6 Franchises Similar to McDonald’s You Can Start To Make Money Fast
Written by
Caitlyn Moorhead
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The beauty of owning a franchise is that it lets you open a business without doing the hard work of building a brand. However, you’ll pay handsomely for the privilege of repping someone else’s name and logo.
For example, if you want to jump on the brand McDonald’s built, you’ll need an estimated initial investment of a whopping $1.3 million to $2.3 million. As this isn’t just enough pocket change for a few cheeseburgers, you may have to explore other options.
McDonald’s is a giant with giant franchise price tags, but you can start your own business with one of these much lower-cost franchises instead — and they are also household names. Via Entrepreneur, here are six fast food franchises you should consider to start earning money fast.
Subway
- Estimated initial investment: $150,000 to $328,700
You can help your customers eat fresh by just paying an 8% royalty fee. This sandwich shop is one of the more affordable fast food franchises to consider opening. However, keep in mind that you will need $15,000 to pony up for the initial franchise fee.
Wendy’s
- Estimated initial investment: $310,095 to $2.8 million
A popular choice for fast food enthusiasts and mukbang influencers alike, Wendy’s can be a much more affordable franchise option than McDonald’s, depending on your location. It has signature burgers, Frosty desserts and a royalty fee of 4% of gross sales.
Wingstop
- Estimated initial investment: $259,400 to $912,100
This chicken shop will help you streamline your overhead costs as its built-in lean business model is designed with a digital-first approach. This allows your restaurant to handle a high volume of orders without requiring a massive staff, which boils down to having to pay fewer employees. By giving you an immediate lower overhead and a more efficient overall operation, it allows you to focus on the wing sauce flavors and not the spicy financing.
Taco Bell
- Estimated initial investment: $575,600 to $3.4 million
Though you are a far way off from founder Glen Bell selling tacos for $0.19 from a side window at a hot dog stand, Taco Bell, still remains one of the best value menus in the fast food industry despite inflation. Your royalty fee will be 5.5% of gross sales with an estimated initial franchise fee ranging from $25,000 to $45,000.
Papa John’s
- Estimated initial investment: $272,915 to $989,415
With a simple business model of “Better ingredients. Better pizza. Papa John’s,” you can imagine that opening a location for this pizza chain might err on the easier side. This franchise has several celebrity endorsements and partnerships, which makes advertising for your burgeoning business easy as pie.
Ben & Jerry’s
- Estimated initial investment: $200,300 to $504,300
There’s always room for dessert, and this fan favorite will have people flocking to your new business. With its unique and fun flavor profiles and socially conscious business practices, this is a great opportunity to align yourself with a relatively inexpensive franchise given its famous branding.
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