Franchise opportunities compared
Panda Express vs Papa John’s 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.
Before you compare
- Both sets of figures come from 2026 FDDs.
- Papa John’s 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 (Panda Express: 7, Papa John’s Pizza: 15). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure | PEPanda Express |  Papa John’s Pizza |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $514,500 – $3,275,500 TOTAL estimated initial investment: $514,500 - $3,275,500 2026 FDD · Item 7 · PDF p. 29 | $125,000 – $890,267 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | $25,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 21 | $5,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | $8.00 FEES. F EE 1 A MOUNT W HEN P AYABLE R EMARKS Royalty Each Royalty Period you pay us — 8% 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 22 | $5.00 Traditional royalty rate 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 16 |
| Brand / advertising fund (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed brand or advertising fund fee | $25 Nontraditional/Small-Town marketing fund portion of standard rate 2026 FDD · Item 6 · PDF p. 17 |
| System scale & health | ||
| Total outlets (Item 20) | Not available No reviewed outlet counts | Not available No reviewed outlet counts |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | Not available Only one year reported | 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) | Not available Not in reviewed records | 1986 From a verified franchisor listing |
| 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 — Totalcaptivevenues $286,558,411 other Total Total Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Casinocaptivevenues $3,018,116 other Casino Maximum Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Hospitalcaptivevenues $624,396 other Hospital Average Gross Sales · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 82 +4 more groups in the full report | Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Standard company-owned restaurants, 2024 25,338 $ other Weekly per-store Corporate average · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Standard franchised restaurants, 2023 21,411 $ other Weekly per-store Franchised median · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Standard franchised restaurants 19,598 $ other Weekly per-store Franchised median · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 74 +12 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.