Papa John's franchise: what it costs
For a Papa John's restaurant, the opening cost sits between $281,485 and $890,267 in the 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD). Those are the papers a brand must give you ahead of your purchase.
Item by item: what a Papa John's franchise costs
- Opening cost, in full
- from $281,485 up to $890,267 Item 7, 2026 FDD
- Franchise fee you pay one time at the start
- from $5,000 up to $25,000 Item 5, 2026 FDD
- Royalty, your ongoing payments to the brand
- equal to 5% of net sales Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Marketing fund, which covers shared advertising
- equal to 6% of net sales Item 6, 2026 FDD
- Figures on sales or earnings
- $1,097,987 a year on average across 2,389 locations it counts, before costs Item 19, 2026 FDD
- Locations when 2025 ended
- franchise owners ran 2,832, the company 462 Item 20, 2026 FDD
Papa John's Franchising, LLC filed the 2026 Papa John's Franchise Disclosure Document with the Minnesota Department of Commerce, and every figure above comes from it. Each small label points to the numbered part of the FDD where that figure sits.
Sales and earnings numbers inside the Papa John's FDD
In Item 19, Papa John's gives figures; that's the FDD section where a brand may state how much its locations sell or earn. The big figure is $1,097,987 in average yearly net sales. It covers 2,389 standard franchised restaurants in the US, each open for the full 2025 fiscal year. It is money the store takes in, not profit, because rent, wages and every other cost get paid from it.
Before you rely on any figure, see the guide on reading an Item 19.
Other pizza franchises next to Papa John's
Most pizza franchises on this site cost more to open than Papa John's, and $475K is where the one in the middle 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. After you open, the royalty is what you keep paying the brand, either a share of sales or a set amount. The column "«Sales» or earnings shown" tells you if 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
The number of Papa John's locations
Item 20 shows franchise owners ran 86% of the 3,294 Papa John's locations across the United States when 2025 ended. 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 Papa John's FDD read by a franchise attorney
Before you sign, one franchise attorney can go through the Papa John's FDD and franchise agreement with you.