Five Guys vs Panera Bread: franchise cost side by side

Five Guys is the cheaper of the two to open, from $927,850; Panera Bread starts at $1,337,139.

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.

Panera Bread starts at $1,337,139, the lowest cost to open given in each FDD.

From each FDD	Five Guys	Panera Bread
Total cost to open	$927,850 to $1,375,750	$1,337,139 to $4,569,880
Upfront fee	$25,000	$50,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	6% of gross sales	5% of net sales
Marketing fund	up to 4% of gross sales (2% now)	4% of net sales to the national advertising fund
Published sales	None published	$2,541,217 a year (average of 1,073 locations, 2025)
Outlets	970 franchised, 613 company	1,106 franchised, 1,108 company
Year filed	2026	2026

More comparisons with Five Guys and Panera Bread

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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