# The quick-service franchise fee table

A franchisor's royalty is the number most summaries quote. It is rarely the
whole recurring percentage. Item 6 of a Franchise Disclosure Document can put
the royalty, brand advertising fund and required local advertising on separate
rows, leaving the reader to work out what those percentages demand together.
The [FTC's guide to buying a franchise](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumers-guide-buying-franchise)
explains why the full 23-item document, rather than a portal summary, is the
starting point.

This directory adds those three recurring percentages into a **fee stack**.
Thirteen live US offerings are ranked from the lowest disclosed stack to the
highest. A row without both a royalty and a brand-fund rate remains unranked;
an empty field is not treated as zero. The calculation is intentionally narrow.
A fixed technology charge, delivery commission, renewal fee, transfer fee,
product markup or percentage charge outside those three advertising-and-royalty
components can still matter and is discussed on the individual profile.

The filing year travels with every row because the set is not a single-year
survey. A rate from a 2023 FDD and a rate from a 2026 FDD describe different
moments. Unit counts may have their own earlier measurement date as well. The
ranking therefore supports a first comparison, not a claim that every offer was
available on identical terms on the same day.

## Why these formats share one table

German döner, Mediterranean grills, chicken-and-rice platters, hot dogs,
sandwiches, chicken, tacos and Japanese fast casual are not interchangeable
foods. They are adjacent operating choices: they can compete for similar
second-generation restaurant spaces, labor pools, lunch occasions and
franchise capital. Putting those formats together makes the comparison useful
without pretending the menus are the same.

The table also separates disclosed scale from reputation. A 323-unit chain is
not automatically a better investment than a six-unit system, and a lower fee
stack is not proof of stronger economics. Item 20 supplies outlet counts; Item
19, when present, may make a financial performance representation; neither
turns the ranking into a recommendation.

Use the other views to test a different question: [system size](/by-units/),
[brand and franchise age](/by-age/), and [Item 7 entry cost](/by-investment/).
The category essays map the [multi-operator US döner field](/german-doner-in-the-us/)
and distinguish [Mediterranean positioning from halal certification](/mediterranean-and-halal/).
Each profile keeps its disclosure year beside the figures and links to a
current operator page where that page adds useful present-day context.

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