Five Guys franchise: what it costs
Plan on between $927,850 and $1,375,750 to open a Five Guys franchise restaurant, according to the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), the filing a brand must hand you before you buy.
Five Guys franchise cost, item by item
- Cost to open, in total
- $927,850 to $1,375,750 Item 7, 2026 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- $25,000 Item 5, 2026 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- A 6% share of gross sales Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- 2% now, up to 4% of gross sales Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- None given Item 19, 2026 FDD
- End of 2025 location count
- Franchise owners ran 970, the company 613 Item 20, 2026 FDD
Five Guys Franchisor, LLC filed its 2026 Five Guys Franchise Disclosure Document at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Dated June 30, 2026, that filing is where each figure above comes from. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Sales and earnings numbers in the Five Guys FDD
Five Guys leaves sales and earnings figures out of Item 19, so its FDD stays silent on what its restaurants sell or earn. Ask the owners listed under Item 20, the FDD's list covering locations and owners, how much they earn.
Our guide covers reading an Item 19 so you know what to check before trusting any figure in it.
Other restaurant franchises next to Five Guys
Most restaurant franchises on this site cost more to open than Five Guys; the middle one starts at $1.34M.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subway | $263K to $630K | $15,000 | 8% | No | 2026 |
| Jimmy John's | $366K to $734K | $35,000 | 6% | Yes | 2026 |
| Firehouse Subs | $405K to $876K | $20,000 | 6% | Yes | 2026 |
| Jersey Mike's | $436K to $1.16M | $20,000 | 6.5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Arby's | $869K to $2.46M | $37,500 | 4% | Yes | 2026 |
| Five Guys | $928K to $1.38M | $25,000 | 6% | No | 2026 |
| Panera Bread | $1.34M to $4.57M | $50,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
| McDonald's | $1.47M to $2.64M | $45,000 | 5% (plus rent) | Yes | 2024 |
| Sonic Drive-In | $1.49M to $2.52M | $15,000 | 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 what you keep paying the brand once you've opened, either a share of sales or a set amount; "Sales or earnings shown" tells you whether the brand shares what its locations take 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.
Five Guys location count
Five Guys had 1,583 United States locations when 2025 ended, with franchise owners running 61% of them, according to 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 Five Guys FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the Five Guys FDD and franchise agreement with you.