Five Guys vs McDonald's: franchise cost side by side

Five Guys is the cheaper of the two to open, from $927,850; McDonald's starts at $1,470,500.

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

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Five Guys is the cheaper to open, from $927,850.

McDonald's starts at $1,470,500, the lowest cost to open given in each FDD.

From each FDD	Five Guys	McDonald's
Total cost to open	$927,850 to $1,375,750	$1,470,500 to $2,642,000
Upfront fee	$25,000	$45,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	6% of gross sales	5% of gross sales, plus rent to McDonald's
Marketing fund	up to 4% of gross sales (2% now)	at least 4% of gross sales on advertising
Published sales	None published	$3,964,000 a year (average of 11,972 locations, 2023)
Outlets	970 franchised, 613 company	12,772 franchised, 685 company
Year filed	2026	2024

More comparisons with Five Guys and McDonald'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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