Franchise opportunities compared

    Del Taco vs Donatos Pizza

    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.

    Initial investment · Item 7

    Del Taco

    $1,041,200 – $3,321,000

    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Donatos Pizza

    $546,637 – $1,090,537

    2026 FDD · Item 7

    Initial franchise fee · Item 5

    Del Taco

    Not available

    Donatos Pizza

    Not available

    Royalty · Item 6

    Del Taco

    2%

    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 21

    Donatos Pizza

    Not available

    Before you compare

    • Del Taco figures come from its 2025 FDD and Donatos Pizza figures from its 2026 FDD, so the years differ.
    • Del Taco and Donatos Pizza disclose 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 (Del Taco: 57, Donatos Pizza: 11). Different groups are not directly comparable.

    Financial commitment

    Estimated initial investment (Item 7)

    Del Taco

    $1,041,200 – $3,321,000
    2025 FDD · Item 7

    Donatos Pizza

    $546,637 – $1,090,537
    2026 FDD · Item 7
    Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5)

    Del Taco

    Not available
    No single standard fee identified

    Donatos Pizza

    Not available
    No single standard fee identified
    Royalty (Item 6)

    Del Taco

    2%
    royalty fees will be reduced to 1% of net sales during the first year of operations, — 2%
    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 21

    Donatos Pizza

    Not available
    No reviewed royalty record
    Brand / advertising fund (Item 6)

    Del Taco

    4%
    machines), newspaper stands, slot machines, wireless, or similar machines. Marketing — 4% — 4%
    2025 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 18

    Donatos Pizza

    1%
    Nationalmarketingcurrent NetSales — 1%
    2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 18

    System scale & health

    Total outlets (Item 20)

    Del Taco

    Not available
    No reviewed outlet counts

    Donatos Pizza

    179
    Outlets at end of 2025
    2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 79
    Net outlet change (Item 20)

    Del Taco

    Not available
    Only one year reported

    Donatos Pizza

    +52
    Calculated: 127 at end of 2023 → 179 at end of 2025
    Outlet exits (Item 20)

    Del Taco

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year

    Donatos Pizza

    Not available
    No complete exit records for a year
    Franchising since (Item 1)

    Del Taco

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Donatos Pizza

    1991
    From a verified franchisor listing
    Franchisor founded (Item 1)

    Del Taco

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Donatos Pizza

    Not available
    Not in reviewed records

    Financial performance (Item 19), by location group

    Del Taco
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Freestanding company-owned — 2024
    $92,502
    other Table19-2A Benefits
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 50
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised freestanding
    $1,524,836
    other Franchised freestanding Median Sales
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 47
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchised same-store sales
    -32.3 percent
    other Franchised same-store sales Lowest Same Store Sales
    2025 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 52
    +54 more groups in the full report
    Donatos Pizza
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — All covered
    $2,492,132
    other All covered High
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Company-owned
    $2,384,141
    other Company-owned High
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 73
    Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchise-owned
    $2,476,922
    other Franchise-owned High
    2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74
    +8 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.

    Del Taco vs Donatos Pizza: common questions

    Which costs less to open, Del Taco or Donatos Pizza?
    Del Taco: $1,041,200 – $3,321,000 (2025 FDD · Item 7); Donatos Pizza: $546,637 – $1,090,537 (2026 FDD · Item 7). These are each franchisor's Item 7 estimated initial investment. The low end of the disclosed estimate is lower for Donatos Pizza. At least one range spans several business formats. Estimates are not quotes, and the FDD years may differ.
    Do Del Taco and Donatos Pizza disclose financial performance (Item 19)?
    Del Taco has reviewed Item 19 figures for 57 location groups; Donatos Pizza has reviewed Item 19 figures for 11 location groups. Different location groups are not directly comparable, and revenue is not profit.

    Answers restate the reviewed figures above. Not a ranking or recommendation.

    How Franopolis reviews FDD figures

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