How much does a Chick-Fil-A franchise cost?
Opening a Chick-Fil-A franchise takes a total initial investment of $317,521 to $3,463,155, according to the brand's 2026 Franchise Disclosure Document. The FDD's Item 19 reports median annual sales volume of $3,356,330 across 201 outlets.
The FDD franchises Chick-fil-A Restaurant businesses. Category: Food & Beverage.
Item 7
What it costs to open a Chick-Fil-A franchise
The franchisor's own estimated initial investment, as disclosed in its 2026 FDD. The total is $317,521 to $3,463,155. Each line below carries the FDD page it was read from.
Where the money goes
The largest costs are Additional Funds ($280,000 to $3,463,155), Opening Inventory ($22,950 to $107,000), and First Month’s Lease/Sublease of Premises ($3,500 to $100,655).
The initial franchise fee is $10,000.
Our arithmetic from the Item 7 table below.
| Expenditure | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 | $10,000 | $10,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
| Opening Inventory2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 | $22,950 | $107,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
| First Month’s Rental of Equipment2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 | $750 | $5,000 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
| First Month’s Lease/ | $3,500 | $100,655 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
| First Month’s Insurance Expense2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 | $321 | $22,500 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
| Additional Funds2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 | $280,000 | $3,463,155 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
| Total estimated initial investment2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 | $317,521 | $3,463,155 | 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37 |
About this total: The printed total was re-read on page 37 and is what the document prints; the high amounts of the listed rows add to $3,708,310, while the printed high total is $3,463,155.
Source Chick-Fil-A, 2026 FDD, Item 7, p. 37, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-16.
Item 19
What Chick-Fil-A franchisees actually report earning
Median Annual Sales Volume
$3,356,330
Chick-Fil-A's 2026 FDD, Item 19, for the 2025. Basis: Domestic non-captive venue franchised Operator Chick-fil-A Restaurants located in mall units that had been open and operated by Operators for at least one full calendar year as of December 31, 2025.
Sample size: 201 outlets. The FDD also reports average sales volume of $4,579,894. We lead with the median because an average is pulled upward by the strongest outlets; the median is the middle outlet.
What the franchisor excluded from this figure
- The domestic Chick-fil-A Licensed Units, which are operated by Chick-fil-A Licensees, and their annual sales volumes are not the subject of these financial performance representations.
- The domestic Chick-fil-A Restaurants, which are operated or were operated at any time during calendar year 2025 by Chick-fil-A or its affiliates, and their annual sales volumes are not the subject of these financial performance representations.
- Those 25 captive venue units and their annual sales volumes are not the subject of these financial performance representations.
This is a disclosure of what some existing outlets reported, not a projection of what a new Chick-Fil-A outlet would earn. Your results will differ.
Source Chick-Fil-A, 2026 FDD, Item 19, p. 77, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-16.
Item 20
How many Chick-Fil-A outlets there are, and how many closed
Chick-Fil-A ended 2025 with 2,795 franchised outlets and 68 company-owned outlets. In that year 278 franchised outlets opened and 107 left the system.
| Year | Start | Opened | Terminated | Non-renewed | Reacquired | Ceased, other | End | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,624 | 278 | 0 | 0 | 99 | 8 | 2,795 | 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 86 |
| 2024 | 2,494 | 243 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 6 | 2,629 | 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 86 |
| 2023 | 2,331 | 255 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 8 | 2,494 | 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 86 |
Source Chick-Fil-A, 2026 FDD, Item 20, p. 86, via Public FDD bucket (storage.googleapis.com/franchiseindx_fdds) (source record). Figures read and verified 2026-09-16.
Compare
How Chick-Fil-A compares with other Food & Beverage franchises
Measured against the 256 Food & Beverage franchises on this site, using each brand's own FDD.
- Cost to open. The middle of Chick-Fil-A's estimated range is $1,890,338. It costs more to open than 89% of Food & Beverage franchises here.
- Earnings disclosure. 152 of the 256 Food & Beverage franchises here publish earnings figures in Item 19. Chick-Fil-A is one of them.
Our arithmetic from each brand's Item 7 and Item 20. Growth and departure comparisons leave out brands with fewer than 10 outlets, where one opening or closure distorts the figures. See every Food & Beverage franchise side by side.
Alert me when Chick-Fil-A files a new FDD
Franchisors reissue their FDD at least once a year, and the Item 7 and Item 19 figures move. Leave an email and we will send you Chick-Fil-A's updated numbers when the next document is published, plus the brand-comparison worksheet.
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