Quick Verdict · who it fits
Arby's fits first-time franchise buyers looking for a mature food & beverage concept.
The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.
Initial investment (Item 7)
$869K - $2.5M
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$38K
Royalty (Item 6)
4–6.2% + 3.22–5% ad
Item 19 median rev
$1.2M all franchised Traditional Restaurants
System size (Item 20)
2,344 +136
Agreement term
20 yrs
Years in business
11+ yrs
Company-owned units
921
Item 3 litigation
8 suits
Model Arby's's costs in the investment calculator → Prefilled from this filing — startup cost, cash flow and break-even.
Buyer qualifications
Data extracted from the 2026 FDD filed with state regulators. Fees and terms may have changed since filing — request the current FDD from the franchisor before deciding. Not legal, financial, or investment advice. Full disclaimer.
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 4–6.2% + ad fund 3.22–5% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$1,200,000
$100k$2.2M
Royalty (4–6.2%)
—
Ad fund (3.22–5%)
—
Total / year
—
▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration
Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.
3,265
Total units open
U.S. only; 243 international franchised units also operating
58 net new franchised units in 2025
Units opened last year
78 franchised units ceased operations in 2025
Units closed last year
-120 total U.S. units (franchised +58, comp
Net unit growth
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
4
Risks to review
3
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How Arby's ranks against 811 Food & Beverage peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
85th pct · of 811 peers
Franchise fee
54th pct · of 811 peers
System size
97th pct · of 811 peers
Food & Beverage industry averages
Avg investment
$528K - $1.3M
Avg franchise fee
$38K
Avg system size
235
Franchises analyzed
811
Closest concepts by category and investment.
| Brand | Item 19 | Fee | Investment | Royalty | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arby's | Disclosed | $38K | $869K - $2.5M | 4–6.2% | 2,344 |
| Engine No.9Similar price | None | $25K | $563K - $2.5M | — | 3 |
| Doctor's AssociatesBiggest system | None | $15K | $227K - $630K | 8% | 18,773 |
| Vintage Hospitality GroupTop-rated in category | Disclosed | $50K | $3.5M - $6.4M | 5.5% | 33 |
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Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
The 2026 Cinnabon Franchisor SPV LLC disclosure puts a Full Bakery at $196,250 to $715,100 with a $35,500 fee, and reports a $600,536 median across 189 enclosed mall bakeries.
Brand Analysis
Chipotle reported 4,186 company-operated restaurants and 15 international licensed restaurants as of June 30, 2026. None are franchised, there is no FDD, and there is nothing to apply for. Qdoba is the franchised version of the same order line, and its 12/25 FDD puts a traditional restaurant at $548,100 to $1,294,000.
Brand Analysis
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. reported 656 company-operated stores in 43 states as of January 30, 2026, and the brand has never sold a franchise. Huddle House and Another Broken Egg cover the same daypart with filed FDDs, at $555,375 to $1,715,275 and $792,500 to $1,804,000.
Arby's requires a $37,500 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $868,550–$2,456,600, per the most recent FDD on file.
Arby's franchises are sold by Arby's Franchisor, LLC, the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the corporate structure, including any parent companies and predecessors.
Yes. Arby's discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $1,201,669. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 4% of Gross Sales for Traditional Restaurants; 6.2% of Gross Sales for Non-Traditional Restaurants and an advertising fund contribution of 3.22% to 5.0% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Arby's has 2,344 total locations, with 136 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
Per the FDD, Arby's discloses an initial agreement term of 20 years. Review Items 10 and 17 for the full renewal and termination provisions.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt