The origins of Burger King date back to 1953 with a couple of aspiring restauranteurs from Jacksonville, Florida. The duo, Keith Kramer and Matthew Burns, was so impressed with a then-fledgling McDonald’s in California that they sought to build an equivalent burger restaurant on the east coast. Eventually, they sold the business to David Edgerton and James McLamore who made the restaurant into what it’s known as today.
Nowadays, Burger King is one of the top five food franchises in the world in terms of number of locations, and second to only McDonald’s when it comes to largest burger franchises.
Kinds of Burger King Franchise Types
Currently, Burger King offers franchises for the facility types below, as described in the franchise’s FDD:
- Traditional Burger King Restaurant Facility: A self-contained, full size Burger King restaurant which is located and operated on a site as a freestanding building or within another building structure such as a shopping mall. A traditional Burger King restaurant does not share any common areas with any other businesses and serves the standard approved menu for Burger King restaurants.
- Non-Traditional Burger King Facility: A non-traditional Burger King restaurant may be located at a site which includes other businesses, such as retail, food service, gas stations, convenience stores, other franchised businesses or restaurants or other similar facilities.
- Institutional Locations: “Institutional locations” include government buildings and facilities, medical facilities, airports, train and bus stations, sports facilities, factories, corporate campuses, turnpikes, limited access toll roads, theme parks, zoos and educational facilities.
- Delivery: A restaurant operated at a food preparation and cooking facility located within a building or other enclosed structure, which may also include other food service concepts or restaurants. This facility will have a limited menu and is established for the preparation of meals for delivery or pickup only.
How Much Does a Burger King Franchise Cost?
To own one of the over 19,000 Burger Kings out there, you have to fulfill the franchisor’s requirements, which include access to the proper amount of financial capital.
The estimated financial range for setting up and operating a Burger King in the United States for the first three months, depending on facility type, ranges from $247,300 to $4,670,900. The data in the table below is from Burger King’s Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), dated 2025. The estimates are provided by Burger King and are based off of its years of experience in franchising its system.
| Name of Fee | Low | High |
| Franchise Fee | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| Travel and Living Expenses While Training | $7,500 | $25,000 |
| Real Property / Occupancy Charge | $3,500 | $1,500,000 |
| Civil & Architectural Drawings / Professional Fees | $30,000 | $100,000 |
| Zoning Expenses | $0 | $40,000 |
| Improvements / Construction | $200,000 | $1,800,000 |
| Landscaping | $0 | $60,000 |
| Equipment | $150,000 | $304,600 |
| Decor Package | $15,000 | $95,000 |
| Signage & Drive-Thru | $0 | $230,000 |
| Pre-Opening Wages | $43,600 | $72,500 |
| Opening Inventory | $6,400 | $12,800 |
| Cash and Inventory Control System | $35,000 | $50,000 |
| Insurance | $8,000 | $25,000 |
| Working Capital / Additional Funds | $45,000 | $90,000 |
| Business Licenses, Utility Deposits, Lease Deposits and Payments | $10,000 | $30,000 |
| 2-Story Interior Playground | $0 | $245,000 |
| BK® University / Support & Training Material | $600 | $600 |
| ESTIMATED TOTAL | $579,600 | $4,730,500 |
In addition to the diversity of facility types, Burger King currently has two different forms of franchise agreement, which correspond to the two different types of franchise ownership it offers:
- Individual (or Owner/Operator): An individual who is personally responsible for operating the franchised restaurant.
- Entity: A corporation, a limited partnership, a limited liability partnership, or a limited liability company executes the Entity form of Franchise Agreement. Generally, one of the conditions of Entity ownership is that one or more individuals, or entities, designated as owners must guarantee and be responsible for the obligations to the franchisor.
What Are the Other Monetary Requirements to Open a Burger King Franchise?
Beyond the money required to open the restaurant, Burger King also requires prospective franchisees to have at least a net worth of $1,000,000 and liquid assets of $500,000.
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The liquid assets requirement is the amount of money a franchisor requires a franchisee have in savings and be able to access quickly in case of emergencies and unexpected situations when starting the business. It also accounts for regular living expenses until the franchise unit begins turning a profit large enough for the franchisee to garner an adequate take-home wage.
As with all franchise purchases, you should review the figures you obtain from the franchisor carefully with a professional business advisor before making the final decision to purchase the franchise.
For more details on the opening costs of a Burger King franchise, please see our Burger King FDD page. Or to search other fast food franchise possibilities for you, have a look at our Fast Food Franchises profile page.