Franchise opportunities compared
Donatos Pizza vs DQ Grill Chill
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.
- Donatos Pizza 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 (Donatos Pizza: 11, DQ Grill Chill: 23). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  Donatos Pizza | DGDQ Grill Chill |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $546,637 – $1,090,537 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $1,510,100 or third party suppliers TOTAL (15)(16) — $1510100 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 28 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | Not available No single standard fee identified | $10,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 21 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed royalty record | $4.00 be the mid-point between the continuing license fee in effect for years 1-5 and — 4% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 26 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | $1.00 Nationalmarketingcurrent NetSales 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 18 | Not available No reviewed brand or advertising fund fee |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | 179 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 79 | Not available No reviewed outlet counts |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | −75 Calculated: 254 at end of 2023 → 179 at end of 2025 | Not available Only one year reported |
| 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) | 1991 From a verified franchisor listing | 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 — 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 | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Schedule A restaurants 110 units other Schedule A restaurants excluded from Schedule B 2024 · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 69 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Schedule A: newly constructed freestanding, franchisee-owned and operated DQ Gr… $3,135,208 other aurants Meeting or Exceeding the Average 45% 44% 42% 44% High Annual Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 66 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Schedule B subset: restaurants with usable franchisee P&Ls for the year 31.76 percent other Sales 157 $1,410,815 $3,135,532 $1,376,354 $650,772 70 45% · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 67 +20 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.