Sonic Drive-In vs Wendy's: franchise cost side by side

Sonic Drive-In is the cheaper of the two to open, from $1,485,200; Wendy's starts at $1,523,957.

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

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Sonic Drive-In is the cheaper to open, from $1,485,200.

Wendy's starts at $1,523,957, the lowest cost to open given in each FDD.

From each FDD	Sonic Drive-In	Wendy's
Total cost to open	$1,485,200 to $2,522,900	$1,523,957 to $2,992,000
Upfront fee	$15,000	$50,000
Royalty (ongoing fee)	5% of gross sales	4% of gross sales
Marketing fund	0.9% of gross sales, plus at least 3.25% for local advertising	2% to 4% of gross sales on advertising
Published sales	$1,552,145 a year (average of 3,057 locations, 2025)	$2,108,454 a year (average of 5,325 locations, 2024)
Outlets	3,120 franchised, 292 company	5,552 franchised, 381 company
Year filed	2026	2025

More comparisons with Sonic Drive-In and Wendy'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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