Is Starbird Chicken or Chick-fil-A cheaper to open?

Starbird Chicken costs $1,116,907–$1,656,763 and Chick-fil-A costs $426,735–$2,339,525 to open (FDD Item 7). Chick-fil-A has the lower entry cost.

Which earns more, Starbird Chicken or Chick-fil-A?

Starbird Chicken reports $4,175,616 average annual unit revenue vs $9,317,007 for Chick-fil-A (FDD Item 19). Chick-fil-A is higher. For Starbird Chicken: Company-owned outlets only - not franchisee performance. For Chick-fil-A: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.

Which is the better franchise, Starbird Chicken or Chick-fil-A?

FranchiseVerdict grades Starbird Chicken C and Chick-fil-A A, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Starbird Chicken vs Chick-fil-A

Franchise Comparison 2026

Both Starbird Chicken and Chick-fil-A are quick-service restaurants franchises. Starbird Chicken requires an investment of $1.1M – $1.7M while Chick-fil-A requires $427K – $2.3M. In terms of revenue, Chick-fil-A reports higher average unit revenue at $9.3M. Note: Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system. FranchiseVerdict rates Starbird Chicken C (Average) and Chick-fil-A A (Strongest tier).

Metric	Starbird Chicken	Chick-fil-A
Verdict Grade	CAverage	AStrongest tier
Investment Range	$1.1M – $1.7M	$427K – $2.3M
Franchise Fee	$40K	$10K
Royalty Rate	5.0%	15.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$4.2MCompany-owned only	$9.3MOutlet subset
SBA Charge-Off Rate	N/A	Limited data
Total Units	7	2,684
Unit Growth (YoY)	N/A	+135 units
Year Began Franchising	2022	1992
FDD Year	2023	2025