Food & Beverage · registry year 2024 · HQ KY

KFC Franchise

A Yum! Brands brand operating in the food & beverage sector, franchising since 1952. According to the 2024 FDD filing for KFC, this is an editorial comparison record; it does not reproduce the brand's current FDD.

$1.4M – $3.0M
Initial investment · Higher entry cost
5.0%
Royalty rate · Mid-range royalty
26,934
Total locations · Large network
$1.4M
Avg unit revenue · Above-average unit revenue

FDD outlay schedule

Registry kfc KFC

KFC needs $1.4M–$3.0M to open and charges a 5.0% royalty - an entry cost above the typical food & beverage franchise.

  • LO $1.4M
  • HI $3.0M
  • FEE $45K
  • ROY 5.0%
  • UNT 26,934
  • I19 Disclosed
  • INV# #21/223
  • UNT# #5/223

Nearest Item 7 peer: Jack in the Box ($1.4M)

KFC (this)$1.4MJack in the Box$1.4MCarl's Jr$1.4MBojangles$1.5MNoodles & Company$1.3MDenny's$1.3M
KFC Item 7 listed-low neighbourhood vs nearest food & beverage peers

Same-sector Item 7 neighbourhood for KFC (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 KFC's franchise system looks, from 2 of 2 tracked dimensions.

58 F
  • Network momentum -0.4% net unit growth (YoY) 16/100 · 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 KFC's investment ranks nationally

KFC's listed Item 7 low of $1.4M 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.

KFC vs all tracked franchise brands by listed investment

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

$1,442,000 Higher than most higher than 90% 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 $1.4M – $3.0M
Franchise Fee
$45K
Ad Fund Rate
5.0%

Revenue Data (Item 19)

Item 19 Disclosed Franchisor provided financial performance data
Average Revenue
$1.4M
gross revenue per location

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

Network Size & Growth

26,934
Franchised
0
Company-Owned
+600
Opened (Last Year)

Net Growth Rate

Year-over-year unit change

-0.37% growth

700 locations closed in the last reporting year

Quick Facts

Subsector
quick service restaurant
Founded
1930
Franchising Since
1952
Headquarters
KY
FDD Year
2024
Item 19
Disclosed

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Compare KFC against other franchises side-by-side

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Important Notice · KFC

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

Large-network capital outlay for KFC

Signature read: 26,934 locations · Item 7 low $1.4M

KFC, a Yum! Brands franchise, has been franchising since 1952 - 22 years after the concept was founded in 1930 , currently with 26,934 total locations (26,934 franchised, 0 company-owned; 100% of the recorded total is franchised) in the food & beverage sector, headquartered in KY. The registry records a total initial investment between $1.4M and $3.0M, recorded as a low-to-high range in the registry. The registry records a separate franchise-fee field of $45K and does not list every Item 7 component in this summary.

Royalty payments here are set at 5.0% of gross sales, plus a 5.0% national ad-fund field; the listed percentages sum to 10.0%. The registry records an Item 19 field for KFC. Financial-performance disclosure in Item 19 is voluntary under the FTC Franchise Rule. The reported average gross revenue per location is $1.4M; multiplying the reported average by the listed royalty rate gives $70K as an arithmetic illustration only. This reported revenue field is not a profitability measure; operating costs are outside this registry.

Network momentum is currently negative: KFC contracted by 0.4% year-over-year with 700 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 KFC franchise cost?
The registry lists total initial investment of $1.4M to $3.0M for a KFC franchise. A $45K franchise fee is part of that total. Ongoing royalties are 5.0% of gross sales.
How many KFC locations are there?
KFC's network totals 26,934 locations (26,934 franchisee-owned). That total is trending down, 0.4% net year-over-year.
What are the ongoing fees for a KFC franchise?
KFC charges a 5.0% royalty on gross sales. A further 5.0% goes to the national advertising fund. These are listed ongoing fee fields, separate from the listed initial-investment range.

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

KFC among nearby food & beverage registry records: listed entry cost and network size Scatter plot of 11 data points. -10000 locations0 locations10000 locations20000 locations30000 locations $1200k$1400k$1600k$1800k Listed initial investment low ($000) Total locations (Item 20) KFCJack in the BoxCarl's JrBojanglesDenny'sHardee'sNoodles & CompanySonic Drive-InBuffalo Wild WingsHootersIHOP
KFC 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 KFC's Item 7 and Item 19 fields are labeled (expand)

Nationwide brands with similar investment or network size

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

What to do with this

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

  • KFC scores 58/100 (F) on our composite opportunity read, combining net unit growth and Item 19 financial-disclosure transparency.
  • Its $1.4M – $3.0M entry cost runs above the typical food & beverage franchise.
  • Ranks #21 of 223 listed franchises by initial investment. See rankings
  • Jack in the Box sits at a comparable investment level ($1.4M) 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