Marco's Pizza vs Papa John's: franchise cost side by side

Papa John's is the cheaper of the two to open, from $281,485; Marco's Pizza starts at $286,477.

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

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Papa John's is the cheaper to open, from $281,485.

Marco's Pizza starts at $286,477, the lowest cost to open given in each FDD.

From each FDD	Marco's Pizza	Papa John's
Total cost to open	$286,477 to $811,186	$281,485 to $890,267
Upfront fee	$25,000	$5,000 to $25,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	5.5% of net sales	5% of net sales
Marketing fund	1% of net sales, plus 4% to a national advertising fund	6% of net sales
Published sales	$878,180 a year (average of 997 locations, 2025)	$1,097,987 a year (average of 2,389 locations, 2025)
Outlets	1,139 franchised, 45 company	2,832 franchised, 462 company
Year filed	2026	2026

More comparisons with Marco's Pizza and Papa John'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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