Methodology

What is in the set

Quick-service and fast-casual restaurant brands with a current franchise offering in the United States, weighted towards the kebab, Mediterranean and halal categories and their nearest neighbours by format and by cheque size.

A brand that has withdrawn from the US is kept in a separate list at the foot of the table rather than deleted, because buyers still find them and still ask. That status is not a prediction that the offering will return.

Adjacent chicken, sandwich, hot-dog, taco and Asian fast-casual systems are included as operating benchmarks. They may compete for similar restaurant spaces, labor and franchise capital even though their menus are not substitutes. Category membership does not imply that a brand is halal-certified, that one cuisine is equivalent to another, or that the directory endorses the offer.

Where the figures come from

Franchise Disclosure Documents are the primary source for fees, investment, outlet counts, agreement terms, training and Item 19 status. Some rows come directly from a named issued FDD; others come from a comparative study of published FDDs compiled in May 2024. Each profile names its source and dataset year beside the figures. The FTC’s Franchise Rule requires 23 disclosure items, but the agency does not verify or approve an individual franchise’s economics.

The year matters more than it looks. Fees move between disclosure years, so a brand disclosed in 2024 sitting in a table beside one disclosed in 2026 is comparing two different moments. Where the set is uneven, the date on the row is the correction.

Official operator pages are used for current, operator-controlled facts such as a location directory, menu format, certification document or whether enquiries are on hold. Those claims are attributed to the company and do not overwrite a dated filing value. Reputable trade reporting may add context when it clearly states a date and source. Undated franchise portals are not used to fill numeric gaps because they often reprint old summaries without identifying the filing.

The source order is: issued FDD; official operator document or page for the operator’s own current claims; government or recognized standards body; then reputable trade reporting for context. Marketing statements remain company statements. A development agreement, target market or “in development” count is not reported as an open restaurant.

A field the filing does not state is left blank. It is never estimated and never filled in from a similar brand.

How the ranking is worked out

Brands are ordered by total ongoing fee: the royalty, plus the national or brand advertising fund, plus any local advertising spend the franchisor can require. All three are percentages of gross sales, all three are compulsory, and Item 6 lists them separately.

Where a filing gives a band rather than a rate, the low end is used, and the band itself is printed on the brand’s page.

A brand that does not disclose both a royalty and a fund cannot be scored, and sorts to the bottom rather than the top. Treating an undisclosed fee as zero would rank the least forthcoming brands as the cheapest ones.

The stack is not “all ongoing costs.” It does not silently add fixed technology fees, product markups, payment-processing charges or delivery commissions to a percentage metric. Those terms are discussed on profiles where the source records them. The ranking measures one repeatable slice of disclosed cost; it does not measure franchisee profit, food quality, support quality or investment risk.

The other rankings follow similarly narrow rules. System size uses the dated outlet count, not a current marketing claim. Age uses the documented founding year and shows the franchise-program year separately. Entry cost sorts by the low end of Item 7 while preserving the whole issued range and filing year.

Editorial independence

QSR Landscape is independent of every brand it covers. No operator sponsors the directory, pays for inclusion, buys a position, approves a profile or receives an advance right to edit the analysis. Brand names and trademarks identify the subjects of reporting only.

Döner Haus is handled by the same dataset, ranking rules, source labels and critical distinctions as every peer. Its permitted photographs do not change its position. Company development maps are labeled operator-supplied and are treated as evidence of what that operator claims, not as an independent map of the US category.

Corrections and review cadence

The dataset is reviewed on the annual FDD cycle and when a material interim change is documented, such as an offering being withdrawn or an official location directory changing. A newer operator page does not retroactively alter an older filing count: the profile explains the different dates until a newer FDD replaces the row. The review date in the page header identifies the current publication build, while each numeric row retains its own source year.

Corrections replace an inaccurate statement rather than adding a second, conflicting version. Missing current filings remain missing, and rights-uncertain images remain links rather than being copied.

What it costs to be listed

Nothing, and there is no way to buy a position. No brand in the table has been contacted for approval of its entry, and none can pay to move, appear or be removed.