Complete investment analysis based on official FDD data
Total Investment
$1,470,500 – $2,642,000
Franchise Fee
$45,000
Royalty Rate
5.0%
The total initial investment to open a McDonald's franchise ranges from $1,470,500 to $2,642,000, as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document. This includes the one-time franchise fee of $45,000.
Midpoint estimate: $2,056,250
$45,000
One-time initial fee
The McDonald's franchise fee is a one-time upfront payment made to the franchisor when you sign the franchise agreement. This fee grants you the right to operate under the McDonald's brand and is included in the total initial investment range above.
Royalty Fee
5.0%
of gross revenue
Ad/Marketing Fund
4.0%
of gross revenue
Total Ongoing Fee Burden: 9.0% of gross revenue
Combined royalty and advertising fund contributions before any other fees.
| Fee Type | Rate | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0 | PCT | 5% applies for new restaurants opened on/after Jan 1, 2024, McOpCo sales, and right of first refusal sales. 4% continues for existing restaurants for family transactions, new term agreements, franchisee-to-franchisee sales, and rebuilds. Payable on 10th day of next month. Gross Sales exclude sales/use tax. |
| Rent - Base Rent | N/A | VARIABLE | Varies by location. Payable on 1st day of month. Based on McDonald's investment in land/building acquisition and development with finance factor applied. |
| Rent - Pass Thru Rent | N/A | VARIABLE | Applies only where McDonald's leases land/building from third party. Passes through rent escalations above original monthly rent. No finance factor applied. Payable on 1st day of month. |
| Rent - Percentage Rent | N/A | VARIABLE | For new traditional restaurants (opened on/after Jan 1, 2020): ranges from 10.0% to 15.75%+ based on McDonald's total acquisition and development costs ($1.55M to $3.61M+, increasing 0.25% per $100k). For relocated traditional restaurants (opened on/after July 1, 2013): ranges from 8.5% to 15.0% based on costs ($1.02M to $2.71M+). Only payable if monthly Gross Sales exceed monthly base sales figure. Payable on 10th day of next month. |
| Advertising and Promotion | 4.0 | PCT | Minimum 4% of Gross Sales, spent during each calendar year. Most franchisees participate in local advertising cooperatives and OPNAD. Actual contribution rates established by franchisees may exceed 4% depending on current advertising costs and needs. Not payable to McDonald's. |
| Audit/Inspection Fee | N/A | VARIABLE | Payable only if audit/inspection shows understatement of at least 2% of Gross Sales. Due immediately upon billing. |
| Satellite Annual Fee | 1500.0 | VARIABLE | Ranges from $500 to $2,500. Payable on each anniversary of opening or on a fixed date annually. |
| Satellite Rent | N/A | VARIABLE | All Satellite restaurants (except McDonald's in Walmart) have Annual or Monthly Base Rent determined case-by-case. MIW restaurants pay Fixed Percentage Rent generally ranging from 14% to 15.5% of Gross Sales. Payable monthly on 10th day of next month. |
| STO and STR Rent | N/A | VARIABLE | Fixed Percentage Rent for STO (opened on/after May 28, 2014): ranges from 9.5% to 11.5% based on costs ($640k to $1M). For STR: ranges from 9.0% to 11.0%. Includes Monthly Base Rent and may include Pass Thru Rent. Same payment timing as traditional Rent. |
| BFL Rent | N/A | VARIABLE | Business Facilities Lease rent structure determined by McDonald's case-by-case based on net worth, liquidity, projected expenses, and sales volume. May include conditional option to purchase after first year. Same payment timing as traditional Rent. |
| Relocation Contribution | 50000.0 | FIXED | Required if franchisee relocates restaurant to a new site. Payable on opening of relocated restaurant. |
| Sesame - License Fee | 2600.0 | FIXED | One-time fee for Point of Sale (POS) software. Paid for new and existing restaurants that adopt the technology. Drafted in 12 monthly installments through iReceivables. |
| Sesame - Annual Fee | 1096.0 | FIXED | For POS (Sesame) software maintenance, integration and localization. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Global Mobile App / Digital Capabilities | 632.0 | FIXED | For localization of digital technology software. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| McDelivery Integration | 610.0 | FIXED | For support and maintenance of McDelivery orders integration into POS software. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Self-Ordering Kiosk - License Fee | 1500.0 | FIXED | One-time licensing fee paid as part of standard construction billing. For new and existing restaurants that adopt the technology. |
| Self-Ordering Kiosk - Annual Fee | 534.0 | FIXED | For kiosk technology software maintenance, integration and localization. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Self-Ordering Kiosk Accessibility | 150.0 | FIXED | For self-ordering kiosk accessibility annual software maintenance. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Hand-Held Order Taker (HHOT) - One-Time Fee | 500.0 | FIXED | Optional fee for Hand-Held Order Taker. Drafted in monthly installments through iReceivables. |
