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3 brands side-by-side
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indicates the clear winner per row. Ties and missing data are not highlighted.
How winners are chosen
Lower is better for investment, liquid capital, franchise fee, royalty and ad-fund rates, SBA charge-off rate, and owner turnover.
Higher is better for disclosed revenue and owner earnings, verdict score, total units, net unit growth, and franchisee contacts. For the letter grade, A ranks highest.
A row is highlighted only when one brand clearly leads. Ties are never highlighted, and missing data never counts as a win. Some rows (earnings-metric type, loan counts, contract terms) are informational and have no winner.
These figures come from FDDs of different years (2025, 2026). Costs, fees and unit counts change from one filing to the next, so the older column may be out of date.
Focus by buyer type
| Brand |  AStrongest tierEl Pollo Loco Quick-Service Restaurants 2026 FDD Remove |  BAbove averageSmashburger Quick-Service Restaurants 2025 FDD Remove |  AStrongest tierCanteen Quick-Service Restaurants 2025 FDD Remove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vitals | |||
FDD filing | FDD issued Mar 31, 2026 | FDD issued Apr 16, 2025 | FDD issued Dec 15, 2025 |
Investment range | $794K – $2.7M | $1.2M – $2.3M | $1.4M – $2.1M |
Liquid capital | $25K – $100K | $10K – $20K | $75K – $100K |
Franchise fee | $40K | $40K | $3K |
Royalty rate | 5.0% | 5.5% | 5.3% |
Ad fund rate | 5.0% | 2.3% | Not extracted |
| Performance | |||
Avg gross sales | $2.2MNet sales | No Item 19 representation | Partial, no system average |
Median gross sales | $2.1M | Not disclosed | Not extracted |
Avg owner earnings Metric varies by brand. Check type below | Not extracted | Not disclosed | Not extracted |
Earnings metric | Not classified | Not classified | Not classified |
| Risk | |||
Rating | AStrongest tier | BAbove average | AStrongest tier |
Verdict score | 78 / 100 | 53 / 100 | 74 / 100 |
SBA charge-off rate | 6.5% (n=61) | Limited · 11 loans | 0.0% (n=11) |
SBA loans on record | 61 | 11 | 11 |
| Scale | |||
Total units | 503 | 194 | 261 |
Net change (latest yr) | +3 | -13 | -8 |
Signed, not yet open | 4 (0.01 per open outlet) | 0 (0.00 per open outlet) | 0 (0.00 per open outlet) |
Turnover rate | 0.0% | 9.8% | 3.4% |
| Contract | |||
Initial term (years) | 20 | 15 | 15 |
Renewal term (years) | 10 | 15 | 10 |
Initial training (hrs) | Not extracted | 269 | 240 |
| Contacts | |||
Franchisee phones | 100 | 76 | 78 |
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