Restaurants

Sonic franchise

Burgers, beverages and desserts with drive-in and drive-thru service.

Opening investment: $670,200–$2,522,900
Average annual revenue: $1,587,024 (2024)
U.S. locations: 3,461
Worldwide locations: 3,412

Opening costs and fees

$670,200–$2,522,900

Opening costs vary by format, location and lease terms.

Operating formats

Free-Standing Leased Traditional Drive-In (1,250–1,500 sq ft)

$1,485,200–$2,522,900

2026 FDD Item 7

Assumes a leased site (34,000–43,560 sq ft lot with 6–12 stalls); excludes real estate purchase costs. Includes $15,000 initial franchise fee, $600,000–$800,000 building costs, and $5,000–$25,000 additional funds for three months.

C-Store Leased Non-Drive-In Location (1,200–2,500 sq ft)

$670,200–$1,412,900

2026 FDD Item 7

Assumes a leased shopping center, convenience store or travel plaza site. Includes $15,000 initial franchise fee, $180,000–$320,000 building costs, and $5,000–$25,000 additional funds for three months.

Urban In-Line Leased Sonic Restaurant (1,200–2,100 sq ft)

$679,200–$1,250,900

2026 FDD Item 7

Assumes leased ground-level street-facing commercial space. Includes $15,000 initial franchise fee, $180,000–$250,000 building costs, and $5,000–$25,000 additional funds for three months.

investment: Official franchisor page (referencing the 2026 FDD issued March 26, 2026): 'Total Initial Investment: $1,485,200-$2,522,900' (format not stated on the page).
recurring conditional fees: Official page (2026): Royalty Fee 5% of gross sales; Advertising Fee 3.25% of gross sales; Development Fee $10,000 per restaurant; Initial Franchise Fee $15,000.
Costs need format and property clarification: The held 2025 filing lists three leased investment ranges but leaves freestanding/drive-thru property costs unestimated and contains construction-scope and arithmetic inconsistencies. Use the original format table with caveats; confirm the newer filing before budgeting.Historical 2025-03-27
Recurring-fee qualifications: Historical 2025 terms: royalty is ordinarily 5% of defined Gross Sales, plus a 0.90% brand contribution and separate advertising and technology obligations. Nontraditional advertising requirements need clarification. The technology fee’s continuation after March 1, 2026 depends on an unverified vote.Historical 2025-03-27

Key ongoing fees

Royalty Fee: 5% of Gross Sales (paid monthly on the 10th).Monthly
Brand Fee (SBF) & Advertising Cooperative (SMF): 0.90% of Gross Sales Sonic Brand Fund + minimum 3.25% of Gross Sales Sonic Media Fund / Co-Op (1.625% Non-Traditional/C-Store).Monthly
Inspire Payment Services & Technology: Approximately $365 to $565/month Inspire Payment Services (plus POS/technology fees).Monthly

Selected ongoing charges, not a complete fee schedule. Confirm the current FDD and the terms for your format.

Running the business

owner training support: 2025 FDD Item 5/Item 7 notes: at least 1 full-time manager must complete the General Manager Leadership Class ($200 per attendee) no later than 60 days before opening; for the first 3 drive-ins, approx. 7 crew members (Franchisee Certified Training Team) complete training at another certified Sonic restaurant; Item 11 training details (printed p.38-50) not reviewed.
owner training support: Official page lists training & support: operational best practices, initial and ongoing training programs, dedicated Franchise Business Consultant, real estate optimization, construction guidance.
Owner involvement: Historical 2025 terms: the controlling Principal must own more than 50% and personally participate. A trained individual must work full time at the restaurant; on-site managers need no equity.Historical 2025-03-27
Training commitment: Historical 2025 terms: the Principal and one manager must complete training before opening. A separate 24-hour leadership class costs $200 per attendee, plus expenses. The first three restaurants also need a certified team; its training typically lasts about five weeks.Historical 2025-03-27

Revenue and performance

$1,587,024 (2024)