| Hand-Held Order Taker (HHOT) - Annual Fee | 50.0 | FIXED | Optional annual software maintenance fee for HHOT. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| eProduction | 45.0 | FIXED | For support of eProduction software. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Back Office Integration and Enhancements | 755.0 | FIXED | For back office integration and enhancements to store system platform. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Payments and Fraud Management | 700.0 | FIXED | For payments and fraud management software and related encryption services. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Employee Engagement Platforms | 391.0 | FIXED | For support and maintenance of Fred and Campus solutions and employee engagement platform integrations. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| People Data Warehouse (PDW) Reporting | 156.0 | FIXED | Optional fee for support and maintenance of people data warehouse reporting platform. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Deployment, OTP, Execution and Support | 2303.0 | FIXED | For deployment, OTP, execution and support services. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Restaurant Network Management, Access and Security | 999.0 | FIXED | For maintaining secure and reliable network infrastructure, identity access management and security. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Restaurant Hardware, Data Movement, Management, and Monitoring | 802.0 | FIXED | For restaurant data movement, management, monitoring and restaurant hardware services. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Restaurant File Maintenance (RFM) | 565.0 | FIXED | For maintenance and support of restaurant file maintenance (RFM) software. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Microsoft License Subscription | 671.0 | FIXED | For Microsoft annual license subscription. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Pricing Engine | 264.0 | FIXED | Optional fee for use of the Base Pricing Engine. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Workplace by Meta | 150.0 | FIXED | Optional fee for use of Workplace by Meta. Drafted in 12 monthly installments on 25th day of month through iReceivables. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
| Store Mail (email accounts) Fee | 73.8 | FIXED | For email account support for using the us.stores.mcd.com domain. Payable annually within 30 days of billing. Subject to periodic review and may increase. |
Category
QSR
System Size
12,772 units
Franchise Score
out of 100
McDonald's runs the world's largest quick-service restaurant chain, offering hamburgers, chicken products, and breakfast items globally. The franchise standardizes operations and menu consistency while adapting to regional preferences to drive revenue and market penetration.
Median Revenue
$2,900,000
per year, per location
Estimated Owner Profit
$727,900
per year
Profit Margin
25.1%
of revenue
Estimation method: benchmark
Estimated ROI (Simple Payback): 2.8 years
Based on midpoint investment of $2,056,250 and estimated annual owner profit of $727,900.
Avg. Annual Closure Rate
0.8%
Low risk — below industry average
Net Unit Growth
+12772 units
From Next Fiscal Year to 2023
| Year | Start | Opened | Closed | Transfers | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next Fiscal Year | — | +136 | — | — | — |
| 2021 | 13022 | +101 | -10 | — | 12775 |
| 2022 | 12775 | +84 | -30 | — | 12764 |
| 2023 | 12764 | +128 | -73 | — | 12772 |
Based on the FDD data, here is a data-driven snapshot of the McDonald's franchise opportunity:
Overall Score
81/100
Strong opportunity
Est. Payback Period
2.8 yrs
Fast payback
Risk Level
Low
0.8% annual closure rate
McDonald's scores well across our evaluation criteria, indicating a strong franchise system. With median unit revenue of $2,900,000 and a combined fee burden of 9.0% of gross revenue, prospective franchisees should model their own financial projections carefully. For a complete analysis including risk factors, deal-breaker flags, and detailed financial modeling, see the full report.
Get the full McDonald's franchise intelligence report with risk analysis, deal-breaker alerts, and detailed financial projections.
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Royalty: 8.0%
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Royalty: 5.9%
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Royalty: 5.5%
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Median Revenue: $2,326,904
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Royalty: 4.5%
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Royalty: 4.0%
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