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Updated RecentlyWhataburger Cost Comparisons
About Whataburger
A Great Company, A Great Burger. Those simple ideas have guided us through more than 70 years of Whataburger history, which began in 1950 when Harmon Dobson opened the first Whataburger in Corpus Christi, Texas. From day one, Harmon believed that valuing his employees would ensure the success of the company, and he was right. What was once a two-man burger stand has grown to over 650 Whataburger locations across 10 states. We are an uncommon company within the burger industry, because we've never compromised the quality of our products and we genuinely respect our people. We are a family owned and operated company and everyone who works at Whataburger - from the home office to the restaurants - is referred to as a Family Member.
Whataburger doesn’t demand any kind of royalty fee.
Hamburgers/Hot Dogs Franchise Opportunities
Below is a quick comparison of Whataburger against other Hamburgers/Hot Dogs franchises and business opportunities. For an in depth comparison of Whataburger with another opportunity including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options click on the name of the company to view the detailed comparison.
| Franchise | Franchise Fee | Royalty | Advertising Fee | Development Costs |
| A & W Restaurants | $15,000-$30,000 | 5% | 5% | $269,000-$1,213,000 |
| All American Hot Dog Carts | N/A | $1,700-$5,999 | ||
| America's Dog & Burger | $30,000 | $298,800-$694,050 | ||
| Back Yard Burgers | $35,000 | 5% | 3% | $465,000-$1,680,000 |
| Bareburger | N/A | $987,000-And Up | ||
| Burger Hut | N/A | 4.5% | $376,092-And Up | |
| Burger Joint, The | $40,000 | 5.5% | 1%Nat'l + 1%Local | $195,800-$589,800 |
| Burger King | $50,000 | 4.5% | 4% | $333,100-$3,398,600 |
| BurgerFi | $37,500 | 5.5% | 1.5% | $613,600-$987,250 |
| BurgerFuel | $35,000 | 6% of net | 4% of net | $510,500-$864,500 |
| Burgerim | N/A | $150,000-$400,000 | ||
| Carl's Jr | $25,000-$35,000 | 4% | 6% | $1,603,000-$2,168,000 |
| Carla's Sandwiches & Burgers | $8,500 | $850/mo. | $125/mo. | $81,000-$2,400,000 |
| Carts of America | N/A | $3,299-$6,999 | ||
| Char-Hut | $30,000 | $250,000-$500,000 | ||
| Checkers Drive-In | $30,000 | 4% | 4.5% | $259,000-$1,431,000 |
| Cheeburger Cheeburger | $24,500-$35,000 | 4.5% | $322,500-$603,000 | |
| Cheese Curds Gourmet Burgers + Poutinerie | $35,000 | 5% | 1% Nat'l + 1% local | $475,000-$650,000 |
| Coney Beach | $25,000 | 6% | $279,000-$493,000 | |
| Coneys Frozen Custard | $19,500 | 6% | 4% | $129,250-$194,500 |
| Counter, The | $35,000 | 6% | 2% | $711,133-$1,939,750 |
| Culver | $55,000 | 4% | 2.5% | $2,349,000-$5,356,000 |
| Dairy Queen | $45,000 | 4% | 5-6% | $1,151,135-$1,936,655 |
| Dog Haus | $35,000 | 6% | 2% | $378,000-$949,100 |
| Dogfather, The | $25,000-$35,000 | 6.5% | $179,300-$263,000 | |
| Dogout, The | $25,000 | $204,000-$474,000 | ||
| Dream Maker Hot Dog Carts | N/A | $2,899-$15,999 | ||
| Drifter's Hamburgers | $25,000 | 5% | 2% local | $113,500-$501,000 |
| Elevation Burger | N/A | $338,500-$599,500 | ||
| Farmer Boys | $45,000 | 5% | 3% | $1,042,500-$2,486,500 |
| Fat Patty's | $40,000 | $627,533-$1,048,500 | ||
| Fatburger | $50,000 | 6% | 2% | $498,100-$850,600 |
