Franchise opportunities compared
Chick-fil-A vs Chicken Salad Chick
Reviewed figures from each brand's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), side by side. Each figure carries its FDD year and page. This is not a ranking or recommendation, and the two FDDs may cover different years and location groups.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- Chick-fil-A discloses more than one business format, so the investment range spans formats; the full report breaks them out.
- Item 19 figures cover the location groups each FDD names (Chick-fil-A: 2, Chicken Salad Chick: 6). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | CChick-fil-A | CSChicken Salad Chick |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $585,500 – $3,437,000 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $802,000 - $998,500 Total Estimated Initial Investment ( D rive - T hru locations only): — 802000 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 19 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | Not available No single standard fee identified | Not available No single standard fee identified |
| Royalty (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed royalty record | Not available No reviewed royalty record |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed brand or advertising fund fee | $2.00 ss Sales as a Brand Fund contribution; however, we currently require you to pay — 2 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 14 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 848 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 55 | 652 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 59 |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | +24 Calculated: 824 at end of 2023 → 848 at end of 2025 | +292 Calculated: 360 at end of 2023 → 652 at end of 2025 |
| Outlet exits (Item 20) | Not available No complete exit records for a year | Not available No complete exit records for a year |
| Franchising since (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Franchisor founded (Item 1) | Not available Not in reviewed records | Not available Not in reviewed records |
| Performance (Item 19) | ||
| Financial performance (Item 19), by location group | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Domestic Chick-fil-A Licensed Units on college or university campuses, full cal… $1,279,605 other Campus median annual sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 52 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Domestic Chick-fil-A Licensed Units at hospitals, businesses, industries, or ai… $3,224,813 other Hospital/business/industry/airport median sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 53 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — All affiliate $1,506,433 other All affiliate Total Gross Sales Average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 53 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Chart2 affiliate 44.9 percent other Chart2 affiliate exceeding average percent · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 53 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Chart1 franchised $1,500,394 other Chart1 franchised Median Unit Volume · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 53 +3 more groups in the full report |
Item 19 groups are shown separately and never combined. Revenue or sales figures are not profit. Net outlet change and turnover are Franopolis calculations from the disclosed counts; turnover is a count-based rate, not a measure of owner earnings.