Little Caesars franchise: what it costs
Opening a restaurant under the Little Caesars franchise runs $376,500 to $1,769,200, based on the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
Little Caesars franchise cost, item by item
- Full opening cost
- $376,500 to $1,769,200 Item 7, 2026 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- $20,000 Item 5, 2026 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- Each week, you owe 6% of gross weekly sales or $300 a week, whichever amount is higher. Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- Advertising can take up to 7% of gross sales Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- Not given out Item 19, 2026 FDD
- Location total when 2025 ended
- Franchise owners ran 3,788 of them and the company ran 586 Item 20, 2026 FDD
Each figure above was copied from a filing, the 2026 Little Caesars Franchise Disclosure Document, submitted to the Minnesota Department of Commerce by Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc; its date is March 27, 2026. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Inside the Little Caesars FDD: Sales and earnings figures
Item 19 has no sales or earnings figures from Little Caesars, so nothing in its FDD tells what locations sell or bring in. Ask the owners listed under Item 20, the FDD's list covering locations and owners, how much they earn.
Before you lean on any figure in an Item 19, you can learn how to read one in our guide.
Other pizza franchises beside Little Caesars
Most pizza franchises listed cost more to open than Little Caesars; $475K is where the middle one starts.
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domino's | $231K to $744K | $10,000 | 5.5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Papa John's | $281K to $890K | $5,000 to $25,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Marco's Pizza | $286K to $811K | $25,000 | 5.5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Little Caesars | $377K to $1.77M | $20,000 | 6% (at least $300 a week) | No | 2026 |
| Jet's Pizza | $573K to $786K | $15,000 to $30,000 | 12% of inventory bought | No | 2025 |
| Blaze Pizza | $757K to $1.3M | $30,000 | 5% | Yes | 2026 |
| Pizza Hut | $846K to $2.13M | $25,000 | 6% | Yes | 2026 |
| MOD Pizza | $1M to $1.3M | $30,000 | 5% | No | 2024 |
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. Your royalty is the part of sales, or the fixed amount, that you keep paying the brand once you open. "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.
All pizza franchises, side by side
Little Caesars location count
At the close of 2025, the United States had 4,374 Little Caesars locations, with franchise owners running 87% of them (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 Little Caesars FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the Little Caesars FDD and franchise agreement with you.