| Five Guys Burgers & Fries | $50,000-$125,000 | 6% | 2% | $306,200-$716,250 |
| Flamer's Grill | $30,000 | 5% | 2% | $171,500-$345,500 |
| Foster's Grille | $35,000 | 5% | $291,700-$538,100 | |
| Frankie's | N/A | $200,000-And Up | ||
| Freakin' Unbelievable Burgers | $40,000 | 4% | 1% | $307,850-$696,000 |
| Fuddruckers | $35,000 | 5% | .25% | $495,000-$1,565,000 |
| Fulton Market Burger Company | $15,000 | 4% | 2% | $275,000-$405,000 |
| Gino's Burgers & Chicken | N/A | $500,000-$700,000 | ||
| Glory Days Grill | $50,000 | 3% | 1% | $1,696,500-$2,526,500 |
| Good Times Burgers | N/A | 4% | up to 5.5% | $750,000-And Up |
| Grill'd Burger | N/A | 8% | 2% | $555,590-$885,700 |
| Ground Pat'i Grille & Bar, The | $22,000-$35,000 | 4% | $359,800-$1,600,000 | |
| Habit Burger | $35,000 | $1,231,000-$1,654,000 | ||
| Hamburger Mary's | $50,000 | 4% (on first $150K monthly gross), 3% (on monthly gross above $150K) | $417,150-$955,500 | |
| Hardee's | $25,000-$35,000 | 4% | 5.5% | $1,454,000-$2,046,000 |
| Hero Certified Burgers | $25,000 | $60,000-$80,000 | ||
| Hot Dog On A Stick | $15,000-$25,000 | 6% | 2% | $338,200-$556,000 |
| Hot Fries | $30,000 | $166,997-$374,900 | ||
| Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries | $25,000 | 5% | 1% | $153,925-$249,925 |
| Jack in the Box | $50,000 | 5% | 5% | $1,651,500-$2,638,600 |
| Jake's Over the Top | $29,000-$40,000 | 5% | 3% | $150,000-$350,000 |
| Jerry's Curb Service | $40,000 | 4% | $959,000-$1,600,000 | |
| JL Beers | $40,000 | 4% | $857,200-$2,222,500 | |
| Johnnie's Dog House | $25,000 | 6% | $82,600-$355,750 | |
| Johnny Rockets | $49,000 | 5% | $581,000-$877,000 | |
| Juicy Burgers | N/A | $50,414-$150,265 | ||
| Krystal Restaurants | $32,500 | 4.5% | $900,000-$1,300,000 | |
| Lick's | $45,000 | $495,000-$595,000 | ||
| Locos Grill & Pub | $35,000 | 4% | $575,400-$1,960,000 | |
| McDonald's | $45,000 | 4% | 4%+ | $1,314,500-$2,306,500 |
| Meaty Burger & Hotdogs | $1,350 | 0 | 0 | $1,500 |
| Mooyah | $40,000 | 6% | 3% | $403,750-$639,100 |
| Mr. Goodburger's | $25,000 | 6-8% | $155,000-$210,000 | |
| Nathan's Famous | $30,000 | 5.5% | 2% | $43,000-$1,071,360 |
| O'Burger | $30,000-$40,000 | $175,000-$500,000 | ||
| Original Hot Dog Factory, The | $20,000 | 5.5% | 1% | $97,500-$517,887 |
| Philly Dawgz | $30,000 | 3.5% | 3% local +1% Nat'l | $77,000-$135,000 |
| Rally's Hamburgers | $30,000 | 4% | 4.5% | $254,000-$1,431,000 |
| Red Robin Gourmet Burgers | $35,000 | 4% | $1,865,000-$4,115,000 | |
| Runza Restaurants | $30,000 | 5% | 1%+up to 4% locally | $1,250,000-$2,720,000 |
| Smashburger | $40,000 | 5 - 6% | 2% | $743,130-$1,404,535 |
| Sonic Drive In | $45,000 | 2.45-5% | 3% | $1,242,000-$3,523,300 |
| Steak n Shake | $25,000-$40,000 | 5.5% | $672,000-$1,835,000 | |
| Steaks To Go | $24,500 | $250/wk. or 3% | $110,000-$150,000 | |
| Wahlburgers | $40,000 | 6% | $1,680,000-$2,885,000 | |
| Wayback Burgers | $35,000 | 5% | 2% | $209,000,524,500 |
| Wendy's | $40,000 | 4% | 3.5%Nat'l +0.5% Local | $318,850-$3,689,350 |
| Wienerschnitzel | $10,000-$32,000 | 5% | 1% | $303,600-$1,443,000 |
| Willy Dog | N/A | $599-$8,999 | ||
| Windmill | $27,500 | 5% | 4% | $127,500-$322,500 |
| Woody's Chicago Style | N/A | 6% | $58,600-$394,000 | |
| WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro, The | $45,000 | 6% | 2%-2.5% | $650,000-$850,000 |