Quick Verdict · who it fits
Dunkin' 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)
$142K - $1.8M
Franchise fee (Item 5)
$90K
Royalty (Item 6)
5.9% + 2.5–5% ad
Item 19 median rev
$1.3M all franchised units
System size (Item 20)
9,963 +326
Years in business
20+ yrs
Company-owned units
36
Item 3 litigation
19 suits
Model Dunkin''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.
Where units actually land — not just the headline average.
P25
$953k
Median
$1.3M
P75
$1.7M
▪ n = 7,010 units · all franchised units · Source: 2026 FDD Item 19
Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 5.9% + ad fund 2.5–5% on gross sales.
PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$1,300,000
$100k$2.4M
Royalty (5.9%)
—
Ad fund (2.5–5%)
—
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.
8,780 Dunkin' franchised and company-owned; 1,219 Combo franchised
Total units open
9,999 total Dunkin' system
314 Dunkin' franchised + 12 Combo franchised = 326
Units opened last year
81 (55 Dunkin' ceased operations + 24 Dunkin' terminations + 2 Dun
Units closed last year
What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.
4
Risks to review
3
Strengths identified
5
Questions to ask
How Dunkin' ranks against 811 Food & Beverage peers we've analyzed.
Initial investment
11th pct · of 811 peers
Franchise fee
98th pct · of 811 peers
System size
99th 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunkin' | Disclosed | $90K | $142K - $1.8M | 5.9% | 9,963 |
| Aroma Joe’sSimilar price | Disclosed | — | $598K - $1.8M | 8% | 120 |
| 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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Personalized
Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.
Brand Analysis
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Brand Analysis
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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.
Dunkin' requires a $90,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $142,000–$1,832,500, per the most recent FDD on file.
Dunkin' is franchised by DUNKIN DONUTS FRANCHISING LLC, the franchisor entity of record on its Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 1 of the FDD discloses the franchisor's corporate history, parents, and predecessors.
Yes. Dunkin' discloses Item 19 financial performance representations with reported revenue around $1,297,694. See the financials sub-page for the full distribution.
Franchisees pay a royalty of 5.9% of Gross Sales and an advertising fund contribution of 5.0% of Gross Sales for Continuing; 2.5% of Gross Sales for SDOs on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.
As of their 2026 FDD, Dunkin' has 9,963 total locations, with 326 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.
This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt