Restaurants

Subway franchise

Explore the published figures and operating information for Subway.

Opening investment: $227,000–$630,000
U.S. locations: 18,592
Worldwide locations: >35,000

Opening costs and fees

$227,000–$630,000

Published table ranges; current nontraditional and freestanding drive-through build costs are not estimated. Printed totals do not reconcile with their components.

Operating formats

nontraditional site

Current build cost not estimated

Published FDD table: $227,000–$458,000

The required Fresh Forward 2.0 build-out is expected to cost more than this table. The published totals do not reconcile with the listed costs. Confirm a site-specific budget.

standard outlet

$263,000–$630,000

Published FDD estimate

Freestanding drive-through costs are not estimated and may be substantially higher. The published totals do not reconcile with the listed costs. Confirm a site-specific budget.

Qualifications and program conditions

These conditions apply to the programs or transactions described below; they are not a universal entry requirement.

financial qualification requirements: Subway’s reduced-fee nontraditional program includes a qualifying entity route requiring 50 or more locations OR net worth of at least $10 million on an audited balance sheet; other listed entity/location routes also qualify.
financial qualification requirements: Subway requires a proposed assignee and its owners to have sufficient financial resources and meet its applicable business standards; no amount appears in this transfer clause.

Key ongoing fees

Royalty: 8% of total gross sales.Weekly
Advertising: 4.5% of total gross sales.Weekly
Restaurant technology: $75 per month, subject to future increases. Additional technology and digital initiatives carry variable charges.Monthly

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

Running the business

initial training: Owner or designated manager must complete training; exemptions and equivalency examination conditions.
training completion and refunds: Attendance, 80% grades, reassessment and dismissal; half franchise fee refund on failure reassessment versus no refund for conduct violations.
training duration and ongoing courses: Approximately 36 web hours, 36 facilitated hours, 72 on-the-job hours; evenings homework and own travel; additional required courses.
owner participation: Owner or full-time trained on-premises manager; no manager equity required; principal owner guarantees and one-year/three-mile covenant.

Locations

18,592 U.S. locations (2025).

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

2025 franchised plus company restaurants, excluding Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.

Worldwide locations

>35,000 restaurants worldwide, according to Subway’s undated newsroom description. This is a dated source observation, not a current physical-location census or proof of current franchise ownership. Dated news headlines on the same page do not date the boilerplate count. No regional count is extrapolated. The bound is strictly more than35,000; exact worldwide count and exact U.S. count remain null. Franchisee operation is a source description, not verification of individual owners.

Opening investment

nontraditional site: $227,000–$458,000. The single-restaurant table is separate from development rights. Its printed totals and individual cost rows do not reconcile; neither figure has been replaced with a calculated total. New restaurants require Fresh Forward 2.0. The FDD does not estimate current nontraditional or freestanding drive-through build costs. Its three-month additional-funds allowance excludes royalty, advertising, food costs and owner draw. See Item 7, PDF pages 51–56. standard outlet: $263,000–$630,000. The single-restaurant table is separate from development rights. Its printed totals and individual cost rows do not reconcile; neither figure has been replaced with a calculated total. New restaurants require Fresh Forward 2.0. The FDD does not estimate current nontraditional or freestanding drive-through build costs. Its three-month additional-funds allowance excludes royalty, advertising, food costs and owner draw. See Item 7, PDF pages 51–56.

Research snapshot: . Sources and methodology

Compare independent startup vs. franchise economics

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