McDonald's franchise: what it costs
The 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) from McDonald's puts the price of opening a restaurant at $1,470,500 to $2,642,000. An FDD is the papers a brand must hand you before you buy.
Breaking down the McDonald's franchise cost
- Overall opening cost
- $1,470,500 to $2,642,000 Item 7, 2024 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- $45,000 Item 5, 2024 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- Rent to McDonald's, plus 5% of gross sales Item 6, 2024 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- Advertising equal to at least 4% of gross sales Item 6, 2024 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- $3,964,000 a year on average across the locations the brand counts, before costs Item 19, 2024 FDD
- Number of locations when 2023 ended
- Franchise owners ran 12,772; the company ran 685 Item 20, 2024 FDD
The source of every figure above is the 2024 McDonald's Franchise Disclosure Document, dated May 1, 2024 and amended January 1, 2025; McDonald's USA, LLC filed it with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Sales and earnings numbers in the McDonald's FDD
In Item 19, McDonald's shares figures; that's the FDD section where a brand may state how much its locations earn or sell. About 11,972 US traditional franchised restaurants, each open at least a year, averaged $3,964,000 in yearly sales for 2023. That's the main figure given. It is money the store takes in, not profit, because rent, wages and every other cost get paid from it.
Before you count on any figure in an Item 19, our guide shows how to read one.
Other restaurant franchises compared with McDonald's
Opening a McDonald's costs more than most restaurant franchises covered here; 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. Once open, you still owe the brand a royalty: part of sales or a set amount. "Sales or earnings shown" says if the brand tells you how much its locations bring 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.
Counting the McDonald's locations
At the close of 2023, the United States had 13,457 McDonald's locations, with franchise owners running 95% 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 McDonald's FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the McDonald's FDD and franchise agreement with you.