RANKED · 784 BRANDS QUALIFY · FDD FILINGS 2016–2026
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.
Brands are ranked by the ongoing royalty percentage disclosed in Item 6 of their latest real (verified-extraction) FDD filing, ascending. Brands whose royalty is a flat fee, variable, or not extracted as a percentage are excluded. A low royalty is not automatically a good deal: check the ad-fund and technology fees in Items 6 and 11, and the exit numbers in Item 20.
Universe: every brand tracked here whose latest filing is a verified extraction from a public FDD (state regulator portals, chiefly Minnesota CARDS), filed 2016–2026. Sample/seed data never enters a ranking. Each row's “FDD” link is the official document the figure came from; each brand link leads to the full sourced profile. See the site methodology for extraction and confidence rules.
A broker is paid by the franchisor to place you. An independent CPA is paid by you — and the job is pressure-testing the numbers, including talking you out of a bad deal.
Talk to an independent CPA before you buy →