What the sector pays
Median royalty in registered franchise contracts is 5.5% of sales or gross revenue
Median royalty on sales or gross revenue in 573 franchise filings registered at INPI
See the full table (8 rows)
| Calculation base | Subset | Filings | Networks | First quartile | Median | Third quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales or gross revenue | Unit contracts, excluding hospitality | 573 | 43 | 5.0% | 5.5% | 6.0% |
| Sales or gross revenue | Unit contracts, hospitality | 38 | 5 | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| Room revenue | Unit contracts, hospitality | 93 | 4 | 2.5% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| Sales or net revenue | Unit contracts | 74 | 36 | 4.7% | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| Unspecified revenue | Unit contracts | 145 | 16 | 1.0% | 1.0% | 1.0% |
| Unspecified revenue | Unit contracts, excluding Rio Doce | 27 | 13 | 2.5% | 6.0% | 6.0% |
| Other base | Unit contracts | 17 | 10 | 5.0% | 5.0% | 5.0% |
| Sales or gross revenue | Master franchise | 26 | 25 | 3.5% | 5.6% | 7.8% |
Royalty by segment on the sales or gross revenue baseUnit contracts, excluding hospitality, with five or more filings
| Segment | Filings | Networks | First quartile | Median | Third quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | 516 | 22 | 5.0% | 5.0% | 6.0% |
| Education and training | 34 | 5 | 12.0% | 12.0% | 12.0% |
| Business services | 8 | 5 | 10.0% | 10.0% | 12.5% |
| Retail | 7 | 4 | 2.5% | 2.8% | 5.0% |
The cost of being a franchisee is difficult to establish from public data, because the disclosure document (Circular de Oferta de Franquia) is delivered to the candidate and not to an open registry. The recording certificates issued by INPI (the national industrial property institute) are the exception, since they state the royalty percentage and the calculation base. Because a percentage can only be compared with another on the same base, the indicator presents one median for each calculation base, without adding them together.
On sales or gross revenue, in unit contracts outside the hospitality sector, the median is 5.5% in 573 filings from 43 networks, with the first quartile at 5% and the third quartile at 6%. The intermediate value reflects two levels, since 68.1% of the filings state exactly 5% or 6%. The concentration of the records weighs on the result, because Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut account for 395 of these filings, and without the three the median stands at 5%, in 178 filings. By segment, on the same base, food stands at 5% across 516 filings, education and training at 12% across 34 and business services at 10% across 8.
The other bases have their own levels. The median is 4% on room revenue, in 93 hospitality filings, 6% on sales or net revenue, in 74, and 1% on unspecified revenue, in 145, of which 118 belong to Rio Doce. The initial franchise fee has a median of US$ 45,000 in 593 unit contracts with a value in dollars, with half of the cases between US$ 15,000 and US$ 50,000, excluding master franchise and development fees.
How we calculate
We read the percentage and the calculation base in the royalty item of the franchise certificates themselves, in INPI's open data, file of September 2026, and discarded advertising, renewal and percentages on fees or royalties charged to sub-franchisees. Each filing enters once, with the first certificate that states a percentage, because a line in the file is a recording and not a contract. Where there are ranges, the highest declared percentage applies. Of the 1,012 filings with a percentage, each is counted in a single base, and the 12 that cite two bases do not enter any median. Master franchises and hospitality on gross revenue have their own rows, and the 34 master franchise filings on other bases are left out of the table. The initial fee comes from the initial franchise fee item, excluding development, territory, master franchise, kiosk and renewal fees, and a value above 50 times the median is treated as a separator error. We publish only aggregates with five or more filings, in accordance with INPI's license.
Version 1.0, dated September 7, 2026, combined the calculation bases in a single median. The file for that version remains available in Open data, and the change is recorded in the corrections log.
What this figure does not show
- The set gathers contracts that went through INPI, an optional registration concentrated on foreign franchisors, so the median does not represent Brazilian franchising as a whole.
- A few networks account for a relevant share of the records. Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut add up to 68.9% of the filings on the main base, and without the three the median goes from 5.5% to 5%, which shows the sensitivity of the result to composition.
- The median of 1% on unspecified revenue comes from 145 filings, 118 of them from Rio Doce, and does not describe the typical percentage in the trade sector. In these cases, the text of the certificate does not state whether revenue is gross or net.
- The reading of the item is automated and may fail on atypical texts, and percentages that step up by year or by revenue are represented by the highest value.
- The royalty percentage is not the franchisee's total cost, because the advertising fee, system rental, mandatory purchases and other transfers are not included in the figure.
- Older contracts remain in the records and each percentage applies to the date on which it was recorded, with no guarantee that it is still in force.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average royalty percentage for a franchise?
In franchise filings registered at INPI (the national industrial property institute), the median is 5.5% of sales or gross revenue, and half of the cases fall between 5% and 6%, in 573 filings from 43 networks. On other bases the level changes, as with 4% on room revenue.
How much are royalties in a food franchise?
The median in food is 5% of sales or gross revenue, calculated from 516 filings registered at INPI (the national industrial property institute). Education and training stands at 12% on the same base, and hospitality at 4% on room revenue.
What is the initial franchise fee in these contracts?
The median initial fee is US$ 45,000, in 593 unit contracts with a value in dollars, excluding master franchise and development fees. The currency reflects the predominance of foreign franchisors among those that register contracts with INPI (the national industrial property institute).
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What the sector paysOther indicators in the same group
Maintained by Marktech, which serves franchise networks and franchises. The brands cited belong to their owners and are mentioned here only to identify the network the data refers to.