Chick-Fil-a Franchise Review 2026: Ratings & Verdict

Product details

Contents

Key facts


The Verdict

Quick Verdict · who it fits

Chick-fil-A, Inc. fits owner-operators looking for a mature food & beverage concept.

✓ Strengths

⚠ Risks to review

Key FDD Facts

The numbers a buyer needs first — straight from the filing.

Initial investment (Item 7)

$586K - $3.4M

Franchise fee (Item 5)

$10K

Royalty (Item 6)

7–10%

System size (Item 20)

2,795 +278

Years in business

7+ yrs

Item 3 litigation

6 suits

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.

What you'd pay the franchisor

Drag to your projected annual sales. Royalty 7–10% on gross sales.

PROJECTED ANNUAL SALES$500,000

$100k$2M

Royalty (7–10%)

Total / year

▪ Of-sales fees only · excludes rent, labor, COGS, and one-time costs · for illustration

Executive Summary

Free AI summary — the first read on the filing.

Key Numbers

424 Chick-fil-A Licensed Units

Total units open

as of December 31, 2025

18 new Licensed Units opened in 2025

Units opened last year

19 Licensed Units ceased operations in 2025

Units closed last year

-1 unit in 2025

Net unit growth

AI Due Diligence Findings PREMIUM

What our analysis flagged across the 2026 filing.

5

Risks to review

4

Strengths identified

5

Questions to ask

Industry Benchmarks

How Chick-Fil-a ranks against 561 Food & Beverage peers we've analyzed.

Initial investment

73rd pct · of 561 peers

Franchise fee

4th pct · of 561 peers

System size

97th pct · of 561 peers

Food & Beverage industry averages

Avg investment

$594K - $1.4M

Avg franchise fee

$44K

Avg system size

346

Franchises analyzed

561

How Chick-Fil-a stacks up

Closest concepts by category and investment.

Brand Item 19 Fee Investment Royalty Units
Chick-Fil-a Disclosed $10K $586K - $3.4M 7–10% 2,795
Boston Pizza RestaurantsSimilar price Disclosed $50K $1.1M - $3.3M 5% 20
Doctor's AssociatesBiggest system Disclosed $15K $227K - $630K 8% 18,773
Vintage Hospitality GroupTop-rated in category Disclosed $50K $3.5M - $6.4M 5.5% 33

Compare side-by-side ↗

Franchise research guides

Free explainers to go deeper before you sign.

Get franchise information FREE

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a Chick-fil-A, Inc. franchise cost?

Chick-fil-A, Inc. requires a $10,000 initial franchise fee and a total initial investment range of $585,500–$3,437,000, per the most recent FDD on file.

Does Chick-fil-A, Inc. disclose financial performance (Item 19)?

Yes. Chick-fil-A, Inc. discloses Item 19 financial performance representations in its FDD. See the financials sub-page for the disclosed figures.

What ongoing fees does Chick-fil-A, Inc. charge?

Franchisees pay a royalty of 7.0% to 10.0% on gross sales as defined in Item 6 of the FDD.

How many Chick-fil-A, Inc. locations are there?

As of their 2026 FDD, Chick-fil-A, Inc. has 2,795 total locations, with 278 new locations opened in the most recent reporting year. This information comes from Item 20 of the FDD.

Cite this page

Related on this site


This page is part of VetMyFranchise. View all pages: llms.txt · llms-full.txt

Site index for AI agents: llms.txt · sitemap