Franchise opportunities compared
PANERA BREAD BAKERY-CAFE 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.
- PANERA BREAD BAKERY-CAFE and Papa John’s 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 (PANERA BREAD BAKERY-CAFE: 3, Papa John’s Pizza: 15). Different groups are not directly comparable.
| Disclosure |  PANERA BREAD BAKERY-CAFE |  Papa John’s Pizza |
|---|---|---|
| Financial commitment | ||
| Estimated initial investment (Item 7) | $498,306 – $2,518,186 2026 FDD · Item 7 | $125,000 – $890,267 2026 FDD · Item 7 |
| Standard initial franchise fee (Item 5) | Not available No single standard fee identified | $5,000 2026 FDD · Item 5 · PDF p. 14 |
| Royalty (Item 6) | Not available No reviewed royalty record | $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) | 2,214 Outlets at end of 2025 2026 FDD · Item 20 · PDF p. 65 | Not available No reviewed outlet counts |
| Net outlet change (Item 20) | +63 Calculated: 2,151 at end of 2023 → 2,214 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) | 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 — Company-owned full-year Panera bakery-cafes 100 percent other Company-owned Gross Revenues as % of average Gross Revenues: 100.0% · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 64 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Company-owned $826,294 other Net sales range low · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 63 Locations counted not stated in the reviewed record — Franchisee-owned $463,536 other Net sales range low · 2026 FDD · Item 19 · PDF p. 63 | 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.