Best pizza franchises for 2026 on FDD data: 11 brands from $86,500, Papa John's $1,043,433 median, and two chains that publish no Item 19.
Quick answer The best pizza franchises in 2026 cost from $86,500 (Figaro's Italian Pizza) to $1,769,200 (Little Caesars) across 11 brands' current FDDs. A traditional Domino's costs $231,450 to $743,500, Marco's $286,477 to $811,186 with an $832,403 Item 19 median, and Papa John's reports a $1,043,433 median. Little Caesars and Jet's Pizza publish no Item 19.
Pizza franchise opportunities in 2026 start at $86,500 and run to $1,769,200 to open, depending on brand and format, according to the current Franchise Disclosure Documents of the 11 brands compared below. Nine of them publish Item 19 revenue figures. Little Caesars and Jet’s Pizza publish none. The comparison table comes first, followed by how the national systems, the mid-sized growth brands, and the carryout specialists differ once you are operating.
Sorted by the lowest Item 7 figure each brand discloses.
| Brand | Item 7 investment | Franchise fee | Royalty | Item 19 median (sample) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Figaro’s Italian Pizza | $86,500–$549,000 | $39,000 plus $10,000 coordination fee | 6% of gross receipts | Quartile averages only (24 stores, 2025) |
| Domino’s | $231,450–$743,500 traditional; $107,450–$709,500 non-traditional | Up to $10,000 | 5.5% | $25,160 a week (6,518 franchised stores, 2024) |
| Papa John’s | $281,485–$890,267 standard; $125,000–$423,302 non-traditional | $5,000–$25,000 | 5% of net sales (6% small-town) | $1,043,433 (2,389 franchised restaurants, 2025) |
| Marco’s Pizza | $286,477–$811,186 | $25,000 | 5.5% | $832,403 (997 franchised stores, 2025) |
| Mountain Mike’s | $356,000–$993,946 | $30,000 | 5% | $969,285 (292 restaurants, 2025) |
| Hungry Howie’s (2025 FDD) | $358,903–$519,295 | $25,000 | 5.5% | $750,261 (272 franchised units, 2024) |
| Little Caesars | $376,500–$1,769,200 | $20,000 | 6% or $300 a week, whichever is greater | None disclosed |
| Papa Murphy’s | $450,330–$693,450 | $25,000 | 5% | $617,941 (947 franchised stores, 52 weeks to September 2025) |
| Donatos | $546,637–$1,060,537 | $30,000 | 4% of net sales | $882,923 (116 franchised restaurants, 2025) |
| Jet’s Pizza | $627,500–$843,000 | $30,000 | 12% of acquired inventory, $1,200 monthly minimum | None disclosed |
| Blaze Pizza | $757,000–$1,297,100 | $30,000 | 5% | $1,225,848 (208 franchised traditional-location restaurants, 2025) |
Source: Items 5, 6, 7, and 19 of each brand’s current FDD. Filings are 2026 unless noted. Domino’s reports weekly sales, and $25,160 a week works out to roughly $1.31 million a year. Figaro’s publishes quartile averages without a system median.
Three patterns decide most shortlists.
The cheapest doors are formats, not brands. Figaro’s Italian Pizza opens from $86,500, and the non-traditional formats at Domino’s ($107,450) and Papa John’s ($125,000) come in below any traditional store. A standard delivery-and-carryout store starts at $231,450 with Domino’s, $281,485 with Papa John’s, and $286,477 with Marco’s.
Disclosed volume does not track the price of entry. Blaze Pizza reports the highest median here, $1,225,848, but also has the highest floor at $757,000. Domino’s median franchised store ran at about $1.31 million a year from a $231,450 traditional floor, and Papa John’s reports $1,043,433 from $281,485. Papa Murphy’s, at $450,330 to open, reports $617,941.
Two well-known systems publish nothing. Little Caesars and Jet’s Pizza make no Item 19 financial performance representation, so neither can be underwritten from the FDD alone. Jet’s also charges its 12% royalty on inventory purchased rather than on sales, which you cannot line up against a percentage-of-sales royalty until you know what share of sales goes to inventory.
Pizza Hut is left out of the table on purpose. The only Pizza Hut disclosure in our library is its non-traditional license document, which runs $55,800 to $304,000 before real property and signage, charges a standard 10% monthly service fee, and makes no Item 19 representation. For the rest of the category, the pizza franchise opportunities directory lists every pizza brand in our library with live FDD data you can sort by investment, royalty, or Item 19.
