaper to open, from $1,485,200.

Culver's starts at $3,406,350, the lowest cost to open given in each FDD.

From each FDD	Culver's	Sonic Drive-In
Total cost to open	$3,406,350 to $10,294,100	$1,485,200 to $2,522,900
Upfront fee	$45,000 to $65,000	$15,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	4% of gross sales	5% of gross sales
Marketing fund	2.5% of gross sales	0.9% of gross sales, plus at least 3.25% for local advertising
Published sales	$4,142,737 a year (average of 988 locations, 2025)	$1,552,145 a year (average of 3,057 locations, 2025)
Outlets	1,034 franchised, 7 company	3,120 franchised, 292 company
Year filed	2026	2026

More comparisons with Culver's and Sonic Drive-In

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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