Food & Beverage · registry year 2024 · HQ KS

IHOP Franchise

A Dine Brands Global brand operating in the food & beverage sector, franchising since 1960. According to the 2024 FDD filing for IHOP, this is an editorial comparison record; it does not reproduce the brand's current FDD.

$1.7M – $4.3M
Initial investment · Higher entry cost
4.5%
Royalty rate · Below-average royalty
1,800
Total locations · Large network
$2.7M
Avg unit revenue · Above-average unit revenue

FDD outlay schedule

Registry ihop IHOP

IHOP needs $1.7M–$4.3M to open and charges a 4.5% royalty - an entry cost above the typical food & beverage franchise.

  • LO $1.7M
  • HI $4.3M
  • FEE $40K
  • ROY 4.5%
  • UNT 1,800
  • I19 Disclosed
  • INV# #18/223
  • UNT# #63/223

Nearest Item 7 peer: Buffalo Wild Wings ($1.7M)

IHOP (this)$1.7MBuffalo Wild Wings$1.7MHooters$1.7MBurger King$1.8MBojangles$1.5MJack in the Box$1.4M
IHOP Item 7 listed-low neighbourhood vs nearest food & beverage peers

Same-sector Item 7 neighbourhood for IHOP (registry year 2024). Listed lows only - not a profit, cost-of-living, or suitability claim. Verify the current FDD before relying on these figures. How we place brands →

Franchise Opportunity Health Score

How healthy and transparent IHOP's franchise system looks, from 2 of 2 tracked dimensions.

54 F
  • Network momentum -1.1% net unit growth (YoY) 8/100 · F
  • Financial disclosure Item 19 disclosed 100/100 · A

Benchmarked against the 223-brand tracked corpus (p10-p90 range per dimension); a higher score means a growing unit count and a disclosed Item 19. See how we place brands.

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Where IHOP's investment ranks nationally

IHOP's listed Item 7 low of $1.7M against every one of the 218 tracked franchise brands with a disclosed initial investment. Listed figures only, verify in the current FDD before relying on them.

IHOP vs all tracked franchise brands by listed investment

Initial investment low (FDD Item 7), PlainFranchise brand corpus

$1,700,000 Higher than most higher than 92% of 218 franchise brands

Franchise brands, banded by listed Item 7 low

Each bar is a $0.001K-wide band; taller bars hold more franchise brands. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainFranchise editorial comparison registry · 2024-12-31

Investment Overview

Investment Range $1.7M – $4.3M
Franchise Fee
$40K
Ad Fund Rate
3.0%

Revenue Data (Item 19)

Item 19 Disclosed Franchisor provided financial performance data
Average Revenue
$2.7M
gross revenue per location

* Revenue figures are gross revenue (sales), not profit. This registry does not report operating costs or profit.

Network Size & Growth

1,800
Franchised
0
Company-Owned
+40
Opened (Last Year)

Net Growth Rate

Year-over-year unit change

-1.11% growth

60 locations closed in the last reporting year

Quick Facts

Subsector
casual dining
Founded
1958
Franchising Since
1960
Headquarters
KS
FDD Year
2024
Item 19
Disclosed

Compare

Compare IHOP against other franchises side-by-side

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Important Notice · IHOP

This IHOP page is a registry comparison record, not a verified FDD extract. It does not establish suitability, operating costs, profitability, or expected results for IHOP.

Large-network capital outlay for IHOP

Signature read: 1,800 locations · Item 7 low $1.7M

IHOP, a Dine Brands Global franchise, has been franchising since 1960 - 2 years after the concept was founded in 1958 , currently with 1,800 total locations (1,800 franchised, 0 company-owned; 100% of the recorded total is franchised) in the food & beverage sector, headquartered in KS. This editorial registry lists a total initial investment from $1.7M to $4.3M, using the registry's listed low and high fields. A franchise-fee field of $40K is recorded separately, while the registry summary does not reproduce the full Item 7 schedule.

Royalty payments here are set at 4.5% of gross sales with a separate 3.0% national advertising-fund field; the two listed percentages total 7.5%. The registry records an Item 19 field for IHOP. Financial-performance disclosure in Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule. The reported average gross revenue per location is $2.7M; multiplying the reported average by the listed royalty rate gives $122K as an arithmetic illustration only. This reported revenue field is not a profitability measure; operating costs are outside this registry.

IHOP's footprint shrank over the past year, down 1.1% with 60 closures on the record. This is a network-count observation only; the registry does not record reasons for openings or closures.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a IHOP franchise cost?
Opening a IHOP franchise takes a total initial investment of $1.7M to $4.3M. The initial franchise fee is $40K. The listed ongoing royalty is 4.5% of gross sales.
How many IHOP locations are there?
IHOP's network totals 1,800 locations (1,800 franchisee-owned). That total is trending down, 1.1% net year-over-year.
What are the ongoing fees for a IHOP franchise?
A 4.5% royalty on gross sales applies to IHOP franchisees. On top of that, a 3.0% ad-fund contribution applies. These are listed ongoing fee fields, separate from the listed initial-investment range.

Related reading for IHOP: Understanding FDDs , IHOP lists Item 19 revenue here, how Item 19 fits the 23-item FDD.

IHOP among nearby food & beverage registry records: listed entry cost and network size Scatter plot of 11 data points. -10000 locations0 locations10000 locations20000 locations30000 locations $1400k$1600k$1800k$2000k$2200k Listed initial investment low ($000) Total locations (Item 20) IHOPBuffalo Wild WingsHootersBurger KingBojanglesJack in the BoxApplebee'sBenihanaGolden CorralTGI FridaysKFC
IHOP among nearby food & beverage registry records: listed entry cost and network size

Snapshot uses the registry's listed Item 7 initial-investment low and Item 20 location-count fields. It is a descriptive comparison, not a ranking or investment recommendation.

How IHOP's Item 7 and Item 19 fields are labeled (expand)

Nationwide brands with similar investment or network size

Two data-derived peer sets for IHOP , both outside HQ state KS : nearest Item 7 lows and nearest total-location counts, not the same-sector roster below.

What to do with this

IHOP at a glance, drawn from the same figures above.

  • IHOP scores 54/100 (F) on our composite opportunity read, combining net unit growth and Item 19 financial-disclosure transparency.
  • Its $1.7M – $4.3M entry cost runs above the typical food & beverage franchise.
  • Ranks #18 of 223 listed franchises by initial investment. See rankings
  • Buffalo Wild Wings sits at a comparable investment level ($1.7M) in the same sector. Compare

Editorial comparison registry, not a source-linked FDD record. Verify the current FDD before relying on any figure.

Editorial comparison registry; a source filing is not linked to this record. Verify the current FDD before relying on a figure.

Source: PlainFranchise editorial registry Record-level FDD source link and retrieval date pending