Food & Beverage

KFC Franchise

A fried-chicken quick-service chain and one of YUM! Brands' three core U.S. concepts. KFCLLC's predecessor, Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation, began franchising in 1952; the current KFCC affiliate ceased selling U.S. franchises after May 2016 when KFCLLC became franchisor of record. Franchised Traditional Outlet count fell every year shown (-127 in 2023, -157 in 2024, -154 in 2025) while company-owned outlets nearly doubled, growing from 46 to 86 over the same span.

Losing locationsFounded 1952HQ: Plano, TX

Every franchisor has to file a document called an FDD before they can legally sell you a franchise. Buried in it are the two things a sales rep won't volunteer: what you'll actually spend to open, and whether existing locations are opening or closing. That's what's below, pulled straight from KFC's own filing.

What it costs to open

From the filing's investment breakdown -- not a "starting at" number a sales rep quoted you.

Franchise fee

$45,000

Total to open

$2,107,575–$4,155,000

Ongoing royalty

5% of gross sales

What you'd actually spend, over time

The upfront cost is only part of it. Plug in what you expect a location to bring in, and see the real total once royalties over a few years are added on top.

Your estimated annual revenue

Defaulted to a rough food & beverage industry average, not a figure from KFC's own FDD -- change it to your own estimate.

Years of ownership

Total cost of ownership over 5 years

$2,357,575 – $4,405,000

Startup investment

$2,107,575–$4,155,000

Royalty per year (5%)

$50,000

Total royalty, 5yr

$250,000

When would you break even?

Revenue alone doesn't tell you this -- it depends on what's left after rent, labor, and everything else. KFC's FDD doesn't disclose a reliable profit figure (most franchisors don't), so this starts from a typical food & beverage profit margin (~8%) and applies it to the revenue you entered above -- adjust the percentage to your own realistic estimate.

Estimated profit margin (% of revenue)

%≈ $80,000/year

Defaulted to a general food & beverage industry benchmark, not a figure from KFC's own filing -- this is a starting point to adjust, not a promise about what franchisees actually make.

At that profit, you'd break even in about

26.3–51.9 years

Weigh that payback period against what you already know: KFC is currently losing locations. A long payback period on a shrinking brand is a very different bet than the same payback period on a growing one.

Is KFC actually growing?

Franchisors have to report, every year, how many locations opened, closed, or changed hands. Most franchise sites never show you this. Here it is:

Locations opened vs. closed, by year

Shrinking

From Item 20 of KFC's FDD, the section franchisors use to disclose real openings and closings.

-127

-157

-154

202320242025

Year	Franchised units, start	Franchised units, end	Net change
2023	3,842	3,715	-127
2024	3,715	3,558	-157
2025	3,558	3,404	-154

Most recent year (2025): lost 154 franchised units, ending the year at 3,404 total.

What you're actually signing up for

The cost and growth numbers above are only part of the picture. These three FDD items are the ones a prospective franchisee tends to weigh most heavily once they're past the sticker price.

Training & ongoing support (Item 11)

Franchisees pay a $3,000-per-person training fee if the restaurant portion of initial training happens at a Company-Owned Outlet (otherwise they pay a third party directly, at a variable cost); a $6,000 Impact Study Fee may also apply if an existing franchisee requests a study on a proposed nearby site.

Territory protection (Item 12)

You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees, from Outlets KFC owns, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands KFC controls.

Renewal & termination terms (Item 17)

The Franchise Agreement term is 20 years. Renewal is currently $9,600 (subject to CPI adjustment) plus other conditions; KFC's Item 19 financial performance representation is included in this FDD and should be reviewed directly for outlet-level sales and cost detail.

How KFC compares to other Food & Beverage franchises

Across the 52 food & beverage franchises we've hand-verified so far, the typical range to open runs $860,899–$2,165,095, with royalties averaging around 5.6% of gross sales (based on the 48 of them that charge a flat %-of-revenue royalty).

Dave's Hot Chicken

$617,800–$2,170,000 · 6% royalty

Slim Chickens

$1,188,900–$4,944,000 · 5% royalty

Ziggi's Coffee

$315,830–$2,093,361 · 6% royalty

Crumbl

$848,566–$1,472,533 · 8% royalty

Little Caesars

$376,500–$1,769,200 · 6% royalty

Jamba

$480,850–$941,300 · 6% royalty

Tropical Smoothie Cafe

$300,000–$720,500 · 6% royalty

Playa Bowls

$188,675–$636,458 · 6% royalty

Kona Ice

$114,730–$228,601 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Firehouse Subs

$166,671–$950,351 · 6% royalty

Wingstop

$310,400–$1,048,500 · 6% royalty

Jersey Mike's Subs

$436,176–$1,162,228 · 6.5% royalty

Dunkin'

$532,400–$1,832,500 · 5.9% royalty

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

$1,222,045–$3,923,245 · 5% royalty

Del Taco

$1,461,200–$3,313,500 · 5% royalty

Blaze Pizza

$757,000–$1,297,100 · 5% royalty

Church's Texas Chicken

$1,202,400–$1,886,300 · 5% royalty

MOD Pizza

$924,732–$1,220,633 · 5% royalty

Twin Peaks

$2,959,000–$5,734,000 · 5% royalty

McDonald's

$1,470,500–$2,642,000 · 5% royalty

Subway

$263,000–$630,000 · 8% royalty

Taco Bell

$1,859,750–$4,312,200 · 5.5% royalty

Domino's Pizza

$231,450–$743,500 · 5.5% royalty

Burger King

$2,039,200–$4,730,600 · 4.5% royalty

Chick-fil-A

$317,521–$3,463,155 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Penn Station

$507,500–$858,750 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Nekter Juice Bar