Pizza franchises generate over $48 billion in annual U.S. revenue, with franchised units accounting for 67–72% of total industry sales. The category has seen meaningful structural shifts since 2022. Third-party delivery platform dynamics (DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub) compressed delivery margins for some brands while opening new revenue channels for others. Labor costs increased 18–24% from 2022 to 2025 in most markets, pressuring unit economics. And consumer behavior shifted noticeably toward carryout, with carryout-first brands outperforming delivery-heavy brands on per-unit profitability.
For 2026, the category is in an interesting buyer’s position. Single-unit pizza franchise ownership has become harder to justify economically as fixed costs (real estate, labor, technology) outpace revenue growth in many markets. Multi-unit ownership has become the dominant successful model. Buyer preference has consolidated toward brands with strong digital ordering infrastructure and operational systems that handle the labor-cost squeeze better than competitors.
The top tier of pizza franchising is dominated by three brands with national presence and territorial complexity.
| Brand | Initial Investment | Royalty | Franchise Fee | Item 19 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domino’s Pizza | $231,450–$743,500 traditional | 5.5% | Up to $10,000 | $25,160 median weekly sales (2024) |
| Pizza Hut (non-traditional license) | $55,800–$304,000, excluding real property and signage | 10% monthly service fee | $5,000–$20,000 | None disclosed |
| Papa John’s | $281,485–$890,267 standard | 5% of net sales | $5,000–$25,000 | $1,043,433 median (2025) |
Domino’s commands the strongest unit economics across the major-brand tier. The brand’s investment in delivery infrastructure (proprietary order tracking, app ecosystem, route optimization) translates into operating leverage that smaller brands struggle to match. The trade-off: most attractive markets require multi-unit area development commitments rather than single-unit licenses. The full Item 7 for both store formats is in our Domino’s franchise cost breakdown.
Pizza Hut has invested heavily in modernization since 2020 (off-premise carryout focus, smaller footprints, kitchen automation), but legacy unit performance varies widely depending on real estate vintage. The Pizza Hut FDD in our library covers only non-traditional licensed locations, so request the traditional franchise FDD before pricing a full restaurant. Papa John’s offers a middle ground but has experienced franchise-system stability challenges since 2018 that buyers should validate carefully through current franchisee feedback.
This tier is where most 2026 pizza buyer-research traffic concentrates. The brands have grown unit count significantly and offer more accessible territory than the top three.
| Brand | Initial Investment | Royalty | Franchise Fee | Operational Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marco’s Pizza | $286,477–$811,186 | 5.5% | $25,000 | Delivery + carryout, dine-in optional |
| Jet’s Pizza | $627,500–$843,000 | 12% of acquired inventory | $30,000 | Dine-in capable, strong Detroit-style positioning |
| Hungry Howie’s | $358,903–$519,295 (2025 FDD) | 5.5% of gross sales | $25,000 | Flavored crust positioning, broad market |
Marco’s has consolidated as the strongest growth challenger to the major brands, particularly in suburban markets where its delivery-and-carryout model with 1,400–2,200 sq ft footprints fits well. Jet’s Pizza offers the strongest dine-in positioning in this tier. Hungry Howie’s provides accessible entry capital with broad market positioning.
Average ticket sizes in this tier run $22–$38, with delivery commanding $4–$8 premiums. Order volume per unit averages 60–140 daily orders for established locations.
The carryout-first segment has outperformed delivery-heavy brands on margin since 2022 because of structural cost differences (no driver wages, no third-party platform fees, faster table turn).
Little Caesars stands alone in pure carryout-first economics. The brand’s “Hot-N-Ready” pricing model ($5.99 large pizza historically, repriced upward in 2024–2025) generates extreme order velocity at compressed margins per order. Successful Little Caesars units run on volume (200–400+ daily transactions) with operational systems designed for that throughput. The brand also runs a sizable corporate base, 586 company-owned restaurants against 3,788 franchised US units at its 2025 fiscal year end.
Mountain Mike’s targets a different customer with full-service dine-in, larger footprints, and premium ingredient positioning. The economics work in markets that support the dine-in pricing premium.
Across the major pizza franchise brands, the unit-level economics look like this at maturity:
The variance within these ranges is substantial. Pizza franchise economics depend on real estate selection more than almost any other franchise category; a unit on the wrong side of a major intersection can produce 40% lower revenue than the right side at similar cost.
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Three operational models drive most of the brand-level economic difference:
Pure carryout-first (Little Caesars, parts of Pizza Hut Express): no in-house delivery, simplified labor model, smaller footprint, lower per-order revenue but higher transaction volume. Best margins per order but requires high traffic.
Delivery-and-carryout (Domino’s, Marco’s, Hungry Howie’s): in-house or hybrid delivery, moderate footprint, balanced revenue mix. Best operating leverage as digital ordering matures.
