McDonald's vs Panera Bread: franchise cost side by side

Panera Bread is the cheaper of the two to open, from $1,337,139; 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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Panera Bread is the cheaper to open, from $1,337,139.

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

From each FDD	McDonald's	Panera Bread
Total cost to open	$1,470,500 to $2,642,000	$1,337,139 to $4,569,880
Upfront fee	$45,000	$50,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	5% of gross sales, plus rent to McDonald's	5% of net sales
Marketing fund	at least 4% of gross sales on advertising	4% of net sales to the national advertising fund
Published sales	$3,964,000 a year (average of 11,972 locations, 2023)	$2,541,217 a year (average of 1,073 locations, 2025)
Outlets	12,772 franchised, 685 company	1,106 franchised, 1,108 company
Year filed	2024	2026

More comparisons with McDonald's 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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