Fiscal 2024 · selected U.S. franchised restaurants

2024 sales: $1,587,024 average; $1,500,713 median: The held 2025 FDD reports these gross sales for 3,086 selected U.S. franchised restaurants. Costs are not deducted, so these figures are not profit or owner income. The data was not independently audited.Historical 2025-03-27
Established restaurants; new and closed locations excluded: The 2024 sales sample averaged 27 years in operation. It excludes recent openings, prolonged interruptions, non-traditional locations, restaurants that closed during the year and company restaurants. It does not predict a new restaurant’s results.Historical 2025-03-27
Sales vary by venue: In the held 2025 FDD, average 2024 gross sales were $1,597,296 for 3,015 free-standing restaurants and $1,121,215 for 67 Gas/C-Store locations. These are historical sales before expenses; the Gas/C-Store cohort includes several venue types and does not directly match an investment format.Historical 2025-03-27

Revenue is sales before expenses, not owner income. Compare matching periods, formats and location samples.

Locations

3,461 U.S. locations (2024 · Sonic US restaurants: 3,144 franchised and 317 company-owned).

3,412 restaurants worldwide at December 28, 2025, including company-owned and franchised locations. The filing explicitly reports no international restaurants. The U.S. figure shown separately uses an earlier census, December 29, 2024.

Existing locations do not establish that a new territory is available. Confirm your market with the franchisor.

Sources and figure notes

Reporting periods and scope

U.S. locations

3,461 U.S. operating units at 2024 year end. Sonic US restaurants: 3,144 franchised and 317 company-owned. Item 1 explicitly reports 3,461 Sonic Drive-Ins operating in the United States at December 29, 2024. The source uses Drive-Ins to include its described traditional and nontraditional Sonic formats; this is not a drive-in-format-only count.

Average annual revenue

$1,587,024 (2024) average gross sales across 3,086 selected U.S. franchised Sonic restaurants. Historical March27,2025 FDD; FY2024 results are not current2026 terms. The selected restaurants averaged27years in operation. Excludes30 new2024 restaurants,26 extended sales interruptions,2 Non-Traditional locations and the multi-brand opening already counted among new openings; separately excludes80 restaurants closed during2024 and317 company restaurants. AUV is Gross Sales; includes imputed business-interruption insurance sales, excludes specified refunds/returns, sales taxes, discounts/coupons, stored-value-card sale proceeds and proceeds of restaurant sales. Source defines arithmetic mean from franchisee/POS reports and says figures were not independently audited. Overall median1,500,713;1,334 of3,086(43%) above mean. Higher venue/region/quartile means are not the selected headline. Revenue precedes costs and is not profit, owner income, a forecast or a new-store expectation.

Opening investment

$1,485,200–$2,522,900 for a Free-Standing Leased Traditional Drive-In (1,250–1,500 sq ft), $670,200–$1,412,900 for a C-Store Leased Non-Drive-In Location (1,200–2,500 sq ft), and $679,200–$1,250,900 for an Urban In-Line Leased Sonic Restaurant (1,200–2,100 sq ft). Includes $15,000 initial franchise fee and $5,000–$25,000 additional funds for three months.

Worldwide locations

3,412 operating Sonic restaurants worldwide at December 28, 2025. The filing reports 3,412 U.S. restaurants and explicitly states there were none outside the U.S. Includes company-owned and franchised, standalone and multi-brand restaurants. This is a historical census; the separately displayed 3,461 U.S. locations comes from December 29, 2024. The two dates should not be subtracted to calculate international locations.

Research snapshot: . Sources and methodology

Compare independent startup vs. franchise economics

Compare Sonic’s franchise model against starting or buying an independent business in burgers (line-item CapEx, 0%-royalty owner SDE margins & SBA resale multiples):

Sonic franchise

Opening costs and fees

Operating formats

Free-Standing Leased Traditional Drive-In (1,250–1,500 sq ft)

C-Store Leased Non-Drive-In Location (1,200–2,500 sq ft)

Urban In-Line Leased Sonic Restaurant (1,200–2,100 sq ft)

Key ongoing fees

Running the business

Revenue and performance

Locations

Sources and figure notes

U.S. locations

Average annual revenue

Opening investment

Worldwide locations

Compare independent startup vs. franchise economics

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