Wingstop franchise: what it costs
You'll pay a $25,000 franchise fee plus $25,000 for development, and opening a Wingstop runs between $298,200 and $1,013,500. Wingstop signs only owners whose net worth is $5 million.
- Experience asked for
- Multiple restaurant units running several already
Every brand in our main table is sourced from the registry kept by the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The Wingstop figures here match what it posts on Wingstop's franchise page. Before you sign, the brand must still hand you its full FDD.
Wingstop franchise cost and the bar to get in
Since the stores are small, just 1,400 to 1,800 square feet in size, and offer little seating, the cost of opening stays moderate for chicken. The hurdle is the buyer rather than the build: Wingstop seeks groups that already operate several restaurants and will sign up for more than one.
First-time buyers can turn to the chicken brands below: each publishes a full FDD and accepts owners of a single store.
Similar franchises that have a full FDD on file
We could read an FDD for each of these brands, and every figure comes from it: fee, opening cost, royalty and whether sales are shared.
| Brand | Total cost to open, low to high estimate | Upfront fee, paid once | Royalty, ongoing fee | Sales or earnings shown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chick-fil-A2026 FDD, Operator program: you run a restaurant that Chick-fil-A provides and rents to you | $318K to $3.46M | $10,000 | 15% + 50% of profit | $9.16M a yearaverage store, before costs |
 Chicken Salad Chick2026 FDD | $777K to $999K | $50,000 | 5% | $1.5M a yearaverage store, before costs |
 Dave's Hot Chicken2026 FDD | $824K to $4.12M | $40,000 | 6% | No |
 Slim Chickens2026 FDD | $1.19M to $4.94M | $30,000 | 5% | $2.35M a yearaverage store, before costs |
 Popeyes2026 FDD | $1.22M to $3.92M | $50,000 | 5% | $1.89M a yearaverage store, before costs |
 Zaxby's2025 FDD | $1.45M to $3.81M | $35,000 | 6% | $2.78M a yearaverage store, before costs |
 KFC2026 FDD | $2.11M to $4.16M | $45,000 | 5% | Yes, several figures |
A brand has to give you its Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) before you buy, and every figure comes from the brand's most recent one. "Sales or earnings shown" tells you if the brand says how much its locations take in. The royalty is paid to the brand after opening: you keep paying either a share of sales or a set amount. Thousand is written as K and million as M.
A franchise attorney can check the Wingstop FDD with you
When Wingstop sends you its FDD and franchise agreement, one franchise attorney can read both before you sign.