$243,155–$647,160 · 6% royalty

Jimmy John's

$366,200–$733,500 · 6% royalty

Sonic Drive-In

$1,485,200–$2,522,900 · 5% royalty

Papa John's

$281,485–$890,267 · 5% royalty

Hungry Howie's Pizza & Subs

$238,982–$697,322 · 5.5% royalty

Jack in the Box

$1,909,500–$4,041,500 · 5% royalty

Wendy's

$1,523,957–$2,992,000 · 4% royalty

Marco's Pizza

$286,477–$811,186 · 5.5% royalty

Pizza Hut

$846,000–$2,130,000 · 6% royalty

Chicken Salad Chick

$777,000–$998,500 · 5% royalty

Teriyaki Madness

$392,667–$1,121,405 · 6% royalty

Cold Stone Creamery

$390,675–$680,775 · 6% royalty

Scooter's Coffee

$1,163,650–$1,345,750 · 6% royalty

Nothing Bundt Cakes

$475,200–$994,100 · 6% royalty

Five Guys

$977,850–$1,375,750 · 6% royalty

Tim Hortons

$427,500–$3,312,500 · 6% royalty

7 Brew

$940,500–$2,283,500 · non-%-of-revenue royalty

Swig

$608,400–$1,718,000 · 7% royalty

Culver's

$3,406,350–$10,294,100 · 4% royalty

Dairy Queen

$1,516,200–$2,543,050 · 4% royalty

Paris Baguette

$727,515–$1,860,550 · 5% royalty

Jollibee

$1,614,568–$4,589,057 · 5% royalty

Smoothie King

$329,850–$683,215 · 6% royalty

IHOP

$380,550–$3,735,850 · 4.5% royalty

Cinnabon

$256,950–$703,500 · 6% royalty

KFC Franchise FAQ

How much does it cost to franchise a KFC?

Based on KFC's own FDD, total initial investment to open one location runs $2,107,575–$4,155,000, including the $45,000 franchise fee. KFC only files a Net Worth/Experience Exemption notice, not a full FDD, with California DFPI, so this entry is sourced from Minnesota's CARDS registry instead: Clean FDD issued March 25, 2026 (MN File No. 7963, filed 3/25/2026, effective in Minnesota 3/31/2026), Traditional Outlet FDD. Item 5: $45,000 initial franchise fee, paid as a $20,000 Deposit Fee plus a $25,000 Option Fee. Item 6: royalty is 4% of Gross Revenue for "Legacy Franchisees" but 5% for non-Legacy (i.e., new) franchisees, or a $1,440/month minimum if greater, plus a 5.8% National Co-Op advertising fee. Item 7: $2,107,575-$4,155,000 TOTAL for a newly constructed outlet ($1,207,575-$2,805,000 for a reopened/remodeled/converted outlet) -- a real parser trap on this filing: KFC's Item 1 summary page separately quotes a $135,000-$540,000 figure for multi-unit Development Agreement rights (3-12 outlets at $45,000 each), which an earlier automated pass mistook for the single-unit Item 7 total; corrected here to the actual single-restaurant investment range. Item 20 Table 1 franchised-outlet rows above; hqLocation (Plano, TX) is KFC's own letterhead address from the FDD's cover page, not the FTC's Washington, D.C. boilerplate.

What is the KFC franchise fee and royalty rate?

The initial franchise fee is $45,000, and the ongoing royalty is 5% of gross sales, per the filing on record.

Is the KFC franchise growing or shrinking?

Shrinking. Across 2023–2025, KFC lost a net 438 franchised locations, per its own annual FDD filings.

Keep going

KFC and Burger King are both food & beverage franchises; Burger King's total investment starts about $68,375 lower than KFC's. Burger King Franchise
KFC and Jack in the Box are both food & beverage franchises; Jack in the Box's total investment starts about $198,075 lower than KFC's. Jack in the Box Franchise

Where this came from: KFC only files a Net Worth/Experience Exemption notice, not a full FDD, with California DFPI, so this entry is sourced from Minnesota's CARDS registry instead: Clean FDD issued March 25, 2026 (MN File No. 7963, filed 3/25/2026, effective in Minnesota 3/31/2026), Traditional Outlet FDD. Item 5: $45,000 initial franchise fee, paid as a $20,000 Deposit Fee plus a $25,000 Option Fee. Item 6: royalty is 4% of Gross Revenue for "Legacy Franchisees" but 5% for non-Legacy (i.e., new) franchisees, or a $1,440/month minimum if greater, plus a 5.8% National Co-Op advertising fee. Item 7: $2,107,575-$4,155,000 TOTAL for a newly constructed outlet ($1,207,575-$2,805,000 for a reopened/remodeled/converted outlet) -- a real parser trap on this filing: KFC's Item 1 summary page separately quotes a $135,000-$540,000 figure for multi-unit Development Agreement rights (3-12 outlets at $45,000 each), which an earlier automated pass mistook for the single-unit Item 7 total; corrected here to the actual single-restaurant investment range. Item 20 Table 1 franchised-outlet rows above; hqLocation (Plano, TX) is KFC's own letterhead address from the FDD's cover page, not the FTC's Washington, D.C. boilerplate. You can pull the same filing yourself from the California DFPI's public franchise search. Filed 2026-03-31. None of this is investment advice -- get the franchisor's current FDD and talk to a real attorney or accountant before you sign anything.

If you see a different unit count elsewhere: franchisors only have to refile their FDD annually, so the numbers here can run 6–18 months behind a franchisor's own real-time marketing claims -- which often aren't independently verified, and sometimes count signed-but-not-yet-open locations. A gap isn't necessarily an error on either side; it's two different snapshots in time from two different sources.