Skip to the content
Franchises Opportunity

Find out what you can actually afford — no contact info needed to see your result.

What does a franchise cost to open? Across the 4,717 brands profiled here that file a minimum investment, the median filed minimum is $179,200, and the middle half of brands file between $86,450 and $355,500. What you can afford is a different question — this calculator answers it on your device, in about 60 seconds.

The affordability calculator

60 seconds. No contact info needed to see your result.

Computed on your device. We don’t store these numbers.

Cash you could put in without borrowing. Your best estimate — nobody checks it against you.

Only what you'd genuinely roll over — a ROBS rollover puts retirement money at risk. 0 is a fine answer.

Only if you'd actually take a home-equity line. 0 keeps your house out of the math.

Advanced: other assets and the income you need

Brokerage or other investments you could genuinely sell and commit. Counts toward your ceiling.

Context only — it never changes your ceiling, because no filing in our data discloses owner pay.

Already own a business? Its equity isn’t liquid — count only what a sale or a loan against it would actually put in your hands, and enter that above once it’s real.

Models your money as the down payment on a loan: at 25% down, every $1 of capital supports about $4 of total investment. An assumption, not an approval — and the other 75% is borrowed money the business would have to repay out of its own earnings.

Already carrying debt? This tool never asks about existing obligations — loan payments on a unit you already run, or anything else you owe. Enter only capital that's genuinely free to commit after the payments you already make.

How the math works

The whole method is published here — the same formulas the tool runs, no hidden weighting:

committed capital = liquid savings + retirement funds + home equity
                    + other liquid assets (advanced, optional)
cash ceiling      = committed capital
financed ceiling  = min( capital ÷ (down payment % ÷ 100),
                         capital + $5,000,000 )
your band         = the investment band containing your ceiling

The financing line models your capital as the down payment on an SBA-style loan. SBA lending rules allow a minimum 10% equity injection for startup businesses, but franchise lenders in practice commonly ask 20–30% down — so the default here is a deliberately conservative 25%, and you can adjust it from 10% to 100% in the tool. The implied loan is capped at the $5,000,000 SBA 7(a) statutory maximum.

Brand matching is equally plain: a brand counts as "at or under your ceiling" when the minimum investment in its own disclosure filing is at or under your ceiling. Bands use the same derivation as the rest of the site, and every count comes straight from franchise disclosure filings — how we source and date every number.

What the math deliberately does not model: lender approval, credit score, collateral, post-close liquidity requirements, working-capital reserves, your living costs while the unit ramps, equity locked in a business you already own (it's not liquid — count only what a sale or a loan against it would actually put in your hands), or debt you already carry — there is no existing-obligations input, so if you service loans today, reduce what you enter to what's genuinely free to commit. The advanced income-need field never changes your ceiling either: the filings our data comes from disclose costs, not owner pay, so no honest math can turn a required income into a brand list. This tool is not financial advice. Read the brand's FDD and talk to a lender or advisor before you commit money.

Questions people actually ask

How much does it cost to open a franchise?
Across the 4,717 brands profiled here that file a minimum investment, the median filed minimum is $179,200; the middle half of brands file between $86,450 and $355,500. The filed minimum is the LOW end of each brand's own range — all-in cash-to-open usually runs higher once build-out and working capital are counted.
How much franchise can I afford?
A common screening rule: divide the capital you'd commit by your down-payment share. At the 25% down that franchise lenders commonly ask, $50,000 of capital supports a total investment up to about $200,000; SBA rules allow as little as 10% down for startups. The calculator on this page runs that math on your device and shows the matching investment band — no contact info needed.
Can I open a franchise with $50,000?
604 of the brands profiled here file a minimum investment at or under $50,000. Filed minimums are the low end of each brand's own range, so check the full cost picture per brand before deciding.
Do I have to enter contact info to see my result?
No. The result computes on your device the moment you select “See my investment band.” An email field appears only after your result is on screen; it is optional, and it stores only your email plus your band — never the numbers you typed.
Can I use my 401(k) or home equity to buy a franchise?
Both are used in practice: retirement funds through a ROBS (Rollovers as Business Startups) arrangement, and home equity through a HELOC or similar loan. Both put your retirement or your home at risk if the business fails. The calculator counts only the amounts you say you'd commit, and none of this is financial advice — talk to a qualified advisor first.

Where to go with your number