RANKINGS · 10 LISTS · REAL FILINGS & FEDERAL LOAN DATA ONLY
Franchise rankings, from the filings
Every list below is computed from verified FDD extractions — Items 5–7 for costs, Item 19 for earnings disclosure, Item 20 for openings and exits. No surveys, no pay-to-rank, no sample data. Each list states its inclusion rules and links every row to the brand's sourced profile.
Which franchises offer veteran discounts?
Every system that names a veteran discount in its own FDD, which ones disclose collecting below list — and each brand's SBA default record alongside, so a discount into a failing system never reads as a benefit.
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Which franchises offer multi-unit discounts?
The discount ground franchisors honor most — more systems name a multi-unit break than any other reason. Every one that put it in Item 5, with the loan record alongside.
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Which franchises have the lowest royalties?
Ranked by ongoing royalty — the cut of gross sales you pay the franchisor forever — lowest first, from Item 6 of each brand's latest FDD.
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Which franchises don't disclose earnings in Item 19?
Franchises that make no financial performance representation in Item 19 of their latest FDD — meaning the franchisor publishes no earnings claim at all. Legal and common, but it moves the burden of proof onto you.
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What are the fastest-growing franchises?
Ranked by annualized opening rate — new franchised outlets opened divided by franchised outlets at the start of the year — from each brand's latest FDD Item 20. Minimum 50 franchised units to qualify.
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Which franchises are losing the most units?
Ranked by annualized exit rate — terminations, non-renewals, and "ceased operations — other reasons" divided by franchised outlets at the start of the year — from each brand's latest FDD Item 20. The measurable floor of franchisee failure.
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What are the largest franchises in the U.S.?
Ranked by franchised outlets at the latest fiscal year end, from Table 1 of each brand's latest FDD Item 20 — system size as the franchisor itself discloses it.
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What are the cheapest franchises to open?
Ranked by the low end of the total initial investment range in Item 7 of each brand's latest FDD — the smallest all-in figure the franchisor itself will put on paper.
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From the federal loan record
Every SBA 7(a) and 504 loan to a franchisee since fiscal 1991, and how each one ended — the lender's-eye view of franchisee outcomes, independent of anything the franchisor discloses.
Which franchises have the highest SBA loan default rate?
Ranked by the share of resolved SBA-backed franchisee loans that were charged off (defaulted) rather than paid in full — highest first. This is the lender's-eye view of franchisee failure, independent of anything the franchisor discloses.
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Which franchises have the lowest SBA loan default rate?
Ranked by the share of resolved SBA-backed franchisee loans charged off — lowest first. The franchises whose owners most reliably repaid the banks that financed them.
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Which franchises are SBA lenders backing away from?
Ranked by the steepest drop in the number of distinct SBA lenders willing to finance the brand — comparing 2021-and-later approvals with 2016–2020. When the banks that know a brand best stop writing new loans, that is revealed preference, often years ahead of the disclosures.
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Which franchises see SBA loans default the fastest?
Ranked by how quickly a defaulting franchisee's SBA loan goes bad — shortest first. Fast defaults point to broken unit economics or under-capitalized openings, not just a bad year.
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SOURCES: LATEST REAL FDD FILING PER BRAND (STATE REGULATOR PORTALS) · SBA 7(a)/504 FOIA FILES, DATA.SBA.GOV · SEE EACH LIST'S METHODOLOGY NOTE