Question 1

Is Auntie Anne's or Ben & Jerry’s cheaper to open?

Accepted Answer

Auntie Anne's costs $157,795–$835,500 and Ben & Jerry’s costs $280,300–$631,300 to open (FDD Item 7). Auntie Anne's has the lower entry cost.

Question 2

Which earns more, Auntie Anne's or Ben & Jerry’s?

Accepted Answer

Auntie Anne's reports $792,496 average annual unit revenue vs $664,862 for Ben & Jerry’s (FDD Item 19). Auntie Anne's is higher. For Auntie Anne's: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system; Reported as net sales, not gross sales.

Question 3

Which is safer, Auntie Anne's or Ben & Jerry’s?

Accepted Answer

SBA 7(a) charge-off rate is 4.7% for Auntie Anne's and 0.0% for Ben & Jerry’s. Lower is safer, so Ben & Jerry’s has the stronger loan-repayment record.

Question 4

Which is the better franchise, Auntie Anne's or Ben & Jerry’s?

Accepted Answer

FranchiseVerdict grades Auntie Anne's A and Ben & Jerry’s B, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Metric	Auntie Anne's	Ben & Jerry’s
Verdict Grade	AStrongest tier	BAbove average
Investment Range	$158K – $836K	$280K – $631K
Franchise Fee	$36K	$40K
Royalty Rate	7.0%	3.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$792KOutlet subset	$665K
SBA Charge-Off Rate	4.7% (78 loans)	0.0% (20 loans)
Total Units	1,247	157
Unit Growth (YoY)	+54 units	+3 units
Year Began Franchising	2017	1981
FDD Year	2026	2026

Auntie Anne's vs Ben & Jerry’s