How much does it cost to open a Subway franchise?

The franchisor's Item 7 table puts the total initial investment to open a Subway franchise at $263,000 to $630,000, according to their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).

What is the royalty rate for Subway franchise?

Subway charges a 8.0% royalty fee (percentage of gross sales), as disclosed in their FDD, Item 6.

What is the Murk Score for Subway?

Subway has a Murk Score of 99/100 (OPAQUE, our band for scores 65 to 100). The Murk Score measures FDD transparency across 32 binary checks covering disclosure completeness, system trajectory, franchisor solvency, internal consistency, and litigation. A lower score indicates greater transparency.

How many Subway franchise locations are there?

Subway has 18,773 total franchise outlets, with a net growth of -729 units in the last reported year, according to their FDD, Item 20.

Subway FDD Analysis | Franchise Sonar

Q: Does Subway have any franchise litigation?

According to Item 3 of their FDD: Litigation detected: 24 pending cases, 33 concluded, 3 franchisee-initiated, class action, government order, affiliate government order, affiliate class action.

[ KEY FINDING ]

Subway has a Murk Score of 99/100 (OPAQUE, our band for scores 65 to 100). The score adds up the weights of whichever of our 32 disclosure checks its FDD triggered.

Source: Murk Score Analysis

[ VERIFIED // FDD 2026 ]

Subway

Issuance Date: April 30, 2026·Verified: Sep 11, 2026

10 RED FLAGS DETECTED

0/100

MURK SCORE

FRANCHISE SONAR MURK SCORE: OPAQUE(our band for scores 65 to 100)

Does Subway Have Franchise Litigation?

Litigation detected: 24 pending cases, 33 concluded, 3 franchisee-initiated, class action, government order, affiliate government order, affiliate class action.

[ FULL LITIGATION ANALYSIS LOCKED ]

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How Much Does a Subway Franchise Cost?

Royalty Rate	Initial Investment	Total Units	Net Growth (1Y)
8.0% percentage of gross sales	$263K to $630K	18,773	-729

Royalty Rate

Initial Investment

Total Units

Net Growth (1Y)

8.0%

percentage of gross sales

$263K to $630K

18,773

-729

Source: FDD Items 6, 7, 20

VERIFIED // CHECKED AGAINST THE FDD

[ RISK_ALERT ]

We found 10 red flags in Subway's FDD.

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We found 10 red flags in Subway's FDD.

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Essential Scan

$199

Items 19-21 financials

[ FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ]

[ COMPARE FRANCHISES ]

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Analyzed by Franchise Sonar Research Team

How is the Murk Score calculated? →

Franchise Sonar provides independent analysis of franchise disclosure documents (FDDs) filed with state regulators. This is for informational purposes only and is NOT investment advice. Data extracted using automated technology; verify all financial information directly in the official FDD before making decisions. Murk Score measures disclosure completeness, not franchise quality. Subway is a trademark of its respective owner. Franchise Sonar is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or associated with Subway.