Full-service dine-in + delivery + carryout (Jet’s Pizza, Mountain Mike’s, Blaze Pizza): largest footprint, highest labor intensity, highest per-order revenue, dependent on local dining traffic. Best fit for destination locations.
The 2024–2025 data favored carryout-first and delivery-and-carryout models on margin. Dine-in-heavy units required meaningful operational adjustments (off-premise expansion, labor restructuring, real estate optimization) to maintain unit economics through the labor cost cycle.
Franchisee failures in pizza franchising consistently trace to three operational patterns:
For deeper analysis on existing brand comparisons, see our head-to-heads: dominos vs papa johns vs marcos pizza franchise covers the major-brand decision specifically. Buyers comparing pizza against other food franchises should pair this with best food franchises under 250k and food franchise investment guide. Real estate selection is critical and covered in franchise real estate lease negotiation guide.
If you have $1.5M+ in deployable capital and the operational appetite for multi-unit territory development, Domino’s remains the validated category leader on unit economics, with the caveat that single-unit Domino’s ownership is increasingly unavailable in attractive markets.
If your capital is in the $300,000–$700,000 range and you want established mid-tier brand support with reasonable territory availability, Marco’s Pizza, Hungry Howie’s, and Papa Murphy’s all open inside it and publish Item 19 medians ($832,403, $750,261, and $617,941). Jet’s Pizza starts higher, at $627,500, and publishes no Item 19.
If you’re targeting carryout-first volume operations and have the capital plus retail-real-estate access, Little Caesars is the model built for it. It publishes no Item 19, though, so its unit economics have to come from validation calls, and the operational intensity (200–400+ daily transactions) requires owner profile comfort with high-throughput foodservice.
If you’re entering a West Coast market with full-service dine-in capability, Mountain Mike’s offers strong regional brand presence and operational support.
Whatever brand you pick, validate at least 8 existing franchisees with at least 3 in markets demographically similar to yours. Pizza unit economics are local, real estate driven, and labor-cost sensitive in ways the FDD doesn’t fully capture.
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About this analysis The franchise data in this article is drawn from VetMyFranchise's structured analysis of 2,400+ Franchise Disclosure Documents filed with U.S. state regulators. See our data & methodology.
Mature pizza franchises with strong unit economics typically run 8–15% net operating margins on revenue of $900,000–$1.8M per unit. Top-quartile single units in established markets exceed $1.5M with owner take-home of $150,000–$280,000 after debt service. Multi-unit operators with 3–8 units typically reach $400,000–$900,000 in annual owner net income. The economics depend heavily on real estate selection, labor cost management, and food cost discipline.
Among the 11 brands compared here, Figaro's Italian Pizza has the lowest Item 7 floor at $86,500. Non-traditional formats are the other low-cost door: Domino's non-traditional stores start at $107,450 and Papa John's non-traditional restaurants at $125,000. For a traditional delivery-and-carryout store, Domino's starts at $231,450, Papa John's at $281,485, and Marco's at $286,477. The cheapest entries are smaller-footprint carryout and delivery units rather than full-service dine-in restaurants.
Among the brands compared here, Blaze Pizza reports the highest median: $1,225,848 across 208 franchised restaurants at traditional locations in 2025, on a $757,000 to $1,297,100 investment. Domino's franchised stores posted a $25,160 median weekly sales figure in 2024, roughly $1.31 million a year. Papa John's reports $1,043,433, Mountain Mike's $969,285, and Marco's $832,403. Medians hide wide spreads: Mountain Mike's restaurants ranged from $352,289 to $2,892,735 in 2025. Little Caesars and Jet's Pizza publish no Item 19 at all.
Most pizza franchises reach cash-flow breakeven between months 6 and 18, depending on real estate selection, brand recognition, and operational execution. Single-unit franchises in good locations typically achieve sustainable profitability by Year 2. The brands with strongest unit economic ramps tend to be Domino's (delivery infrastructure leverages quickly) and Marco's (rapid customer acquisition in suburban markets).
The capital gap is smaller than most buyers assume. A traditional Domino's costs $231,450 to $743,500 and a Marco's $286,477 to $811,186, both at a 5.5% royalty. The bigger difference is disclosed volume: Domino's franchised stores posted a $25,160 median weekly sales figure in 2024 (roughly $1.31 million a year), against Marco's $832,403 median for 2025. Domino's initial fee runs up to $10,000 against Marco's $25,000, but attractive Domino's markets often require a multi-unit territory commitment, while Marco's offers faster territory availability and a dine-in-optional format. The right answer depends on whether you can commit to multi-unit growth and which operational model you prefer.
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