Culver's vs Wendy's: franchise cost side by side

Wendy's is the cheaper of the two to open, from $1,523,957; 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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Wendy's is the cheaper to open, from $1,523,957.

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

From each FDD	Culver's	Wendy's
Total cost to open	$3,406,350 to $10,294,100	$1,523,957 to $2,992,000
Upfront fee	$45,000 to $65,000	$50,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	4% of gross sales	4% of gross sales
Marketing fund	2.5% of gross sales	2% to 4% of gross sales on advertising
Published sales	$4,142,737 a year (average of 988 locations, 2025)	$2,108,454 a year (average of 5,325 locations, 2024)
Outlets	1,034 franchised, 7 company	5,552 franchised, 381 company
Year filed	2026	2025

More comparisons with Culver's and Wendy's

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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